On March 16, as the COVID 19 lockdown began, and without prior notice to DIME Directors or senior management, Metropolitan State University of Denver unilaterally announced by email to all DIME students and faculty that they were ending the MSU Denver at DIME partnership agreement. Consequently, DIME has been forced to close its physical music education colleges DIME Detroit and DIME Denver.
On that same day, all DIME students also received a second notice from MSU Denver claiming that their music department could teach-out the current students at both campus’s without DIME and DIME’s Music and Music Business curriculum, despite their own curriculum being that of a standard classical music department. MSU Denver voluntarily breached the partnership agreement by not adhering to the 360 day notice period of termination, that would allow DIME to find another partner or partners, and would enable DIME to continue to recruit and educate students for Fall 2020 and Spring 2021.
To protect the current students studying in the Commercial Songwriting, Commercial Music Performance and Music Industry Studies Bachelor of Arts in Music programs, DIME Directors and their team of litigators and investors have spent the past 9 weeks trying to negotiate with MSU Denver.
It is with great sadness that we received confirmation on June 1, 2020, of MSU Denver’s decision to reject DIME's proposal to teach-out the remaining students together, that confirmed their unwillingness to adhere to the Partnership Agreement. No reason was given. DIME’s students have been left with uncertainty in both cities on how they will continue with their modern music degrees. Modern music and music business degrees that these students have chosen based on DIME’s innovative approach to music education, an education that has allowed DIME to be recognized twice as one of Billboard’s Top 20 Music Schools in America (2019 and 2020).
The original partnership deal was signed in 2015 by DIME Founders Kevin Nixon and Sarah Clayman, and former MSU Denver President Steve Jordan and former Vice-President Steve Kreidler, who spent time at DIME Detroit, and saw for themselves, the students talent and desire to learn, as well as the high-quality of teaching from the faculty. 2017 saw a leadership change at MSU Denver, the in-coming President Janine Davidson appeared to be a supporter of the partnership, but twice planned visits to DIME Detroit in 2019, and yet both of those visits were subsequently cancelled. A partnership ending without our ‘partner’ having seen first-hand the incredible work and excitement coming from our students.
DIME Online and Original 1265 Recordings are unaffected by any of the above.
