In the complaint, many allegations are brought up, including failure to pay employees, assigning unqualified people to teach courses and hostile response to employee inquiries.<\/p>\n
The document itself brings up a dozen violations in total.<\/p>\n
Along with a formal review, the group asks the commission to conduct an independent financial and operational audit of the university. <\/p>\n
The former and current employees say they plan to pursue class action litigation due to the alleged violations. <\/p>\n
OCU President Dr. Ron Dempsey has not responded to multiple interview requests.<\/p>\n
You can find the full complaint below. <\/p>\n
The following current violations are respectfully brought to the Commission\u2019s attention:<\/p>\n
1. FAILURE TO PAY FACULTY AND STAFF (Criterion 5: Resources, Planning, and Institutional Effectiveness)<\/p>\n
OCU has not paid staff or faculty any wages since April 24, 2026, and has separately failed to pay any faculty or adjunct instructors for courses taught during the current summer term. An institution unable to meet basic payroll obligations while continuing to enroll students and collect tuition raises direct and immediate concerns under Criterion 5.A (institutional resources) and 5.B (institutional planning and improvement processes).<\/p>\n
2. LAPSE OF EMPLOYEE LIFE INSURANCE AND AD&D COVERAGE (Criterion 5)<\/p>\n
The University\u2019s carrier for Life Insurance and Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) coverage, Guardian, has confirmed that this coverage for OCU employees lapsed effective May 1, 2026, due to the University\u2019s failure to remit premium payments. As of July 13th, the date of this email, employees have not been formally notified of this by the OCU administration. Coupled with the payroll failures described above, this reflects an institution that is presently unable to meet baseline obligations to its personnel, directly implicating Criterion 5\u2019s resource-sufficiency requirements.<\/p>\n
3. UNILATERAL RECLASSIFICATION OF EMPLOYEES TO CONTRACTOR STATUS (Criterion 2: Integrity)<\/p>\n
OCU has converted a number of previously salaried employees to independent contractor status while those individuals continue performing the same functions. This pattern of workforce restructuring, undertaken without a transparent process, raises concerns under Criterion 2.C regarding the integrity of the University\u2019s governance and administrative practices.<\/p>\n
4. FAILURE TO CONDUCT REQUIRED PROGRAM REVIEWS (Criterion 4: Teaching and Learning: Evaluation and Improvement)<\/p>\n
OCU has not conducted program reviews for its academic programs since its last comprehensive evaluation. Given that program review is a recurring area the Commission has previously flagged for this institution, the continued absence of any program review activity represents an unresolved and worsening deficiency under Criterion 4.<\/p>\n
5. ASSIGNMENT OF UNQUALIFIED, UNCREDENTIALED INDIVIDUALS TO TEACH COURSES (Criterion 3.C: Qualified Faculty)<\/p>\n
OCU has assigned individuals to teach courses of record who do not meet the University\u2019s own stated minimum qualifications for those positions. This directly implicates Criterion 3.C, which requires the institution to employ and effectively deploy faculty who are qualified by credentials and\/or experience for the courses they teach.<\/p>\n
6. USE OF A WARN ACT NOTICE TO CIRCUMVENT CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS TO FACULTY<\/p>\n
OCU issued a WARN Act notice on April 1, 2026, in a manner and timeframe that allowed it to avoid its normal cycle of issuing faculty contracts, effectively substituting a workforce-wide notice for individualized, good-faith personnel decisions. This raises further concerns about the institution\u2019s governance integrity under Criterion 2.<\/p>\n
7. FAILURE TO PAY VENDORS, CONTRACTORS, AND SERVICE PROVIDERS (Criterion 5)<\/p>\n
OCU has stopped paying some or all vendors and contractors responsible for IT services, facilities maintenance, food service, and utilities. Nonpayment in these areas threatens the operational continuity and physical safety of the campus environment for any remaining students and staff and represents a further, concrete indicator that the institution lacks the resources required under Criterion 5 to sustain its operations.<\/p>\n
8. ABSENCE OF A REQUIRED TEACH-OUT PLAN FOR DISPLACED STUDENTS AT THE OUTSET OF THE CLOSURE PROCESS (Criterion 5.D; 34 C.F.R. 668.14(b)(31); 34 C.F.R. 602.24)<\/p>\n
At the outset of OCU\u2019s suspension of its traditional undergraduate programs, the University provided extremely limited guidance to affected students on how, or whether, they could complete their programs of study. No approved teach-out plan or teach-out agreement was communicated to students during this period. Both HLC policy under Criterion 5.D and U.S. Department of Education regulations governing institutional eligibility require an approved teach-out arrangement before an institution ceases to provide instruction in an eligible program. The absence of any such plan at the time enrolled students needed it most left them without a clear path to complete their education and represents a direct, specific compliance failure.<\/p>\n
9. WEEKS-LONG GAP BEFORE STUDENTS COULD ACCESS TRANSCRIPTS AND ACADEMIC RECORDS (Criterion 3: Teaching and Learning, Quality, Resources, and Support)<\/p>\n
Following the initial disruption, students went a few weeks without any ability to obtain transcripts or academic records from the University, and without clear communication from OCU about when or how that access would be restored. OCU has since started processing requested transcripts, but the extended gap during which students had no access to their own academic records, at precisely the time many needed those records to transfer or continue their education elsewhere, reflects a fundamental student support service failure and raises serious concerns under Criterion 3\u2019s requirements for adequate student support services.<\/p>\n
10. HOSTILE RESPONSE TO EMPLOYEE INQUIRIES IN INSTITUTIONAL GOVERNANCE (Criterion 2: Integrity)<\/p>\n
At least once during an open staff meeting, the University\u2019s President responded to a good-faith question from an employee about the institution\u2019s situation by raising his voice at the employee. Conduct of this kind risks discouraging employees from raising legitimate concerns about the institution\u2019s operations and financial condition and reflects further on the openness and integrity of institutional governance under Criterion 2.<\/p>\n
11. PENDING AND FILED LITIGATION EVIDENCING A PATTERN OF MISCONDUCT<\/p>\n
The violations above are corroborated by litigation already filed against the University:<\/p>\n
Wilder v. Oakland City University, Gibson Superior Court, Cause No. 26D01-2606-PL-001192 (filed June 8, 2026), alleging violation of the Indiana Wage Payment Statute for failure to pay wages for at least three weeks and failure to reimburse business expenses.Price v. Oakland City University, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana (filed June 1, 2026), is a putative class and FLSA collective action alleging the University failed to pay employees for weeks of work performed between approximately April 27 and June 1, 2026.Douglas v. Oakland City University, Warrick Superior Court, Cause No. 87C01-2604-CT-761 (filed April 17, 2026), alleging that the University improperly accessed and seized control of a plaintiff\u2019s personal online account and license without authorization, asserting claims including conversion and computer trespass.<\/p>\n
Taken together, these filings substantiate the pattern described in this complaint and demonstrate that OCU\u2019s noncompliance extends well beyond a single department or incident.<\/p>\n
12. AVAILABILITY OF ADDITIONAL SUPPORTING EVIDENCE<\/p>\n
Members of this group possess substantial additional documentary and testimonial evidence relevant to the Commission\u2019s review, including material concerning Board of Trustees proceedings and minutes, institutional communications involving senior administration, and financial records. This evidence can be made available to the Commission upon appropriate request through proper legal channels, subject to review by counsel regarding applicable confidentiality, privacy, and whistleblower-protection considerations.<\/p>\n
REQUESTED ACTION AND TIMELINE<\/p>\n
We respectfully request that the Commission:<\/p>\n
Acknowledge receipt of this complaint in writing within twenty-four (24) hours; andWithin five (5) business days of receipt, confirm that it is opening or escalating a formal review of OCU\u2019s status, up to and including Show Cause proceedings, and that it will require OCU to provide an immediate accounting of its financial condition, payroll status, employee benefits status, and faculty credentialing practices to affected employees and to the Commission.<\/p>\n
We further request that the Commission require an independent financial and operational audit of OCU as part of this review. Given the scope of the payroll failures, the benefits lapse, the vendor nonpayment, and the workforce reclassification described above, an independent audit is likely to surface information material to the Commission\u2019s assessment of OCU\u2019s ongoing compliance with Criterion 5, and we ask that the Commission treat that audit as a priority component of any resulting review.<\/p>\n
Please be advised that, separate from this complaint, the undersigned group intends to pursue class action litigation regarding the harms described above. To the extent the Commission\u2019s oversight of OCU is found to have been deficient in light of the institution\u2019s documented history of monitoring and recurring non-compliance, we reserve all rights to include the Commission\u2019s role in that oversight as part of any such action. This letter does not waive and expressly reserves all rights and remedies available.<\/p>\n
Sincerely,<\/p>\n
A Group of Current and Former Faculty and Staff of Oakland City University<\/p>\n
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