Alabama State University has been lifted from warning status by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
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Alabama State University received good news today from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). The University has been removed from warning status by the accrediting body.
President Gwendolyn E. Boyd made the announcement today on ASU’s WVAS-FM radio and later met with reporters to brief them on the decision.
“We never lost our accreditation,” said Boyd. “Just two years ago, we were placed on warning status … And so, I am very excited to announce today that we have received a call from SACSCOC that our warning status has been lifted.”
Boyd said she is proud of the work that was done to get the positive decision from SACSCOC.
“I’d like to congratulate our team, under the leadership of Dr. Karyn Scissum Gunn (associate provost for Academic Affairs), and Dr. Christine Thomas (director of the Office of Academic Planning and Evaluation/Accreditation Liaison), and our vice president for Business and Finance, Wanda Smith, and all of the faculty and staff who put in countless hours to prepare the reports so that we could respond to every detail of accountability and transparency that SACSCOC was asking us for.”
Boyd said that she wanted to be clear that the warning status was about the University’s finances and not about its academic programs. She said the University has made tough decisions and great sacrifices to address the financial concerns expressed by SACSCOC.
“In my first year here, we cut $25 million from our budget to set a new normal for our University, and they (SACSCOC) wanted to see how we were going to be able to function with a $25 million dollar cut and still be able to maintain the University. We were able to do that. It was extremely hard and was very difficult, but we were able to do that. Now, everyone understands that this is our new normal, and we can’t go back,” Boyd said.
In addition to the announcement that the warning status was lifted, Boyd said she also was notified by SACSCOC that the University’s prospectuses for the Biomedical Engineering and the Master of Social Work degrees have been approved.
“These are game-changing initiatives at Alabama State University,” said Boyd “We are excited. We know that with the addition of these two new programs, our enrollment will increase and additional students will be able to come and fulfill their dreams at Alabama State University. Opportunity is indeed right here at ASU.”
