Iona College is coming clean in the wake of the firing of former Provost Warren Rosenberg who inaccurately reported data on student performance to outside agencies. The college issued a statement last week as a follow up to previous statements made in August and September.
New Rochelle, NY – November 8, 2011 —Iona College recently completed an internal investigation by outside legal counsel, with assistance from an independent auditing firm, into irregularities in student performance data reported to external agencies. The audit confirmed that inaccurate data—related to incoming freshman acceptance rates, SAT scores, graduation rates, and alumni who give annually—was reported to external agencies. Reported SAT scores for incoming freshmen were overstated on average 6.5% over actual scores. The irregularities were first revealed in an announcement by the College on August 30, 2011, and a full report of audit findings is available on the Iona website: http://www.iona.edu/about/reportcommittee/.
The College administration and board of trustees have adopted a position of full transparency regarding this matter. The College has self-reported to all external agencies that received the data, established the Integrity in Reporting Committee to provide status reports and updates on the investigation, and developed institutional policies and guidelines on appropriate collection, reporting, and use of data to ensure that discrepancies cannot occur again. In the August 30 statement, the College announced it had suspended the Provost, who was responsible for ensuring that the data and reports to external agencies were accurate. The Provost has since resigned from his position, and the College has concluded all related human resource actions.
In addition, the administration also has committed to establishing a formal Office of Institutional Research, renewing the College Code of Conduct with the involvement and commitment of faculty, staff and students, augmenting whistle blower policies, and conducting annual audits of student performance data.
Student life and the quality of education at the College have not and will not be affected in any way. Iona College remains committed to integrity and academic excellence as a Catholic institute of higher education, and to the growth, development and success of its students, faculty, staff, and alumni.
The press release was accompanied by an open letter to the Iona College community from Mr. James P. Hynes Chairman of the Board of Legal Trustees and school President Dr. Joseph E. Nyre.
We recently discovered inaccuracies in student performance data reported to external agencies. In response, we subsequently initiated a thorough investigation by outside legal counsel with the assistance of a third-party independent auditing firm. The audit found that inaccurate data—related to acceptance rates, SAT scores, graduation rates, and alumni who give annually—was reported to external agencies.
The principal findings of those investigations are contained within this report.
We believe that the character of Iona College will be measured in how we handle this matter moving forward. Therefore, the College has adopted a position of transparency and taken steps to ensure that such discrepancies cannot occur again. We have self- reported the inaccurate data to all external agencies and made the findings of this report available to the public. We also have made a commitment to restoring the integrity in our reporting processes by reviewing and redefining all management practices and procedures surrounding data collection, including establishing an Integrity Reporting Committee.
As always, Iona College remains dedicated to the values of justice, peace, and service and to the growth of its students, faculty, staff, and alumni. We hope that you will join with the Board of Trustees, the faculty, and staff in our commitment to the development of Iona College. Your feedback is valued, so please contact us if you would like to share your thoughts and comments.
The report is a follow up to a commitment made by Dr. Nyre on September 8, 2011 to establish an Integrity in Reporting Committee to review and provide status reports regarding current and future actions, announced when Dr. Brian Nickerson was named Interim Provost.
The College has recently taken a number of steps to ensure our continued commitment to the values of justice, peace, and service in the education of young men and women. You may have recently learned that the Board of Trustees approved my recommendation to name Dr. Brian Nickerson as Interim Provost. This action was taken to ensure and uphold the integrity and mission of the College after learning of irregularities in student performance data reported from the office of the former Provost to external agencies.
In addition to Dr. Nickerson’s appointment, we have taken the following actions:
1. Established an Integrity in Reporting Committee to review and provide status reports regarding current and future actions.
http://www.iona.edu/about/reportcommittee/2. Commenced an audit by a third-party independent auditing firm and investigation by outside counsel.
3. Reported preliminary concerns regarding reliability and validity of data to external agencies.
4. Committed the college to further self reporting once the audit and investigation have concluded.
5. Ensured transparency to all constituencies including students, parents, faculty, staff, alumni and others.
As a Catholic institution of higher education we carry compassion yet we will not accept a lack of integrity. Knowingly reporting inaccurate information cannot and will not be tolerated. This behavior is not indicative of the integrity of Iona College but rather individual judgment and human frailty.
The principles that are indicative of the integrity of the College remain constant: students who are hungry to learn, serve and succeed in life, and the faculty and staff who every day recommit themselves to the mission of developing “ethical and skilled decision makers and problem solvers motivated to leadership, service and civic responsibility.”http://www.iona.edu/about/mission.cfm
The measure of the College, or one’s life for that matter, is not the tally of problems or their severity. Rather it is the method in which we move to correct and resolve such problems and prevent them from recurring in the future. That is the measure of our character at Iona College. The Board of Trustees, the Iona Community, and I are fully committed to caring for the growth, development and success of students, faculty, staff and alumni who are Iona College.
