100 signatures reached
To: Mills College
Mills Financial Transparency
We are asking Mills College to release their financial reports to the broader Mills community for the sake of total transparency.
Why is this important?
Mills College has struggled financially for years and with the Revised Financial Stabilization Plan of 2017 (https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/05/17/mills-college-declares-financial-emergency-and-plans-layoffs-and-curricular-reform) having been in effect, the Mills community deserves to know exactly how the school has benefitted (or not) in result.
We are not looking for a media team crafted response, we want to see the numbers. Mills College is a business and it cannot exist without its students, many of whom question their trust in the administration after a short time at the school.
In order to build and maintain trust, the school must be prepared to share where tuition and fees are going and why we are seeing the school deteriorate (even pre-COVID condition).
Lab equipment is broken, Arts Departments are being cut and defunded, the History department is down to one full professor, we lost our Philosophy department and plenty of majors, and accessibility on campus is nonexistent for many disabilities, the list goes on. Much of our student population lacks support in one way or another with the support of Black, Undocumented, Disabled, Indigenous, Low-Income, First-Gen, and beyond being minimal and performative. Many donors and prospective students are being lied to.
Students and recent alums are prepared to share their stories about Mills publicly. We care about the future of our school and we need to be informed as to where our money is going and who it is serving.
If the institution won't welcome and value the input and thoughts of students and alums, then what is the value of a Mills education?
The school has strong Economics professors- so why is the administration hiring outside contractors instead of listening to invested and qualified community members?
Mills needs to be honest about its struggles if they are truly so bad that the college cannot afford to fix the many issues students see daily.
Release the reports, records, whatever proves how much the school brings in and where it all goes. We're tired of wondering and while the Board of Trustees holds the Officers accountable, the students must hold the institution accountable. We see this as an opportunity of growth, transparency, and community building.
We ask signers to share this with those in your Mills networks. Please don't keep us in the dark, Mills.
We are not looking for a media team crafted response, we want to see the numbers. Mills College is a business and it cannot exist without its students, many of whom question their trust in the administration after a short time at the school.
In order to build and maintain trust, the school must be prepared to share where tuition and fees are going and why we are seeing the school deteriorate (even pre-COVID condition).
Lab equipment is broken, Arts Departments are being cut and defunded, the History department is down to one full professor, we lost our Philosophy department and plenty of majors, and accessibility on campus is nonexistent for many disabilities, the list goes on. Much of our student population lacks support in one way or another with the support of Black, Undocumented, Disabled, Indigenous, Low-Income, First-Gen, and beyond being minimal and performative. Many donors and prospective students are being lied to.
Students and recent alums are prepared to share their stories about Mills publicly. We care about the future of our school and we need to be informed as to where our money is going and who it is serving.
If the institution won't welcome and value the input and thoughts of students and alums, then what is the value of a Mills education?
The school has strong Economics professors- so why is the administration hiring outside contractors instead of listening to invested and qualified community members?
Mills needs to be honest about its struggles if they are truly so bad that the college cannot afford to fix the many issues students see daily.
Release the reports, records, whatever proves how much the school brings in and where it all goes. We're tired of wondering and while the Board of Trustees holds the Officers accountable, the students must hold the institution accountable. We see this as an opportunity of growth, transparency, and community building.
We ask signers to share this with those in your Mills networks. Please don't keep us in the dark, Mills.