Already reeling from a sex tape scandal with the alleged involvement of a university vice-president and a graduate student, Southern University was today announced as one of several historically black institutions to be placed or continued on accreditation warning by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools’ Commission on Colleges.
The flagship public HBCU and anchor of the nation’s only historically black system of higher education has 12 months to rectify issues with standards institutional effectiveness and student achievement, educational program structure and delivery, and excessive student complaints about the school.
Southern’s accreditation was reaffirmed by SACSCOC in 2010, and will not be the subject of a special review team formed by the accrediting agency.
Fort Valley State University was also placed on accreditation warning for a year for what officials called “failure to comply” with core requirements on student support services, financial stability, physical plant maintenance, and management of it Title IV federal program oversight duties.
Elizabeth City State University will remain on warning status for six months to rectify issues with admissions policies, and Hinds Community College in Mississippi will stay on warning through 2018 lingering issues with financial stability and institutional effectiveness.
Southern University at New Orleans was denied its request to offer its first doctorate in social work, as accrediting officials said the school failed to demonstrate a plan to financially support the advanced degree program.
Positive HBCU accreditation actions included the approval of Master of Arts in Practical Theology and Master of Divinity degrees at Hampton University, and accreditation reaffirmation for Allen University and J.F. Drake State Community and Technical College in Huntsville, AL.
Tuskegee University was also formally announced as having been removed from accreditation warning. All schools with negative accreditation actions remain fully accredited through the organization.
