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Pittsburgh Technical College must prove to the Middle States Commission on Higher Education why its accreditation should not be withdrawn, the agency said in a letter published Friday.
Middle States said it had rejected the Pennsylvania private nonprofit institution’s “insufficient” plan to teach out its current student body and that the college was “in danger of imminent closure.” It also warned Pittsburgh Tech officials of their “obligation to plan for orderly closure.”
The college has been in turmoil for several years, with a majority of its trustees resigning en masse last year after employees voted no confidence in President Alicia Harvey-Smith.
Middle States placed Pittsburgh Tech on probation in March, as the Education Department turned up its financial scrutiny of the college.
Pittsburgh Tech’s website does not mention the accreditor’s actions or the current scrutiny.
The accreditor’s actions come in the wake of another of its institutions, the University of the Arts, announcing its closure abruptly without having given Middle States appropriate notice.
It also came within two days of another technical college in Pennsylvania, the for-profit Triangle Tech, announcing that it would close its six campuses in the state.
“For eight decades, a Triangle Tech diploma has been a source of pride and a pathway to good jobs for our students,” Timothy McMahon, president emeritus, said in the college’s statement. “Unfortunately, the COVID pandemic, changes in the industry landscape and strenuous government regulations have changed the economies of many post-secondary schools. As a result of these factors, as well as declining enrollments, we have made the very difficult, but necessary, decision to close.”
