Vermont State Colleges

The Vermont State Colleges (VSC) is the system of public colleges in the U.S. state of Vermont. It was created by act of the Vermont General Assembly in 1961. There are presently four colleges in the VSC consortium, they are: Castleton University, Community College of Vermont, Northern Vermont University, and the Vermont Technical College. Together, more than 13,000 students are enrolled in these colleges.

Vermont State Colleges
MottoScientia est Lux Lucis
Motto in English
Knowledge is Enlightenment
TypePublic Liberal Arts and Sciences
Established1961
ChancellorInterim, Sophie Zdatny
Students13,000+
Location
Montpelier
,
Vermont
,
United States
Websitewww.vsc.edu
Castleton University
NVU- Johnson
NVU- Lyndon
Vermont Tech
CCV Bennington
CCV Brattleboro
CCV Middlebury
CCV Montpelier
CCV Morrisville
CCV Newport
CCV Rutland
CCV Springfield
CCV St. Albans
CCV St. Johnsbury
CCV WRJ
CCV Winooski
Vermont State Colleges Locations

In April 2020, Vermont State Colleges floated a proposal to close the Vermont Technical College residential campus in Randolph as well as all operations/campuses of Northern Vermont University (see below). [1]

History

While VSC, the state colleges' governing organization, was created in the mid-20th century, most of the component colleges are older. The state legislature first chartered Castleton University as a grammar school in 1787.[2] Johnson State College was founded in 1828. The Vermont Technical College was founded in 1866. Lyndon State College was founded in 1911. Community College of Vermont, founded in 1970, was founded after the creation of the VSC. The newest institution, Northern Vermont University, was created in 2018 by merging Johnson State College and Lyndon State College together, combining administration but keeping the campuses separate.[3]

The VSC was headquartered at the Chancellors Office in Waterbury until August 2011 when Tropical Storm Irene forced it to relocate temporarily. After one year of temporary location at the Vermont Tech Enterprise Center in Randolph, the Chancellor's Office found a new, permanent home in Montpelier.

For many years, the Vermont public colleges have experienced financial stress and chronic underfunding. Exacerbated by COVID-19, in April 2020, Vermont State Colleges system Chancellor Jeb Spaulding recommended closing the Vermont Technical College residential campus in Randolph as well as all operations/campuses of Northern Vermont University. Under the proposal, some of the Vermont Tech academic programs would be consolidated in Williston.[4]

Chancellors
  1. Richard E. Bjork, 1978 – 1984
  2. Charles I. Bunting, 1984–1999
  3. Robert G. Clarke, 1999 – 2009
  4. Timothy Donovan, 2009–2015
  5. Jeb Spaulding, 2015–present

Organization

The Chancellor's office is a directorate performing day to day financial and policy operations. It is headed by the chancellor, and three vice presidents. Each of the state colleges has its own president and deans. A Council of Presidents, made up of the constituent colleges' presidents, VSC chancellor, and VSC vice presidents serves as an executive leadership team. The Council of Presidents works with the fifteen member Board of Trustees, to set policies and procedures. The Governor of Vermont serves as an ex officio member of the board.

Almost sixty percent of VSC students come from the state of Vermont. Approximately forty percent come from over forty other U.S. states, and more than forty-five countries. Class size is small, the average faculty to student ratio across the five colleges is 1:16. Nearly ninety percent of the faculty hold a Ph.D. or equivalent doctorate level terminal degree in their field of instruction.

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gollark: Did you know?
gollark: Doubtful.

References
  1. Jane Lindholm; Matthew F. Smith; Abagael Giles (2020-04-20). Vermont Public Radio https://www.vpr.org/post/chancellor-jeb-spaulding-his-proposal-close-three-state-college-campuses. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. Our Campus. Castleton.edu. Retrieved on 2017-01-13.
  3. Hallenbeck, Terri. "Coming Soon: Northern Vermont University — Johnson and Lyndon". Seven Days.
  4. Jane Lindholm; Matthew F. Smith; Abagael Giles (2020-04-20). Vermont Public Radio https://www.vpr.org/post/chancellor-jeb-spaulding-his-proposal-close-three-state-college-campuses. Missing or empty |title= (help)
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