Troubled Barber-Scotia loses its accreditation

Troubled Barber-Scotia loses its accreditation Change could devastate the already financially strapped institution RONNIE GLASSBERG Staff Writer CONCORD - Three days after announcing its new president, Barber-Scotia College received word Thursday that it had lost its accreditation, placing the future of the 138-year-old school in question. The news is a blow to the historically black college, which was already struggling financially: Ninety percent of its students receive federal financial tuition aid or grants, and without accreditation, they will no longer be eligible for that assistance. Student tuition accounts for 60 percent of the college's $14 million annual budget, college officials said. Anticipating a reduced enrollment, college officials said they plan to cut a yet-undetermined amount of staff. While the college can continue to operate, its degrees won't be accredited. "This is devastating for the college," said former Charlotte City Council member Ella Scarborough, who chairs the college board of trustees. "On the other hand, we feel we need to roll our sleeves up and start anew." The loss of accreditation resulted from failure to provide accurate information to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the regional accrediting agency, said incoming president Gloria Bromell-Tinubu, who takes office July 1. She cited the college's awarding of degrees to nearly 30 students who SACS determined hadn't met proper requirements. Bromell-Tinubu insisted that the college would continue to operate. She said the college plans to raise money to help support students who would lose aid, but she didn't yet have specifics. "We are committed to correcting and righting conditions that brought this decision from SACS," Bromell-Tinubu said Thursday. "We will move aggressively to pursue reaccredidation through SACS." It's not clear how long that would take. Bromell-Tinubu comes to Barber-Scotia from Spelman College in Atlanta, where she was an associate professor of economics. "This is baptism by fire," she said. Last fall, 742 students were enrolled at Cabarrus County's only four-year college. The college employs 26 full-time and six part-time faculty members and 48 staff members. Barber-Scotia was founded by the Presbyterian Church in 1867 as a seminary for daughters of former slaves. Now, it's a four-year coed college, but it has suffered major setbacks. SACS put the school on 12-month warning status in December, citing problems with financial resources and institutional effectiveness. In February, President Sammie Potts resigned. Last week, the college said it had delayed part of employees' pay, and the state is investigating a wage-related complaint from an employee. The college owes the city $75,943.05 for past utility bills. The city has agreed to extend those bills July 6, but after that, the college's campus could go dark. "Up until now the issue has been financing," Concord Mayor Scott Padgett said Thursday. "Now we're talking about credibility." Earlier this year, the Cabarrus County commissioners raised the possibility Barber-Scotia might fail and mentioned it as a future public school campus. "I actually hope it doesn't get to that point," said Cabarrus County commissioners' Chairman Robert Freeman, a Barber-Scotia trustee and 1976 graduate. "There would be a lot of sad faces here." **********************************************

Yet another HBCU bites the dust... HBCU's are getting into more and more financial trouble. :? :?

Man this really isn't good news for not only this HBCU but for all HBCU's. I already have to combat the uneducated comments, from people who don't believe in HBCU's, that all of them are in financial trouble and are losing accreditation. This just fans that flame. We really have to form a bond as HBCU's and save each other from this bleak destiny

the only solution that I have, that may be one of the best solutions, is for HBCU's to create ways to become INDEPENDANT, and when i say independant, I mean to create ways where they can survive if the Federal gov't decides one day not to give HBCU's money....Even schools like Howard, that get like 250+ million from the government....If for some reason the govt needs to scrap money and decides to cut HUs funding, the school would be in trouble. Students who graduate need to realize how important it is for them to give back to their university. Not only students, but blacks as a whole need to contribute to their OWN education of their OWN people. Until then, the fate of HBCU's will always be in trouble.