CHARLOTTE — Financial trouble for Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte is putting the historically Black college on probation, making it at risk for losing its accreditation.
The school has a year to turn things around, but university leaders tell Channel 9 their finances are on the right track.
JCSU got a letter in late June from the group that does its accreditation, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges placed them on probation for good cause. The SACSCOC said the school “failed to demonstrate compliance” with its standards for financial responsibility, control of finances, control of sponsored research/external funds, and federal and state responsibilities.
We asked and neither the accreditation association nor the school would say exactly what those financial issues were.
In a statement, JCSU said it “take(s) seriously” the accreditation agency’s decision, saying the designation of ‘probation for good cause’ “indicates the university has displayed evidence of improvements ... [and] demonstrated the capacity to fix issues within the determined timeframe.”
The accreditation agency says the school has already been monitored for two years and will now be on probation for good cause for the next year.
The SACSCOC Board of Trustees will review the school’s accreditation again next June after the school submits another report.
At that point, the agency can lift the probation, keep JCSU under probation or remove the university’s accreditation.
(VIDEO: JCSU alumni describe impact of their lunch counter sit-ins in Charlotte)
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