Fisk University, struggling financially and losing students at a steady clip, lost more ground Tuesday when the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) placed Fisk on probation, a signal the agency is still worried about the viability of the school.
SACS, based in Atlanta, is the major performance standards measuring agency for colleges in the South. A ranking of probation is the lowest rating a school can get before losing recognition by the agency, a standing that could endanger a school’s eligibility for federal funding, support from many private donors and cause it to lose current and prospective students.
In taking its action on Tuesday, the SACS Commission on Colleges rejected Fisk’s most
recent report on its efforts to address concerns raised by the agency this time a year ago and again in June 2011. While continuing the school’s accreditation, the commission gave Fisk officials 12 months to address repeated concerns over the school’s financial stability, governance and financial controls.
SACS also announced major actions involving nearly a dozen other HBCUs:
1) It reaffirmed (for 10 years) the accreditation of Southern University of New Orleans, Elizabeth City State University, Alcorn A & M University and Jackson State universities in Mississippi, Claflin University in South Carolina, Morehouse College School of Medicine in Atlanta and Texas Southern University in Houston.
2) It removed Bennett College, the women’s college in South Carolina, from probation and removed Tennessee State University from warning status, giving both schools a clean bill of health.
