Erskine College placed on probation after failing to meet accreditation standards
Erskine College, which has spent the past two years under sanction for governance and financial management failures, has been placed on “probation with good cause,” but will remain fully accredited, officials announced Tuesday.
The designation, according to the conservative Christian college’s accreditor, is imposed when an institution has failed to demonstrate compliance with accreditation standards after a two-year monitoring period, but nonetheless makes a persuasive case that it is moving in the right direction.
In denying Erskine College’s reaffirmation of its accreditation Tuesday, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, commonly referred to as SACS, cited the school’s failure to comply with a core accreditation requirement related to financial resources and a standard related to financial responsibility.
It’s not clear whether a disastrous loan deal the cash-strapped college entered into with a for-profit charter school management company had any effect on the accreditor’s decision.
SACS placed the Due West college on warning status in December 2022 for failing to exercise fiduciary oversight; failing to demonstrate a stable financial base to support its mission and programming; and failing to manage its financial resources in a responsible manner.
Since accreditation rules limit the time an institution may remain on warning status to two years, the SACS board was forced to decide this week at its annual meeting whether to lift the college’s sanctions, place it on probation or revoke its accreditation.
The board, apparently encouraged by the college’s recent compliance efforts in spite of its failure to meet accreditation standards, placed it on what is known as probation with good cause, and extended its accreditation.
An institution’s accreditation may be extended for good cause if it demonstrates significant recent accomplishments in addressing its non-compliance; proves it has the potential to remedy all of its deficiencies within a specified time period; and assures the accreditor it knows of no new issues that could jeopardize its progress, according to SACS policy.
Erskine College released a statement on its website Tuesday afternoon announcing disappointment with the decision, but expressing optimism that the school would eventually shed its sanctions.
“While we are very disappointed with SACSCOC’s decision, we accept the challenge to continue to demonstrate the institution’s financial stability, building on the performance we have achieved, particularly over the last 18 months,” president Steve Adamson said in the statement.
Adamson said the college had made “truly remarkable” progress working to correct its long-standing financial problems over the past three years, finishing the 2023-2024 fiscal year with its best overall financial performance in more than two decades.
“Considering the changes we have implemented in sound financial stewardship, we have no doubt that ... we will again finish the year in a strong financial position and have our accreditation reaffirmed next December,” he said in the statement. “I believe Erskine’s best years are ahead of us.”
The SACS board will review the college’s progress toward compliance with accreditation principles in December 2025. According to the accreditor’s policies, an institution may not remain on probation for good cause for more than two years.
Implications for Charter Institute at Erskine
SACS' decision to place Erskine College on probation should not have an immediate impact on the Charter Institute at Erskine, a taxpayer-funded affiliate of Erskine College that oversees 26 charter schools throughout the state.
State law requires private colleges that serve as charter school authorizers to be accredited by SACS, but does not penalize them for operating under sanction.
A one-year measure that lawmakers inserted in this past year’s state budget does, however, permit charter schools sponsored by a college or university under sanction by its accrediting body to unilaterally switch authorizers.
The temporary measure, or proviso, inspired by Erskine College’s accreditation problems, resulted in at least one school jumping ship to the Limestone charter district, an affiliate of Limestone College in Gaffney.
Normally, charter schools may only transfer to another authorizer with the permission of their current authorizer.
South Carolina Preparatory Academy, a virtual school headquartered in Anderson that had been in hot water with the Charter Institute over academics and finances, would not have been able to transfer to Limestone without the proviso.
This story was originally published December 10, 2024 at 3:55 PM with the headline "Erskine College placed on probation after failing to meet accreditation standards."