Our college accreditation system is ridiculous. It does nothing to ensure academic quality — no school ever loses accreditation because its curriculum is full of fluff courses or its academic standards are laughable — but sometimes the accreditors pounce on a school that’s in financial difficulty. They’ll warn the administration that it is on thin ice and put the school on probation for a couple of years. After that, unless there has been a turnaround, the accrediting bigwigs pull the plug. If a college is not accredited then it can’t receive any federal money, a virtual death sentence for many.
That’s the story of Bennett College in Greensboro, N.C. I write about it in today’s Martin Center article.
The accrediting agency involved, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, saw that Bennett was in serious trouble in 2016, with falling enrollments and rising deficits. It put Bennett on probation. After two years, SACS looked again and still saw a struggling school, despite an uptick in enrollment. Because its rules do not allow a school to remain on probation more than two years, it decreed that it was pulling its accreditation.
Bennett got a court order staying that decision, and went on a remarkable fundraising campaign, raising more than $8 million in less than two months. Wouldn’t that be enough for SACS to give the school a new lease on life? No.
Fortunately, the litigation over SACS’ de-accreditation decree will tie matters up long enough for Bennett to obtain accreditation through another federally-recognized agency.
Federal student aid programs ought to be eliminated, as Kevin Williamson recently argued. But until such time as that happens, eligibility for federal dollars shouldn’t depend on the whims of accreditors.