The Forest, Virginia-based accreditor’s name popped up in the news again recently when Bennett College officials announced in February that the all-women’s HBCU would seek national accreditation with TRACS after a final decision by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to revoke the North Carolina college’s regional accreditation.
The issue – lingering doubts about the college’s long-term financial sustainability – is the same one that compelled Paine College in Georgia and Paul Quinn College (PQC) in Texas to apply for accreditation with TRACS when their respective accreditors decided to terminate their accreditation. Paul Quinn was granted full accreditation in 2011 and Paine is in candidacy 2 status, or pre-full accreditation.
All three schools were wise to file with TRACS in time to prevent a lapse in accreditation, which could deal a death blow to a school. Without accreditation, a school cannot receive federal student aid funds, which virtually guarantees financial insolvency and ultimately closure.
And because of how the TRACS accreditation process is structured, a school has at least another year to work on fixing the problems that made it vulnerable to loss of accreditation, says TRACS president Dr. Timothy Eaton.
“When an institution is in difficult times, it needs the loyalty of its donors and students,” he says. “If the constituencies of the institution rally to the institution, they have a really good chance of surviving and reestablishing their base lines and going forward. But if they abandon the school in difficult days, then it’s kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy.”
“It’s normal for schools to have a period of crisis,” Eaton adds. “Those that survive and ultimately thrive are looked to as leaders in the field.”
