Unity Environmental University’s online pivot wins students but rankles alums

The success that Unity Environmental University has had in attracting new students with its hybrid model of remote and in-person education continues to rankle alumni who disagree with the online direction the school has gone.

The benefits of that evolution were recently enumerated in a piece by Inside Higher Ed. Headlined “An Online Pivot That Continues To Pay Off,” it highlighted how Unity has used its now-predominantly online model to boost enrollment and make other changes to help both students and staff, including freezing tuition while raising salaries.

“We in higher education are at a real moment to say, ‘How can we remain independent, yet relevant?’” President Melik Peter Khoury told the publication. “At Unity, we think that this is a moment for institutions from all over the country to rethink their traditions and their biases about what real education is. We can have a society that is educated, and it doesn’t have to be one that is burdened by unnecessary loans.”

But some former students remain doubtful about the new direction of their alma mater, which until recently was called Unity College after the Waldo County town where it was based for many years. Among other things, they argue that the rapid adoption of online programs has devalued their degrees and deprived current students of the hands-on environmental education that distinguished their own experiences.

While alumni have been voicing those concerns for several years, some of them recently started an online petition that seeks an outside review of the governance of the school. More than 700 individuals had signed it as of Tuesday afternoon, although it’s not clear how many of them attended Unity.

“What happened throughout your four years there was all the other stuff that has nothing to do with earning the degree,” said Tom Laskowski, president of the Unity College Maine Alumni Association — a group that’s not formally affiliated with the university.

He went on, “It was learning how to tap maple trees on the campus and make maple syrup in the spring. It was learning how to care for livestock. Many of us got EMT certified, wilderness first responder certified as a class, which is huge for employers, huge to be able to get while in school. All of these things aren’t [attainable] with an online degree unless the person goes out and seeks that on their own.”

The most noticeable shift at the university over the last decade has been away from in-person learning at its original campus in Unity — which is now for sale — to a mix of online programs and hybrid offerings in other parts of Maine. Starting this fall, the school will primarily offer in-person classes at its headquarters on Pineland Farms in New Gloucester. It will also periodically offer courses at another campus in the Jackman region.

Khoury was unavailable for an interview on Tuesday, but in a written statement, he reiterated the benefits of the hybrid model that Unity Environmental University started adopting almost a decade ago, noting that many other colleges and universities are struggling to stay afloat right now. Unity has also contended with its own financial challenges over the last decade, including declining enrollment in its residential program, steep shortfalls and dozens of layoffs and furloughs.

“Naturally, there will always be differing opinions when going through such a transformation,” Khoury said, adding that some of the petitioners’ concerns about his own leadership have been “unfounded” and “lacking in merit.”

He argued that the changes have made Unity more accessible to students from other cultural and economic backgrounds, with half of the enrolled students now the first generation in their families to pursue higher education. University officials also said that students can still get in-person experience at zoos, animal rescues, national parks and other places throughout the country.

Total enrollment has now grown from about 600 in 2012 to an expected 9,100 this fall, and the resulting revenue has allowed the university to freeze tuition rates at $470 per credit hour until the end of 2030, according to Inside Higher Ed. By fall of 2025, students from all 50 states are expected to attend.

“We will continue to strive to be affordable, flexible, and accessible to as many students as possible in the years to come,” Khoury said.

University officials also provided a quote from another alumnus who spoke favorably about the changes underway at Unity Environmental University.

“It is important to note that this petition is not the sentiment of many of Unity’s longtime alumni. Many of us realize the changes the university has made have been to ensure the future survival of Unity’s mission,” said Bob Portner, who graduated in 1973. “The world needs more Unity graduates and many of us are in full support of the recent transformation.”

Among other things, the authors of that petition expressed concern about the social and economic effects the departure of Unity could have on Waldo County. They also proposed an option for alumni to be able to request that their diploma still say “Unity College” if they graduated before it was renamed last year.

“I look forward to having a discussion with the administrators of the college and coming to agreements on some of these topics. As many as we possibly can, of course,” said Laskowski, from the Unity College Maine Alumni Association. “I think that is the right direction forward.”