Dive Brief:
- Saint Augustine’s University is once again facing a potential loss of accreditation after the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges voted Sunday to withdraw the university’s membership.
- The accreditor’s decision was based on noncompliance with standards around finance, governance, and federal and state responsibilities. In a Tuesday press release, the private nonprofit, in North Carolina, said it plans to appeal the decision and will have the opportunity to submit additional financial information in February.
- Saint Augustine’s President Marcus Burgess said in a statement that SACSCOC could only consider information from before Nov. 18. He added that “Saint Augustine’s University has made significant progress even since that date,” including a letter of intent to lease land to a sports firm for what the university hopes will be $70 million in funds.
Dive Insight:
The accreditor’s decision caps a tumultuous year for Saint Augustine’s. This summer, the historically Black university successfully contested a December 2023 vote by SACSCOC to remove its accreditation. Now, it will once again have to go through an appeals process.
In between, it delayed the beginning of its fall semester to address damage wrought by Tropical Storm Debby’s path through North Carolina.
And in late November, Saint Augustine’s said it was cutting half its workforce — 67 staff positions and 69 faculty positions — and several programs to shore up its finances with $17 million in savings.
The university at the time sounded an optimistic note.
“By addressing our challenges head-on, we are not just complying with accreditation standards; we are laying the groundwork for a resilient institution that prioritizes the needs of our community,” Mark Yates, the university’s chief operating officer, said in a Nov. 23 statement.
The loss of its accreditation would likely be devastating for Saint Augustine’s, making it ineligible for federal Title IV financial aid funds. Accreditation losses have often forced other colleges to close.
With the latest blow from SACSCOC, university leaders again tried to put a positive spin to the development.
“While this may seem like a disappointing decision, we view this as an encouraging outcome that acknowledges our progress, and we are excited about the opportunity the Appeal affords us,” Burgess said in a statement this week. The university’s president pointed to the $70 million deal with 50 Plus 1 Sports.
In recent weeks, Saint Augustine’s has also instituted new oversight and strategic financial management processes to make it more sustainable.
The university issued a call for support from alumni and community members, saying that “time, expertise, and resources will play a vital role in ensuring the university’s success.”
On top of the university’s struggles over finances and accreditation, the chair of its board of trustees, Brian Boulware, has reportedly come under investigation by state authorities amid allegations he took a finder’s fee on a $7 million loan to the college. The specifics of the state investigation haven’t been disclosed. An independent forensic audit released in the fall turned up no evidence of wrongdoing on Boulware’s part going back to July 2021 and found that the university did not pay him a finder’s or brokerage fee.
The allegations stemmed from a lawsuit filed by a group of alumni, former administrators and other stakeholders called SaveSAU Coalition, which sought to remove the university’s board. A judge dismissed the lawsuit in late November.