Oglethorpe’s accreditation still in question

Oglethorpe University remains in danger of losing accreditation after a review released this week by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

The school’s financial stability is a major area of concern, according to SACS, the main agency responsible for accrediting degree-granting institutions in eleven Southern states and Latin America.

“Some financial areas are still of concern to us,” said Belle Wheelan, president of SACS’s Commission on Colleges. “Some planning and assessment issues are of concern.”

SACS normally reviews institutions every 10 years. In its regular review last year, the agency gave Oglethorpe a year to show that it had corrected deficiencies.

The agency extended the warning and will re-examine the university next year, Wheelan said.

Oglethorpe, founded in 1835, is a 1,200-student private university in the Brookhaven area of Atlanta. Accreditation is needed for students to be eligible for federal financial aid.

Oglethorpe president Lawrence Schall could not be reached for comment Friday.

Schall said after the 2007 review that the school had cut its deficit to $1.5 million on its $20.4 million annual operating budget and expected to break even in 2008.