More questions than answers remain about the future of Paul Quinn
College a week after its president announced the institution's loss of
accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Michael Sorrell last Friday explained to gathered
students, alumni and reporters that he would be unable to discuss
specifics until he received a formal letter from SACS detailing its
decision. Sorrell said only that college officials would appeal the decision, and he
refused to speculate on what would happen to the Paul Quinn if the appeal
were unsuccessful.
The college will have 10 days to formulate and submit an appeal after officials receive the letter.
But has the school gotten the letter? Paul Quinn's
communications director, Cheryl Smith, told Unfair Park yesterday that she hadn't spoken with the president on Thursday but that "as of two days ago, we had not received the letter." Sorrell has not returned our calls throughout the week.
We did, however, hear from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
"The
letter has been sent," Tom Benberg, chief of staff of the
Commission on Colleges at SACS, tells Unfair Park. He says the letter went out earlier this week, but he adds he can't be certain of the exact date because he's traveling. Of this much, though, he's quite certain: Benberg says Paul
Quinn College has been on probation since June 2007, and at the end of the two-year probation period, says Benberg, "they did
not meet the commission standards for institutional effectiveness and
financial resources." (Those can be found on Pages 25 and 30 in this document.)
Perhaps
the most damaging consequence for a college that loses its
accreditation is that the school is no longer eligible for student financial
aid from the U.S. Department of Education.
"That
usually hits the college pretty hard," Benberg says. "The other thing
is that students and faculty are hesitant to attend a college that is
not accredited."
The Commission on College's decision to drop
Paul Quinn was not hastily made, says Benberg. "It's very serious. It's
the last thing they want to do."
Michael Sorrell has said he is
"confident" that Paul Quinn will be successful when it appeals the SACS's decision. Last Friday, Sorrell wrote on the college's blog that "schools that have a 600% increase
in applications, eliminate more than $800,000 in debt over the course
of the last six weeks, increase donations by 90% in two years and
produce a quarter million dollar surplus in the worst economy since the
Great Depression deserve the opportunity to finish the work they have
started."
But
Benberg says the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools's decision is not based on how much a
college has improved. "It's based on whether you meet the standard or not," says
Benberg.
