Accreditation expert shares insight into way forward for St Augustine's University

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Amid big financial concerns, St. Augustine's University (SAU) lost its appeal to keep its accreditation. Now, they are trying to find ways to keep it.

SAU officials plan to go through an arbitration process and will keep their accreditation as they move through it, but a recent financial audit obtained by ABC11 shows the university cannot account for $10 million.

The report shows the university frequently disregarded processes that require authorization for wire transfers and it's unclear how that $10 million was spent during the 2021 fiscal year.

The university is also facing a $7.9 million tax lien from the IRS for unpaid taxes. SAU is facing multiple lawsuits too for not paying bills on time. In the midst of these financial concerns, many of SAU's employees are not getting paid.

Financial woes have cost other Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) their accreditation.

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We spoke with Renee Pellom who has 25 years of experience in school accreditation and is the CEO/Founder of Higher Education Accreditation Consulting. She helped with an accreditation battle involving Atlanta-based HBCU Morris Brown College.

Morris Brown lost its accreditation in 2002 after operating for more than 120 years. The college produced civil rights activists, elected leaders, famous entertainers, NFL players, and even a Pulitzer Prize winner over the years, but offering a strong education is not enough to keep accreditation.

"You can actually have an institution that's providing all the other services and have this one area of real deficiency, of real concern, and that is sufficient enough," Pollum said, "because what the agreement is between the institution and the accreditor is that we will ensure that we remain in compliance with every area of accreditation requirements."

Morris Brown faced serious financial concerns, and once they started to surface, its accreditation was revoked.

"They created students who were not in existence and got the financial aid from the department for that federal student aid and actually used that money for the needs of other parts of the institutions," Pollum told ABC11.

Two school officials faced criminal charges, and ultimately pleaded guilty to fraud.

Morris Brown eventually declared bankruptcy in 2012 and needed to pay back the millions of dollars owed to the Department of Education.

With the help of volunteers and limited enrollment, the school found a way to stay open.

"With just a few dozen students who (were) determined to be there at a school that was not accredited, who (were) determined to be there, the school for which they had no access to federal student aid, they kept the doors open the entire time," Pollum said.

The school found a way to pay the money back and restructured its administration.

"Somewhere in there, there was a shift in thinking as it related to Morris Brown," Pollum said. "To me, Morris Brown is a story about resilience."

After 20 years of cleaning up any financial issues or mismanagement, Morris Brown re-applied for their accreditation. Initially, it was accredited through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), the board under which its accreditation was revoked. When they went to re-apply, they submitted an application to the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS), a Virginia-based accreditation agency.

They were eligible to apply through TRACS solely based on the fact that they were founded through the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) church in the late 1800s. They did not have to change their mission or course offerings to be eligible.

The school's application was successful, and in 2022, Morris Brown received full accreditation again, and the ability to receive federal financial aid. Morris Brown is the first institution to receive re-accreditation after declaring bankruptcy.

"There was really incredible support in that community for this institution. And because otherwise, for all intents and purposes, there is no reason why it should be here," Pollum said.

SAU declared that they're also trying to get accredited through TRACS, stating they've already completed their orientation with the board. SAU was founded by the Episcopal church and would be theoretically eligible through this board in a similar fashion to Morris Brown.

"We're feverishly working to ensure we can get through the applicant stage to the candidacy stage," SAU Interim President Marcus Burgess said.

Pollum noted that even though the two accreditation boards are different entities, they are both recognized by the Department of Education. Their language may be different, and their requirements for accreditation might vary slightly, but the standards that need to be met are very similar. In other words, if a school does something serious enough to lose its accreditation from one board, it will likely not be successful in trying a different board without cleaning up the issues that led to accreditation revocation in the first place.

Pollum also emphasized that an educational institution does not lose its accreditation overnight.

"The school is given due process, they are required to provide documentation. There is a review process internally by the Accreditor. They have an internal mechanism, a governing board, and staff will look at this information. We'll look at all the information and documentation and evidence that there is and then more than likely continue to work with the school for whatever period of time they see necessary to try to get to the bottom line and make a good determination based on the facts," Pollum said about the process prior to revoking accreditation.

As SAU fights to keep its accreditation after it was revoked, Pollum believes Morris Brown is an example of the power of change.

"The hope is going to be that SAU is able to make the changes that they need to not just for the sake of making an accreditation agency happy, but because it's the right thing to do," Pollum said. "An institution has the potential to go from this dark place to perhaps you know a new day."

ABC11 is closely following SAU's accreditation battle and will continue to provide updates.