A regional college accrediting agency stripped a Georgia Baptist college of its accreditation after it was on probation the past year for financial failures.
For Brewton-Parker College in Mount Vernon, the ruling could mean the loss of federal financial aid.
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges handed down the ruling this month during its biannual meeting. SACS deemed that Brewton-Parker, located almost 170 miles southeast of Atlanta, failed to comply with requirements involving financial stability and controls.
The college can — and plans — to appeal the ruling before it takes effect.
Brewton-Parker’s debt is down, and enrollment and giving to the college are up, school officials said in a statement. President Ergun Caner expressed confidence that “SACS leaders will take all of these changes into account and reconsider their ruling in our appeal this August,” the statement said.
As part of the June actions, SACS also placed Paine College in Augusta on probation. The ruling against the private, historically black college is the most severe sanction that SACS can issue before revoking accreditation.
Paine, which enrolls about 950 students, failed to comply with a number of financial requirements including financial stability, control of research and external funds, as well as issues involving the campus environment.
Four related shootings occurred last month on or near the college, and a federal review of Paine’s finances found extensive problems, along with expenses that exceeded revenue by almost $300,000.
Paine is now restructuring its debt and plans to cut costs and combine some staff positions to address the financial problems, said Brandon Brown, Paine’s senior vice president of institutional advancement. To foster a safe environment, the school has hired more officers, added 24-hour surveillance and will require all students, faculty and staff to present a school identification card.
“We believe this will put us back in the position where we need to be,” Brown told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
As expected, SACS restored full accreditation to Georgia Perimeter College in metro Atlanta. SACS first sanctioned the college in 2012 for overspending and financial mismanagement that led to a $25 million shortfall.
SACS also reaffirmed the accreditation of a number of other state institutions and technical colleges, including Athens and Augusta Technical Colleges, Georgia Gwinnett College and South University in Savannah.
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