Accrediting agency puts ASU on warning for 6 violations
Alabama State University has been placed on warning by its accrediting agency for failure to comply with numerous accrediting standards, a spokesperson for the agency confirmed to the Montgomery Advertiser.
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, which accredits colleges and universities throughout the Southeast, cited ASU for failing to comply with six standards, including standards related to board of trustees governance, financial stability and Title IV funding issues.
The SACS board announced the violations and its placement of ASU on a six-month warning period following its most recent meeting last week in Atlanta, according to Pamela Corvey, the coordinator of communications for the agency.
Corvey said the SACS board of trustees also authorized a review committee to travel to ASU for an on-site review. Corvey said that visit likely would come near the end of the six-month warning period to allow ASU officials time to address the problems noted.
"Alabama State University will comply with whatever is specified by the SACS board," ASU officials said in a statement Friday in response to the sanction.
The warning is the least severe of two possible initial sanctions: warning or probation.
"An institution may be placed on a warning or probation for noncompliance with any of the core requirements or significant noncompliance with the comprehensive standards," the SACS policy manual reads.
Should ASU fail to adequately address the concerns of the SACS board, the warning period could be extended for up to two years total or the school could face a probationary period and eventual loss of accreditation. Loss of accreditation is a near death sentence for a public university since most federal funding and student aid is tied directly to accreditation.
According to Corvey, who read from a list of the board's findings against ASU, the school was cited for one violation of the core requirements, which was related to proper board of trustees governance.
ASU also was cited for four comprehensive violations, including a board conflict of interest, financial instability, control of finances and control of sponsored research.
There also was a federal violation related to the school's control of Title IV funding responsibilities. Title IV funds are federal student aid.
While Corvey was unable to provide details of the SACS board's decision, the Title IV issue could be tied to a hacking case that resulted in ASU losing thousands of dollars from its student aid reimbursement account. The perpetrator of that fraud was caught and convicted, and ASU officials maintain that no student lost money in the scam.
Several of the other violations stem directly from allegations raised in a preliminary report from an ongoing forensic audit investigation at ASU. That forensic investigation, ordered by Gov. Robert Bentley initially and now being carried out by the state's attorney general's office, reported finding issues with two trustees, Chairman Elton Dean and Vice Chairman Marvin Wiggins, improperly securing jobs at ASU for family and friends.
The findings in the preliminary report and a massive campus upgrade the last half-decade that built serious debt at ASU resulted in two downgrades of the university's credit rating by Moody's. Those factors likely played a role in the SACS board's findings of issues related to financial stability and the control of finances.
Shortly after the preliminary report was issued and the two Moody's downgrades, SACS sent an inquiry to ASU asking for information related to many of the findings of the report and concerning ASU's finances.
ASU officials have vehemently denied many of the allegations contained within the report and filed suit against the firm, Forensic Strategic Solutions, that issued it, claiming it was looking to harm the university intentionally by making false claims. An ASU attorney also recently filed a complaint against the president of FSS, claiming he violated ethical standards by accepting a new contract from the AG's office while engaged in a lawsuit with ASU.
The forensic investigation at ASU was the result of allegations from former President Joseph Silver in November 2012. FSS was retained by Bentley's office in December 2012 and has been investigating the school since.