Regional panel gives B-CU probation
A regional oversight commission placed Bethune-Cookman University on probation Thursday — a measure that if not corrected could cause the school to lose its accreditation, threatening students’ ability to qualify for federal loans and jeopardizing the course credits they earn moving forward.
B-CU interim President Hubert Grimes — whose school has lost $28 million over a two-year period and seen its nursing college put on probation by the state — blamed the media and a high number of lawsuits for the sanction.
(One of the lawsuits was filed by B-CU itself against former president Edison O. Jackson and other former top administrators, alleging fraud and bribery in a $306 million dorm deal.)
But neither media coverage nor pending litigation factor into decisions made by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, said Pamela Cravey, the commission’s communications coordinator.
“We don’t do media searches on an institution,” she said. “I would like to say the media shouldn’t have any bearing on the final decision. It’s the documentation that the institution presents.”
B-CU officials said they were waiting for an official letter from the commission before commenting. Michelle Carter Scott, the chair of B-CU’s board of trustees, also would not comment.
The SACSCOC board placed B-CU on probation for failure to comply with accreditation standards in the following areas: integrity; governing board characteristics; financial resources; financial responsibility; and control of finances.
The probation was unsettling news for a B-CU alumni group that’s been calling for changes on the school’s board of trustees and for more disclosure on its finances.
“When you don’t have integrity, really it cuts to the core and the substance of the university,” said Sheila Flemming-Hunter, a 1971 B-CU alum, former dean of its school of social sciences and co-chair of the Concerned Constituents Committee for B-CU. “I knew that there were financial issues, but I just assumed that any integrity issues might have gone with the past administration, but obviously that is not the case.”
Cravey could not go into the specifics behind B-CU’s failure to comply in the given areas because the commission’s board is traveling and will need time to write a full report. A final version is expected next week.
Accreditation is important because it assures the quality of an institution, she said.
If B-CU were to fail to regain accreditation, the credits its students earn in the future may not count if they try to transfer to other schools.
Students may have difficulty getting into graduate schools or pursuing careers in fields that require a license, such as teaching.
Also, students who attend a school that is not regionally accredited can find it difficult to qualify for federal financial aid, Cravey said.
B-CU’s probation will last one year, at which point the commission’s board will meet again to review if the university is in compliance. If B-CU does not show satisfactory progress by that time, the probation could continue or the school could lose its accreditation, she said.
Cravey said the commission wants to see schools remain successful and that its goal was not to be punitive or adversarial toward schools that may be struggling.
The commission’s sanction follows the Florida Board of Nursing’s January decision to place B-CU’s nursing program on probation after nearly half of its students failed the national licensing exam to become registered nurses in 2017.
In April, the credit agency Fitch Ratings issued a rating watch warning people about investing in B-CU, in part because of its costly legal battles. It was the second time B-CU had been hit with a negative rating watch in two years.
In addition, tax filings show B-CU outspent its revenues by nearly $10 million in 2016-17, the most recent filing. The previous year, the school had an $18 million loss.