After seven years, Associate Vice President of Community Relations, Tyler Rumsey, has resigned to return to Pennsylvania

Tyler Rumsey, Associate Vice President of Community Relations at Yavapai Community College, has resigned after seven years with the institution.

Rumsey initially joined the College as Director of Marketing and was later promoted to Associate Vice President of Community Relations. He is returning to Pennsylvania to be closer to friends and family and to pursue a new career opportunity.

His departure comes amid a notable series of leadership changes at the College. Vice President Dr. Diane Ryan resigned in June 2023 and was subsequently replaced by Dr. Douglas Berry, who now serves as Provost. In July 2023, nationally recognized innovator Kimberly Moore was appointed to lead the newly established Division of Workforce and Innovation as Chief Workforce Innovation Officer. She left the position in January 2024 after seven months; it remains unclear whether a successor has been appointed.

Additionally, the College has experienced turnover in approximately half a dozen coaching and athletic administrative positions since 2023. On the Verde Valley Campus, Michael Pierce, Director of the Enology and Viticulture Program, resigned in January 2025 and was recently succeeded by Ryan Avery. Linda Shook, Associate Dean for the Sedona Center and Director of the Osher Lifelong Learning Program, retired in February 2025.

In a stunningly brutal political  move shrouded in secrecy, Yavapai College’s president unilaterally shutters Sedona Culinary Institute, bypassing local leaders and the public

The news of the Sedona Culinary Institute’s demise surfaced in May thanks to an exclusive report by Sedona Red Rock News journalist Tim Perry. In an article in that paper, Mr. Perry  publicly revealed that an internal Yavapai Community College memo he obtained dated April 28, 2025, contained the news of the  closure.

As word of the decision gradually seeped into the community, Sedona and Verde Valley residents reacted with widespread shock and disappointment.

Residents may recall that the Culinary Institute was established in 2017 after the College stumbled headlong into failure trying to continue the acclaimed Zaki Gordon Sedona Film School, once a beacon of local creativity and national fame. The Culinary Institute, billed as a long-term investment in local and regional culinary education, was built with significant community input and at a taxpayer cost ranging from $3 to $5 million—depending on who you ask.

Last year, however, Yavapai Community College struck a deal with Prescott High School to construct a new culinary training facility on the Prescott campus. This decision set the stage to pull the rug out from under the future of the Sedona Culinary Institute. Now ready for the fall, the Prescott facility effectively siphoned off the Sedona Culinary Institute’s classes and resources — sending them to the new Prescott facility.

According to the internal memo obtained by Sedona Red Rock News, the College stated:

“The College is relocating the academic culinary program to the Prescott campus for the fall term. Sedona School of Culinary is closed. Recreational cooking classes will no longer be offered. If the public wishes to pursue further information, they should contact John Morgan, Career and Technical Education Dean, and Irina Del Genio, Clarkdale Campus Dean.”

The lack of transparency surrounding this decision has sparked sharp criticism. In a Sedona Redrock News Facebook post, Third District Representative Payne voiced his disbelief at the abrupt closure:

“The Board has not had any presentation or discussion on this. There has not been any presentation or discussion on the possibility of selling the Sedona Center or shutting down the facility. My understanding is that $5 million of taxpayers’ money was spent to create the culinary kitchens at this facility.”

Fourth District Governing Board Representative William Kiel echoed Payne’s frustration in an interview with Sedona Red Rock News:

“I don’t recall that being on any agenda. I don’t know who made the decision. I don’t feel that the people on the other side of the mountain are getting adequate fairness in how much money we spend there versus how much we spend on this side of the mountain.”

At the May 27, 2025, District Governing Board meeting, Dr. Rhine defended her cloak-and-dagger handling of the decision, painting it as a routine closure of low-enrollment classes—an action she claimed fell squarely within her authority, no matter how much the community had invested in the facility. According to her, she had no obligation to discuss the matter with anyone.

It is noteworthy that she also tried to deflect some of the responsibility for the closing by pointing to the Valley Academy for Career and Technology’s decision to discontinue its culinary offerings.

In response to inquiries, a college spokesperson issued a brief statement via email to Sedona Red Rock News on May 14, asserting that Yavapai Community College “is not exploring selling the Sedona Center” and vaguely promising that “new programs that will fit the culture of Sedona” would be introduced at some unspecified future date.

It is anticipated that the College will attempt to paper over its development debacle by installing a patchwork of exercise classes and, for now, keeping the Osher Lifelong Learning program limping along at the Sedona Center.

Lockdown lifted and all clear given at 11:00 a.m.  Monday, May 19

A lockdown affecting all Yavapai College campuses was lifted late Monday morning following an early morning threat made by phone. According to various news reports, at approximately 4:15 a.m., a caller claimed to be inside a Yavapai College classroom with a firearm, prompting a rapid response from multiple law enforcement agencies and the immediate lockdown of all college locations.

Authorities conducted thorough searches of each of the college’s seven sites, including those in Prescott, Prescott Valley, Chino Valley, Clarkdale, Prescott Pines, and Sedona. While students, employees, and the public were instructed to avoid the campuses, no threat was ultimately found, and the all-clear was issued around 11 a.m. Despite this, college officials decided to keep all campuses closed for the remainder of the day as a precaution.

In a statement, a Yavapai College spokesperson expressed gratitude to the community for their patience and to law enforcement for their swift and coordinated response. The college emphasized its commitment to safety and praised the continued collaboration with first responders in protecting students, staff, and the public.

Eye on Yavapai College
Copyright © 2025 All Rights Reserved

 Statement from Yavapai College

Around 4:15 a.m. today, all Yavapai College campuses and centers were placed on lockdown due to a threat received by phone of an individual claiming to be in a Yavapai College classroom with a firearm. Multiple Yavapai County law enforcement agencies, along with Yavapai College Campus Safety, responded and thoroughly cleared all seven college locations, which include Prescott, Clarkdale, Prescott Valley, Chino Valley, the Career and Technical Education Center, Sedona, and Prescott Pines. The threat was found to be unsubstantiated, and there were no injuries.

The investigation is still ongoing.

We appreciate your patience and understanding as our first responders worked to ensure everyone’s safety, and we thank our law enforcement agencies for their coordinated efforts and quick and efficient response.

Thank you to the law enforcement agencies for their continued collaboration in keeping our employees, students, and community members safe.

Use stolen or fake identities to enroll in classes to pocket financial aid dollars

Colleges across the country are increasingly being targeted by fraudsters who use stolen or fake identities to enroll in classes and collect financial aid. For example, at Century College in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, officials estimate that as many as 15% of students in one class were part of what has been described as “an organized crime ring” exploiting this scheme.

According to a report by Erin Adler in the Minnesota Star Tribune (April 12, 2025), investigators found that most of the fraudsters reside in other countries. They typically enroll in online, asynchronous courses—those that allow students to access content at any time—primarily at two-year colleges, with no intention of learning or completing a degree.

“They try to make it through the early days of a course without being found out, doing the bare minimum in classwork until financial aid money is disbursed, usually about 10 days into the semester,” officials explained.

If the fraudsters remain enrolled by the second week, they receive loan disbursements, leaving the college—and ultimately taxpayers—responsible for repayment. In cases where a stolen identity is used, it is possible that the burden may fall on the unsuspecting victim. 

Students involved in the scheme may drop the class after receiving financial aid or remain enrolled, ultimately failing. They often continue registering for additional classes under the same name or identity until they are suspended or otherwise removed.

In one notable case, fraudsters targeted the College of Southern Nevada (CSN), leaving the institution responsible for millions in losses. The perpetrators enrolled as transfer students, a group subject to less rigorous vetting than first-time enrollees. Once classes began, instructors reported full rosters but empty classrooms. An external audit revealed that CSN incurred a $7.43 million debt related to the “ghost students” scheme, including tuition, fees, and institutional write-offs. Additionally, CSN was required to repay the U.S. Department of Education for federal loans disbursed to the fraudulent students.

The ghost student epidemic has affected numerous colleges across the country. Notable examples include:

Prince George’s Community College, Maryland: In 2024, fraudsters submitted 80 fake applications in a single day—averaging one every seven minutes over the course of several hours. A college representative claimed that such fraudulent applications have become a routine challenge.

Pierce College, California: After identifying and removing ghost students from its enrollment rolls, the college saw a 36% decline in reported enrollment, dropping from 7,658 to 4,937 students. Fraudulent enrollments can artificially inflate student counts, disrupting resource allocation and course availability. Detecting and removing these cases often requires labor-intensive manual reviews.

Iowa Western Community College: Faculty members noticed suspicious student behavior, prompting an investigation that ultimately led to the detection and prevention of 109 fraudulent enrollments aimed at exploiting the financial aid system.

In January 2024, a spokesperson for the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office reported that approximately 25% of college applications were fraudulent—up from 20% in 2021.

As the threat continues to grow, many institutions are implementing new measures to combat fraud. Here are a few recommended strategies:

Require identity verification

Online identity verification tools can quickly collect and analyze identifying information from applicants. Combining a government ID verification with a selfie is a commonly used approach for fighting fraud. 

• Government ID verification: Applicants upload a picture of an approved government-issued ID, such as an identification card, driver’s license, or passport. The IDV tool analyzes the image for signs of authenticity, editing, and document tampering. It also extracts data from the ID that will be used for verification. 
• Selfie verification: With selfie identity verification, the applicant takes and uploads selfies or a short video and their face is compared to the image on the government ID. In the age of AI-generated selfies, liveness detection and advanced analysis are crucial for verifying the selfie is genuine. 

Passive database checks can also be performed in the background to verify information from the government ID without adding friction. Schools may also automatically run checks against internal databases to look for duplicate information or other red flags. 

Monitor passive and behavioral risk signals

Various types of passive signals, monitoring, and reports can help you uncover fraudulent applicants and ghost students without asking for more information or interfering with an application.

• Passive signals: Information from the applicant’s device or browser can help you uncover suspicious data points or patterns. These might include whether they’re using a VPN, their device’s IP address, location, and time zone, and if they are all out of sync with each other and not close to the address extracted from a driver’s license.
• Behavioral signals: Monitor how someone interacts with your application — whether they copy and paste information, use autofill, appear distracted, or use their mouse or keyboard in an unusual way. 
• Email risk reports: An email risk report can tell you when the email was first seen, most recently seen, whether it’s from a temporary mail service, when the domain was created, how active it is, and other information related to the potential risk associated with the email address. The results may be summarized with a risk score or recommendation. 
• Phone risk reports: Similarly, phone risk reports help you understand the risk associated with a phone number based on factors like the phone type, carrier, recent usage, and whether the number or SIM card was recently moved. 

These signals and reports can help you determine whether you should approve an application, deny it outright, request additional identification, or have someone manually review it. 

Top Workplaces’ award recognizes more than 1,500 organizations with 150 or more employees that have created exceptional, people-first cultures

Yavapai Community College President Dr. Lisa Rhine informed the District Governing Board at its March meeting that the College had been named on of USA Today’s “Top Workplaces.”  In a March 26 news release, the College explained  that  “The ‘Top Workplaces’ award recognizes more than 1,500 organizations with 150 or more employees that have created exceptional, people-first cultures. About 40,000 organizations were invited to participate.”

Winners are recognized for their commitment to fostering a workplace environment that values employee listening and engagement. Yavapai College was cited as an outstanding workplace among institutions with 500-999 employees.”

Dr. Rhine, in commenting on the award, said: “It is an honor to be recognized as a top workplace in the U.S. Our employees are the engine that powers what we do, and it is incredibly important that we build a culture that supports them. I am so proud of YC.”

Top Workplaces are determined by administering an employee engagement survey through Energage. Energage surveys employees at thousands of companies worldwide. The employee survey feedback is the sole criterion in determining the Top Workplaces. A full list of 2025 winners can be seen at:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2025/03/20/best-places-to-work-2025-survey/77718021007/

The “Top Workplaces of 2025” citation comes a year after Yavapai College was named one of 2024’s “Top Workplaces in Arizona” by AZCentral, USA Today Network, and LocalIQ.

Sources:  YCC District Governing Board meeting March 26, 2025; YCC press release authored by Michael Grady dated March 26, 2025.

This seems to reflect a typical authoritarian perspective, marked by a profound distrust in the integrity of Governing Board members and the imposition of a free speech barrier throughout its campuses and centers

It may have shocked some to learn that Yavapai Community College President Dr. Lisa Rhine has issued a chilling directive to staff, instructing them to never discuss college or community matters with a member of the District Governing Board. According to Dr. Rhine, even an innocent conversation with a Board member could lead to disciplinary action if it touches on something she considers and defines as “college operations.”

Dr. Rhine revealed this authoritarian edict while supporting a provision in a District Governing Board policy resolution drafted by former college president and consultant Dr. David Borofsky. The resolution, which was under discussion, included a clause that was eventually approved in a 4-1 vote. The provision states: “Under no circumstances should an individual Board member direct or contact by any means, a staff member concerning a college or community issue.”

This poorly drafted provision effectively limits a Board member’s ability to seek information from any college source other than the president. The restriction, in the Blog’s view, clearly undermines the role of Board members, who are elected officials entrusted with representing the taxpayers of Yavapai County. It also reflects a profound distrust of the integrity of Board members.

Below is a video clip of Dr. Rhine’s comments, delivered to the Board at its November 21 meeting on the Prescott Campus.