Saint Michael'S College

“Form 990, part iii, line 1 saint michael's college is a catholic liberal arts residential college committed to the pursuit of academic excellence, with an undergraduate enrollment of approximately 2,050 students and 700 graduate and international students. We create and sustain an optimal living and learning environment that promotes a vibrant intellectual life and challenges students to engage in activities to extend their minds and experience within and beyond our vermont location.”

“Form 990, part iii, line 4a the academic program is at the heart of the college's mission and the reason for saint michael's college existence. The college provides education with a social conscience, producing graduates with intellectual tools to lead successful, purposeful lives that will contribute to peace and justice in our world. Saint michael's college students personalize their education through research, internships, and small classes, preparing them for a lifetime, not just for their first job out of college. The academic program is rigorous and calibrated to the appropriate development levels of students (first-year students through graduate level). The undergraduate academic program offers degrees in 23 different majors for the bachelor of arts degree and 10 majors for the bachelor of science degree. Students may also choose from 36 minor programs. The academic program for graduate students includes 3 programs leading to master's degrees in clinical psychology, education and teaching english to speakers of other languages. Saint michael's college awarded 468 bachelor's degrees and 66 master's degrees during 2014-2015 academic year, with 2112 students enrolled in baccalaureate degree programs and 255 in master's degree programs. The class of 2015 had 413 graduates in may, of which 248 or 60% also earned minors. After receiving a bachelor's degree from saint michael's college, 97% of the class of 2015 was employed in graduate school or volunteering full time by six months of graduation. The 4 year average (2006-2009) student-right-to-know completion or graduation rate is 80%; this compared favorably to the 70% reported by act national graduation rates in 2015 for private 4-year institutions offering only bachelor's degrees in the selective category. The college's goal is to have 30% of each graduating class study abroad. Working with over 20 study abroad partner organizations, students have more than 70 countries from which to choose a variety of study abroad options. The college has far exceededits 30% goal for the last 5 academic years. The college has made strides in educating students beyond the classroom in preparation for their careers after graduation. In 2014-2015, 292 students engaged in supervised academic internships, compared to 224 in the previous year, representing 14% of the student body for 2014-2015 and over 11.5% for 2013-2014. In the summer of 2014, 39 students were engaged in independent research with professors. In the summer of 2015, 61 students were engaged in independent research with professors. The college has a robust honors program which began in the late 1980's, and recognizes high achievement among our students. In 2015, 51 students (13% of the senior class) graduated in the honors program. In the fall of 2015, 458 students from all four classes, about 23% of the student body, were members of the honors program. In addition, saint michael's college shelters a chapter of phi beta kappa, delta epsilon sigma and eleven discipline based honors societies with over 306 members of the class of 2015. In 2003 saint michael's college joined the elite group of 287 colleges nationwide with phi beta kappa chapters, making saint michael's college one of the only 24 catholic colleges in the u.s. And one of four in new england with such a chapter. The college is identified in the 2015 edition of the princeton review as one of the nations' best 379 colleges ranking #18 for campuses for which students just love their school. It is also included in the prestigious 2014 fiske guide's top 300 liberal arts colleges and deemed a best buy. Saint michael's college is rated as a top 100 liberal arts college by the u.s. News and world report and ranked 89th in catholic colleges in the northeast, and is now the fifth-best ranked among catholic liberal arts colleges in the entire nation. Factors that helped the college move from its prior year rank of 90th to 89th include an excellent graduation rate, student facult”

“Form 990, part iii, line 4b as a 100% residential college, we make living on campus just as important a learning experience as the curriculum in the classrooms. Therefore, in addition to expenses associated with on-campus dining services, auxiliary services expenses include residence hall bond interest, depreciation expense and costs related to the bookstore, printing and mailing services, special events, summer playhouse and other auxiliary programs that support our students' living and learning experience. As part of the residential experience, there are unique housing options available on campus based on common interests that students share such as great (growing recognition of the effects of alcohol on thinking) with 150 students, honors housing (51 units) and gear program housing (124 students) which provides an opportunity for u.s. Students to live with international students. Dining on campus provides the social experience essential to a well-rounded campus life.”

“Form 990, part iii, line 4c students are at the center of the college's mission. While the academic elements are foremost, supporting the students' personal development is vital as well. The offices of admissions, student life, edmundite campus ministry, wilderness program, athletics and many student clubs work to enhance students' personal growth as well as their academic success. To supplement the academic culture on campus and enrich overall quality of the college experience, a variety of weekend programs is offered to students, along with many outdoor programs such as the ski pass, cultural and artistic events through the flynn center-saint michael's college cultural pass, a variety of ministry programs, and community service opportunities through move (mobilization of volunteer efforts). Approximately 80% of students are involved in some form of intercollegiate, intramural, club, recreation, personal fitness, or wilderness program offering. Approximately 21% of saint michael's college students participate in one of the 21 varsity sports. Our student athletes have achieved a 98% academic success rate (asr); a statistic defined by the ncaa as a measurement of graduation within a 6 year cohort time period as of june 2015. Saint michael's college has again been recognized as a recipient of the division ii presidents' award for academic excellence as a member of the northeast-10 conference. Saint michael's college achieved the highest academic success rate (asr) in the conference, and ranked among the top 5 in the nation. The office of student activities strives to provide students opportunities to develop as ethical leaders and engaged citizens, and offers a wide variety of programs and activities designed to meet their needs. The college has embraced the you count program (community, ownership, unity in diversity, notice each other and take care of self and others) which fosters an inclusive and seamless learning environment that enhances engagement, awareness and personal development. Educational programs offered in the residence halls help to bring people together who might not have otherwise met, help people to better know each other, and expose individuals to new ideas and beliefs. Floor visitor's dialogue programs provide an environment conducive for faculty, staff and student dialogue about academic and community pursuits. These are a sample of the programming offered to students in the residence halls. The office of student activities assists the student government on campus as well as student clubs. Approximately 95% of the student population participates in student activities programs. The college embraces and supports students' commitment to community services reflected by the fact that 65% of our students participate in a service activity through our move program - part of edmundite campus ministry. The fundamental objective of edmundite campus ministry is to help students', faculty and staff reflect on and celebrate the spiritual direction, and prayerful reflection meals are designed to encourage everyone to step back and experience life at its deepest, most meaningful level. About 12-13% of our student population is involved in weekly or daily worship as well as attendance in these programs”

“Form 990, part iii, line 4d other program service expenses include public service and research.”

“Form 990, part vi, line 11b form 990 schedules are prepared by college personnel with guidance and review from external tax preparers who sign and file the form. Prior to filing with the internal revenue service each member of the board of trustees was provided with form 990 and all schedules, except schedule b, contribution detail, in order to respect our donor's confidentiality.”

“Form 990, part vi, line 12c the secretary of the college distributes the conflict of interest policy, questionnaire and certification annually to trustees, officers and key employees. The secretary reviews the responses and potential conflicts are brought to the trusteeship and mission committee for review and resolution. A list of interlocking boards is maintained to assist in determining if potential conflicts arise during the year. The trusteeship and mission committee submits names for board recruitment and vets any conflict issues. This committee provides information to the executive committee for consideration and nomination.”

“Form 990, part vi, line 14 the college has a high-level document retention and destruction policy and follows specific guidelines provided by the internal revenue service and relevant regulations with respect to records retention and destruction - including the provisions of vermont law (9 vsa part 3 chapter 62 subchapter 4 document safe destruction act) with respect to disposal of documents containing confidential information. Another resource utilized by the college is record retention and disposal: a manual for college decision makers guide to the applicable laws, regulations and other considerations for all areas of our business, including employment and admissions applications, payroll, student records, financial, tax and contributions records as well as federal reporting specific to the higher education industry.”

“Form 990, part vi, line 15b the executive committee of the board of trustees, excluding the college president, is responsible for establishing and maintaining a competitive compensation program for the executive officers of the college. The executive committee meets as needed to review the compensation program and make recommendations for any changes. The executive committee has the responsibility for decisions regarding compensation in all its current and potential forms for the executive officers of the college. The vice president of human resources provides independent compensation data, e.g. Nacubo, cupa, etc. And analysis to the executive committee. The executive committee meets annually, usually while the trustees are here for the march or june board meeting, to review survey data regarding compensation for the president and other officers of the college. The last meeting was june 4, 2015. The college complies with the three requirements of the rebuttable presumption standard, as outlined in the treasury regulations section 53.4958-6: (1) executive compensation is authorized by an independent committee of the board of directors, (2) the committee authorizing executive compensation obtains and relies on appropriate data as to comparability prior to making determinations, and (3) the committee adequately documents the basis for determinations concurrently with making the determinations.”

“Form 990, part vi, line 19 the college is a private organization and therefore by law, is not required to make its governing documents, conflict of interest policy or financial statements available to the public. In the interest of transparency, the college complies with requests for this information from the federal and state regulatory agencies, our accreditation agency and other entities or individuals in the ordinary course of business. The college posts the most recent three years of form 990 and 990-t on our website.”