State pays to save Burlington College records

The state of Vermont has stepped in as caretaker of student records at the defunct Burlington College, where former students have scrambled to get copies of their transcripts.

Taxpayers are footing the bill, for now, for moving about 17 filing cabinets from Burlington to the Vermont Agency of Education office in Barre. The State Board of Education is being asked Tuesday to take another $18,000 out of the state general fund to resurrect electronic systems that contain records for recent Burlington College students.

Burlington College President Carol Moore asked the state to become temporary holder of student records in May, shortly after news broke of the college's demise.

As of Monday, however, some students seemed left in the dark about the status of their records.

Roy Mercon, who graduated from Burlington College in 2013 with a degree in photography and media, requested his student transcript as soon as he heard that the college was closing. The college cashed Mercon's payment check, which he said was about $35 or $40, but he never received the document.

"I have faith that it’s in a drawer somewhere," said Mercon, who said he would need the transcript eventually to attend graduate school.

Mercon posted about his experience on Facebook, joining a chorus of transcript angst on a public page for Burlington College students. Some encouraged one another to file a complaint with the Attorney General's Office.

People looking for Burlington College records should email the Agency of Education at aoe.temporaryrepository@vermont.gov, said agency spokeswoman Haley Dover.

The agency has used staff time and money to pay for these requests.

This summer, two state employees spent three days at Burlington College preparing student records for the move to Barre, according to a recent memo to the State Board of Education. Two other staff members dedicate "part of each work day" to organizing Burlington College records.

The $18,000 expense, if approved by the State Board of Education, would pay past-due bills and licensing fees to Burlington College's vendor for electronic student records.

State law allows the Attorney General's Office to recover the spending through a lien. Eventually the state would transfer student records to a permanent home, possibly another college.

According to the memo, state employees want legislators to change state law to "prevent this situation from occurring again."

Note: Agency of Education spokeswoman Haley Dover is a former Burlington Free Press reporter.

This story was first posted online on Aug. 22, 2016. Contact April Burbank at 802-660-1863 or aburbank@freepressmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @AprilBurbank.

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