Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Vermont campus in Colchester. VBM file photo.
Vermont Business Magazine Vermont is losing another college. The Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (ACPHS) Administration in conjunction with the Board of Trustees will close operations its satellite campus in Vermont in June 2021. The accelerated PharmD program will be discontinued after the current students have successfully completed the program. ACPHS operates out of office space on Water Tower Hill in Colchester.
“This decision was made because of the challenging prospect of turning around an enrollment that has been in decline since 2012. At this time, we need to focus on strengthening our recruitment efforts for the Albany campus,” said ACPHS President Greg Dewey.
In a statement last week, ACPHS said, "The decision to close our Vermont campus is in no way a reflection of the quality of the program, faculty, staff and students in Vermont. ACPHS is very proud of all that our Vermont community has accomplished and appreciates their significant contributions to both educating the next generation of pharmacists and improving patient care in Vermont."
“We will ensure all current Vermont students will have the opportunity to complete their degree program on schedule without compromising the quality of their educational experience. While we are no longer accepting students to the Vermont program, we will strive to maintain a presence in Vermont with a select number of clinical rotation sites,” said Regional Dean Jennifer Mathews.
ACPHS stated it is committed to holding true to its mission of ‘educating the next generation of leaders to improve the health of our society’. Consolidating the pharmacy program on our Albany campus will enable ACPHS to direct its resources to strengthen all of the College’s academic programs, both undergraduate and graduate, to ensure that all programs are competitive and produce readily employable graduates to enter various health sciences professions.
In the last two years, four Vermont colleges have ceased operation: Green Mountain College, Marlboro College, St Joseph's College and Southern Vermont College. All the closures were the result of financial pressures related to lowering enrollment over the last several years.
ACPHS is the first college to close in the northern half of the state. A proposal earlier this year to close the two campuses of Northern Vermont College in Johnson and Lyndon was rejected by the Vermont State Colleges System board. The state subsequently put more money, including some Coronavirus Relief Funds and state General Fund money, into bolstering finances there to keep the college going.
ABOUT ACPHS:
Founded in 1881, Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (ACPHS) is a private, independent institution with a long tradition of academic and research excellence. The college’s mission is to educate the next generation of leaders to improve the health of our society. ACPHS was named the #1 value-added college in the country by the Wall Street Journal and the Brookings Institution. For more information, go to www.acphs.edu.
Source: ALBANY, NY – Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences 11.10.2020