St. Augustine's financial trouble creates lingering issues for former student

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Ahead of a major meeting on the future of its accreditation, St Augustine's University (SAU) made some major cuts to staffing.

The Raleigh HBCU already announced it had taken out a $7 million loan at a high interest rate toward its debts, and this weekend, it also said it would be cutting 50 percent of its staff, including both full-time and adjunct professors and faculty.

It's bittersweet news for one former student who staked her academic future on SAU, only to be forced to leave the school she saw as a big opportunity.

Earlier this year, ABC11 spoke with Samaria Simpson. She was the valedictorian of her high school in Fresno, California, and chose to move across the country to attend SAU because she was offered a full-ride scholarship. She turned down offers from prestigious schools like UC Berkeley and Howard University.

Once Simpson arrived though, she saw the writing on the wall amid the ongoing issues with the school, and ultimately had to leave after one semester and start over back in California.

"I'm still resentful because I really could have went to UC Berkeley on an almost full-ride scholarship. I could have gone to Howard with many scholarships. I had so many other opportunities that I could have utilized," Simpson said.

RELATED: St. Augustine's says it will eliminate 50% of university employees ahead of accreditation meeting

She's still determined to succeed - She's doing well in her first semester at Fresno City College and is later hoping to transfer and study physical therapy. She said the ongoing issues at SAU made her realize she made the right decision to leave while she could still try and salvage her academic career.

"I had some professors tell me, oh, well, just stay, or I had some even the higher-ups tell me we'll be fine," she said. "But being from California, being from...a whole separate coast, it was scary for me. So I was just wanting to do what was best in my interest," Simpson said.

But even now, she's still had issues trying to get her full money back and getting some of her credits transferred from her time in North Carolina.

Now both Samaria and her mom are hoping to use their experience to warn others.

"I believe that school needs to just shut down. You are already failing these children. You failed mine. She has wasted time, money, money that she can't get back. Time that she can't get back. You're doing this not only to her but to all of the students that are there. And to try to get more students enrolled knowing that they are going to be failed, that's a disservice," said Simpson's mom Kenya Combs.

The university said despite its financial issues, it recruited 700 students for the Fall 2025 semester.