Big news from Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges’ annual meeting in Atlanta last week: the Florida A&M University is no longer on probation. The accrediting board voted last Tuesday to lift the school’s probation, which was put in place in the wake of last year’s hazing scandal. The accrediting board also found issues with some of the school’s financial and admissions practices. School officials said last week that all areas of the school had been working to fix the problems. “We are extremely pleased with the decision by SACSCOC to remove the probation sanction, which signifies that Florida A&M University is in compliance with the standards of the regional accrediting body,” said FAMU Interim President Larry Robinson. “As a member institution of SACSCOC, we fully appreciate the peer review process and we are committed to continuing the work needed to maintain the high standards of the commission.” Via FAMU
Norfolk State Receives Accreditation Warning via Virginia Pilot
At that same meeting, Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, N.C. became a step closer to offering a master’s degree starting in Fall 2014. The school’s social work program applied to offer the higher-level degree and the board approved the application and program. The board still has to accredit the program and the Council of Social Work Education will have to enable the school to admit students. “This is a historic period at Johnson C. Smith University as we move from a bachelor-degree-granting institution to one that offers an even higher level of education,” said the school’s president Ronald L. Carter. “Our Master of Social Work is designed to meet the needs of our students and the community at large, fulfilling our mission as a new urban university.” Via Johnson C. Smith
Bennett College in Greensboro, N.C. is closing one of its five dorms in an effort to save money. The Pfeiffer Residence Hall will shutter its doors in January. The closure will save about $40,000. School officials told the Associated Press they had lost funds after experiencing a drop in enrollment.
Alabama State University’s new president may be chosen as early as Dec. 20 via The Huntsville Times
Former U.S. Ambassador to the United States Andrew Young and other dignitaries spoke at the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel at Morehouse College in honor of Nelson Mandela. "I’m afraid I can’t believe Mandela or Martin Luther King are resting peacefully," Young said. "I think they’re very, very disturbed. They’re very, very disturbed because we have not done more than we could have." He told the students, "You are the heritage of Nelson Mandela, and we must complete the things that he dreamed about.” Via 90.1 WABE
