Dive Temporary:
- Saint Augustine’s College introduced Thursday that its attraction to maintain its accreditation has been denied, hanging a serious blow to the struggling traditionally Black establishment.
- Officers on the North Carolina college mentioned they’re getting into a 90-day arbitration course of in one other bid to stay accredited. That will even guarantee college students graduating by Could 2025 will earn their diplomas from an accredited establishment, in keeping with the college.
- Brian Boulware, Saint Augustine’s board chair, struck an optimistic tone in Thursday’s announcement concerning the arbitration course of, saying that the college’s “strengthened monetary place and governance will guarantee a constructive consequence.”
Dive Perception:
Saint Augustine’s has been on the precipice of dropping its accreditation for over a 12 months. In 2023, the college’s accreditor — the Southern Affiliation of Faculties and Colleges Fee on Faculties — voted to terminate the college’s accreditation. Nevertheless, faculty officers efficiently contested that final 12 months by arbitration.
But in December, SACSCOC as soon as once more voted to terminate Saint Augustine’s from its membership, citing points with the college’s funds and governance. Saint Augustine’s Thursday announcement says that it misplaced its attraction of that call, however arbitration as soon as once more provides the college one other shot at retaining its accreditation.
For the reason that December vote, the college has sought to shore up its finances by widespread cuts and new sources of funding.
Nonetheless, Saint Augustine’s is grappling with steep declines in enrollment, with simply 200 college students within the 2024-25 tutorial 12 months, WRAL reported. That’s down from over 1,100 college students simply two years in the past.
In Thursday’s announcement, Saint Augustine’s officers introduced they’d secured as much as $70 million, which they described as a bridge mortgage, “at aggressive market charges and phrases” in a deal that they count on to shut later this month. College officers didn’t disclose the place the $70 million in funding is coming from, citing nondisclosure agreements.
The announcement comes after Saint Augustine’s did not get approval from the state lawyer normal’s workplace to enter a land lease take care of 50 Plus 1 Sports activities, an athletics improvement agency.
In January, the lawyer normal’s workplace mentioned the deal may put the college’s nonprofit standing in danger, arguing that the upfront lease cost of as much as $70 million was far too low for Saint Augustine’s 103-acre property. The workplace mentioned the campus had been appraised at over $198 million.
Following the choice from the lawyer normal’s workplace, the 2 events started restructuring the deal to lease lower than half of Saint Augustine’s campus to 50 Plus 1 Sports activities, INDY Week reported. Underneath the brand new phrases — which circumvent the necessity for the state workplace’s sign-off — the sports activities improvement agency would additionally share a few of its income from its use of the land with the college.
Saint Augustine’s didn’t point out 50 Plus 1 Sports activities in Thursday’s announcement.
“This funding is a game-changer,” Hadley Evans, vice chair on Saint Augustine’s board, mentioned in Thursday’s announcement. “We now have the monetary leverage to guard SAU’s legacy, improve tutorial choices, and create sustainable income streams by strategic campus improvement.”
Saint Augustine’s has additionally drastically lower its workforce amid its monetary woes. In November, the college mentioned it was reducing over 130 workers and college positions to shave $17 million from its finances.
