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Grambling better, but still on probation
Accreditation decision put off for one year
12/11/02
By Coleman Warner
Staff writer/The Times-Picayune
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS -- Grambling University isn't out of the woods yet in its struggle to regain good standing in the association that accredits U.S. colleges and universities. But in deciding Tuesday to keep the Louisiana university on probation for another year, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools commended Grambling on progress toward resolving long-standing fiscal management and auditing problems.
The work must continue apace, however. SACS officials said failure by Grambling to get off the probationary list in the coming year will result automatically in a loss of accreditation, a devastating blow that affects not only a school's reputation but also its ability to qualify for scholarship and research dollars.
The University of Louisiana at Monroe, which also has faced audit and management problems, fared better. SACS officials removed it from their list of schools on warning, a disciplinary status less severe than probation.
The association also began the process of considering first-time accreditation for Baton Rouge Community College, a step that allows students at the rapidly growing school to qualify for federal financial aid.
The decision to extend Grambling's probation "for good cause," while vastly preferable to the threatened loss of accreditation, nonetheless disappointed Grambling's acting president, New Orleans native Neari Warner, and University of Louisiana President Sally Clausen, both of whom traveled to San Antonio to be among more than 2,000 educators at the annual SACS convention.
Long-term success is goal
"There are elements that are in place that indicate the institution is moving in the right direction," SACS Executive Director James Rogers said after the meeting. But accrediting officials want to make sure that the reforms are sustained, he said.
"The commission is interested in the long-term aspects of their operation," he said.
Clausen said that, in private talks with SACS leaders, "We kept asking ?What more could we have done?' And the answer was ?Nothing, we just want you to do it longer.' "
Warner said a new fiscal management team is in place, led by Vice President of Finance Billy Owens, and new bookkeeping procedures are being implemented.
"You just pick up and move forward. That's what we're doing," Warner said.
Warner said she will meet with faculty Thursday and send letters to students and alumni to explain "all the nuances" of the SACS ruling, to guard against harmful speculation.
It wasn't immediately clear whether the continued probation for Grambling will delay a national search to fill the president's job at the 4,500-student university. Clausen said it may not be wise to distract key university officials with an executive search at a time when fiscal reforms must be sustained, with monitoring by SACS.
In dealings with other institutions, SACS on Tuesday demonstrated that Grambling's potential loss of accreditation within the year is not an empty threat. Two colleges were stripped of accreditation Tuesday: Mary Holmes College in West Point, Miss., and Morris Brown College in Atlanta. Each has a right to appeal the decision.
'Things have changed'
Acting on behalf of the U.S. Department of Education, SACS' Commission on Colleges accredits roughly 800 institutions of higher education in 11 southern states. Most of the commission's 77 members are presidents of public and private colleges and universities.
Grambling, a historically African-American university founded in 1901, has respected academic programs, most of which have individually earned national accreditation. But record-keeping problems that for years made it impossible for Legislative Auditor Dan Kyle to audit Grambling's books prompted SACS to place the university on warning in June 2001, then on probation in December. The university's problems stemmed from administrative turnover, lost records, inadequate staff training and political meddling in hiring, higher education officials said.
Under aggressive prodding and advisory support from the University of Louisiana system, Kyle's office and SACS, Warner laid off more than 100 Grambling employees to help balance the budget, while Owens overhauled accounting procedures.
Grambling's efforts were rewarded in September when Kyle released an audit giving "unqualified" approval for fiscal 2002 record keeping, and again last month when a visiting SACS team reported signs of stability and progress. Interviews with Grambling administrators and overseers "gave numerous indications that things have changed in Louisiana and at Grambling so that it will no longer be business as usual," the SACS report said.
Monitoring ULM
At the University of Louisiana at Monroe, which was placed on the SACS warning list in June 2001, restoration to SACS' good graces was cause for celebration. The university, with more than 8,000 students, has struggled to recruit faculty, administrators and students, partly as a result of the accreditation trouble, its new president, James Cofer said.
"This is clearly the big win," Cofer said Tuesday. "It clears the air."
SACS officials said they will continue to monitor UL-Monroe. The Commission on Colleges asked the university to submit a plan by April for eliminating a $4 million deficit in auxiliary services, including sports and food services.
. . . . . . .
Coleman Warner can be reached at cwarner@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3311.
Accreditation decision put off for one year
12/11/02
By Coleman Warner
Staff writer/The Times-Picayune
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS -- Grambling University isn't out of the woods yet in its struggle to regain good standing in the association that accredits U.S. colleges and universities. But in deciding Tuesday to keep the Louisiana university on probation for another year, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools commended Grambling on progress toward resolving long-standing fiscal management and auditing problems.
The work must continue apace, however. SACS officials said failure by Grambling to get off the probationary list in the coming year will result automatically in a loss of accreditation, a devastating blow that affects not only a school's reputation but also its ability to qualify for scholarship and research dollars.
The University of Louisiana at Monroe, which also has faced audit and management problems, fared better. SACS officials removed it from their list of schools on warning, a disciplinary status less severe than probation.
The association also began the process of considering first-time accreditation for Baton Rouge Community College, a step that allows students at the rapidly growing school to qualify for federal financial aid.
The decision to extend Grambling's probation "for good cause," while vastly preferable to the threatened loss of accreditation, nonetheless disappointed Grambling's acting president, New Orleans native Neari Warner, and University of Louisiana President Sally Clausen, both of whom traveled to San Antonio to be among more than 2,000 educators at the annual SACS convention.
Long-term success is goal
"There are elements that are in place that indicate the institution is moving in the right direction," SACS Executive Director James Rogers said after the meeting. But accrediting officials want to make sure that the reforms are sustained, he said.
"The commission is interested in the long-term aspects of their operation," he said.
Clausen said that, in private talks with SACS leaders, "We kept asking ?What more could we have done?' And the answer was ?Nothing, we just want you to do it longer.' "
Warner said a new fiscal management team is in place, led by Vice President of Finance Billy Owens, and new bookkeeping procedures are being implemented.
"You just pick up and move forward. That's what we're doing," Warner said.
Warner said she will meet with faculty Thursday and send letters to students and alumni to explain "all the nuances" of the SACS ruling, to guard against harmful speculation.
It wasn't immediately clear whether the continued probation for Grambling will delay a national search to fill the president's job at the 4,500-student university. Clausen said it may not be wise to distract key university officials with an executive search at a time when fiscal reforms must be sustained, with monitoring by SACS.
In dealings with other institutions, SACS on Tuesday demonstrated that Grambling's potential loss of accreditation within the year is not an empty threat. Two colleges were stripped of accreditation Tuesday: Mary Holmes College in West Point, Miss., and Morris Brown College in Atlanta. Each has a right to appeal the decision.
'Things have changed'
Acting on behalf of the U.S. Department of Education, SACS' Commission on Colleges accredits roughly 800 institutions of higher education in 11 southern states. Most of the commission's 77 members are presidents of public and private colleges and universities.
Grambling, a historically African-American university founded in 1901, has respected academic programs, most of which have individually earned national accreditation. But record-keeping problems that for years made it impossible for Legislative Auditor Dan Kyle to audit Grambling's books prompted SACS to place the university on warning in June 2001, then on probation in December. The university's problems stemmed from administrative turnover, lost records, inadequate staff training and political meddling in hiring, higher education officials said.
Under aggressive prodding and advisory support from the University of Louisiana system, Kyle's office and SACS, Warner laid off more than 100 Grambling employees to help balance the budget, while Owens overhauled accounting procedures.
Grambling's efforts were rewarded in September when Kyle released an audit giving "unqualified" approval for fiscal 2002 record keeping, and again last month when a visiting SACS team reported signs of stability and progress. Interviews with Grambling administrators and overseers "gave numerous indications that things have changed in Louisiana and at Grambling so that it will no longer be business as usual," the SACS report said.
Monitoring ULM
At the University of Louisiana at Monroe, which was placed on the SACS warning list in June 2001, restoration to SACS' good graces was cause for celebration. The university, with more than 8,000 students, has struggled to recruit faculty, administrators and students, partly as a result of the accreditation trouble, its new president, James Cofer said.
"This is clearly the big win," Cofer said Tuesday. "It clears the air."
SACS officials said they will continue to monitor UL-Monroe. The Commission on Colleges asked the university to submit a plan by April for eliminating a $4 million deficit in auxiliary services, including sports and food services.
. . . . . . .
Coleman Warner can be reached at cwarner@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3311.