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RVC: Update on Status
By Danavir Goswami

We have received a reply from the Missouri Department of Higher Education in reference to the status of RVC [Rupanuga Vedic College] (see letter below).

Some devotees have inquired about why RVC does not provide facilities for educating and training ladies in Vedic studies or Krishna consciousness, I will respond to that question.

It is certainly not because we do not care about the spiritual lives of ladies. I have personally been very involved in helping to establish education and training programs for ladies, in particular the Bhaktin Program that I began in 1974 at New Dvaraka. Later I personally helped establish Bhaktin Programs in many other places including London (with Rohininandana Prabhu and his wife Radhapriya devi dasi), South Africa, Miami, Vancouver, Denver, Portland, Tel Aviv, Athens, Amsterdam, Villa Vrndavana, and Tampa. Today I continue to give advice to those interested in developing training and education programs for Vaisnavis.

Yet, if female students were to reside on the RVC campus, I, as the president of the college, would be responsible, to some degree, for their well-being. However as a sannyasi, I prefer not to be involved as an overseer to the lives of young ladies. Even if RVC were to delegate the responsibility of overseeing the ladies at the college to our other administrators, the other administrators are young brahmacaris, and it would be very difficult for them to execute that task peacefully or competently.

The RVC is a seminary and seminaries are historically aimed at training men for the priesthood. Additionally we consider the RVC as a forerunner to the Varnasrama College, which Srila Prabhupada indicated was for educating men students.

Despite the fact that only men reside at the RVC, many ladies do attend the Sunday feast programs, etc. at the college and are making tangible spiritual advancement. I would estimate that there are at least a dozen young ladies who are regularly attending the RVC programs, chanting Hare Krishna, reading the books and are interested in becoming devotees. When a lady does inquire about living in an ISKCON center and participating full-time in devotional service we direct them to other ISKCON centers that have developed nice training programs for ladies, such as Malati Prabhu's center in Columbus.

Your servant,
Danavir Goswami

PS. The letter below is addressed to my legal name.

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July 17, 2002

Dear Dr. Holtzman:

This is in response to your request for information concerning the status of Rupanuga Vedic College (RVC) under Missouri statutes. As the person responsible for the administration of the Department of Higher Education's postsecondary school oversight program, I am happy to provide you with the following information.

Based on the information contained in the department files, RVC continues to be an institution that is exempt from the requirements for certification to operate as described in sections 173.600 through 173.618, RSMo. Although our most recent update of material was provided in October of 2000, your assurance that material continues to be applicable would seem to reinforce continued exemption. Although we have plans to initiate a routine verification process with exempt schools, those plans are currently on hold. If you wish to confirm your status in writing, please send us a current copy of the current school catalog along with a request for verification.

As to your questions relating to "what does it mean to be exempt," I cannot provide you with definitive answers. In many respects, the meaning depends on the individual asking the question rather than the perspective of the state. I will, however, attempt to provide some additional clarification.

Based on its current status, the Department of Higher Education considers RVC to be an unaccredited college that is exempt from state oversight requirements. The department does not designate private institutions as "official" or "real" colleges. Those are conclusions the public must reach based on their review of information about the school and its programs. Exemption does not constitute recognition, approval, or recommendation of an institution or its programs of instruction. It does not constitute any official status as a particular type of college. Exemption simply establishes the school's legal basis to operate in the state (including the awarding of degrees) by determining the postsecondary education oversight statutes do not apply to the institution.

It is our hope that the relationship between the school and the Department of Higher Education is one of cooperation. It is our goal to serve as a clearinghouse for information about postsecondary education in the state. That goal is best served through clear communication and collaboration, even when a school is not subject to the operational requirements established by the department,

As an exempt institution, the religiously designated degrees conferred by RVC are legal in the state. Any conclusion concerning their legitimacy or validity (beyond the strict legal sense) is beyond the scope of the department's authority. Such determinations are usually the province of the higher education community. In general, accreditation by a recognized accrediting commission will convey more acceptance within that community that the determination of legality can provide.

Registration is not a term used by the department to describe the status of any postsecondary institution in the state. I have already described the meaning of exemption. The other categories within the authority of the department are "approved private institution" (which relates specifically to participation in state funded student financial assistance programs) and "certified to operate" (which refers to approval as a proprietary school). Both categories entail considerably more than simply "filling out a form."

You also asked about being "listed" as an exempt theological/divinity college with the department. While the exempt status of RVC is on record with this department, we do not publish a physical list of all exempt institutions.

I hope this information is helpful. If you have questions or need any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Leroy Wade
Director, Proprietary School Certification
Missouri Coordinating Board for Higher Education
Jefferson City, MO 65109

© CHAKRA 21 July 2002