logo
    • Magazine
    • Membership
    • Donate
  • Racial Justice
  • Economic Justice
    • Collections
    • Glossary
  • Climate Justice
  • Health Justice
  • Leadership
  • CONTENT TYPES
  • Subscribe
  • Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Complimentary Webinars
    • Premium On-Demand Webinars
  • Membership
  • Submissions

In Dramatic Turn, Bennett College Suffers Setback but Retains Accreditation

Steve Dubb
February 25, 2019
Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print
“Bennett College Graduation Procession,” Steven Depolo

February 22, 2019; Winston-Salem Journal

Last Friday, “Bennett College lost its accreditation and got it right back,” writes John Newsom in the Winston-Salem Journal. First, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACS) announced around noon that Bennett had lost its appeal to hold onto its accreditation even though, as Newsom points out, Bennett had raised “nearly twice as much money as it set out to.” Then, Friday afternoon, Bennett filed suit against SACS and a federal judge in Atlanta granted a temporary restraining order that lets Bennett keep its accreditation active while its lawsuit is considered.

“Our fight continues,” Bennett College president Phyllis Worthy Dawkins said at a news conference. Dawkins added that, as a backup plan, the college has taken preliminary steps to seek accreditation from the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS). TRACS representatives are scheduled to visit Bennett on March 14. TRACS accredits more than 70 schools in 23 states, US territories, and other nations. It could take a year, however, for TRACS accreditation to take effect, so Bennett has requested an expedited process. It’s also possible, Dawkins noted, that Bennett could end up being accredited by both agencies.

Bennett had dug itself into a hole with six straight years of annual operating losses between 2010 and 2016, a result of declining enrollment. However, both enrollment and finances have been recovering since 2016–17. Bennett says it has received twice as many applications as normal for admission next fall, likely the result of its public campaign. But even before this winter’s campaign, Bennett had seen enrollment numbers rise and projected a budget surplus for this fiscal year of almost $700,000. In 2017-2018, Bennett had a surplus of $461,038.

Then, of course, there was that extraordinary campaign launched in December. As of February 4, 2019, the college’s “Stand with Bennett” campaign had raised $8.2 million in just 55 days—well above its $5 million goal. Two weeks later, Newsom’s piece notes, “Bennett’s fundraising total had swelled to $9.5 million from about 13,000 different donors.”

On February 4th, Lodriguez Murray, vice president of public policy and government affairs for the United Negro College Fund, expressed confidence that SACS would take note of the success of Bennett’s effort. The effort, Murray said, “shows that these schools have far-reaching and deep support, both locally and nationally….Folks across the country are saying they don’t want to lose any more of these schools. That’s why people stood with Bennett.”

Sign up for our free newsletters

Subscribe to NPQ's newsletters to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

Finances were the sole reason SACS gave for denying accreditation. As Bennett notes in its lawsuit, academic quality or improprieties are not at issue, a contention affirmed by a news release from SACS that said accreditation was denied because of lack of a “stable financial base to support the mission and scope of programs and services.” The SACS appeal board added that it upheld its board’s December decision to remove accreditation for Bennett “with no remand for consideration of additional financial information made available after December 9, 2018.” In other words, it chose to ignore the fundraising drive (and other financial steps that the university had taken, including getting a $1 million loan forgiven).

In its 30-page lawsuit, Bennett contends that the SACS Board of Trustees is obligated under its own rules and policies to consider “new and verifiable” information that “was material to the Board’s decision to remove Bennett from membership based on its financial standing.” Of course, it would be hard to deny that having $9.5 million in new cash (and $1 million in debt forgiveness) is “material” to the university’s overall financial condition.

US District Judge Mark Cohen, notes Newsom, “signed an order late Friday that restores Bennett’s accreditation, but leaves the school on probation—just as it was before the commission’s December decision.” Newsom points out that SACS traditionally has agreed to extend accreditation while court cases proceed.

A number of Bennett College supporters have expressed continued support for Bennett. High Point University (HPU) president Nido Qubein, whose university donated $1 million to Bennett, affirmed that “HPU and I worked diligently to assist and support our neighborhood sister school that is also associated with the United Methodist Church as we are. We have no regret about stepping up and stepping out to partner with Bennett in their fundraising campaign.”

Maurice “Mo” Green, executive director of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, which donated $500,000 to the college, said that his foundation “continues to stand by its support of Bennett given its historical significance and the critical role it plays in providing a high-quality education to women.”—Steve Dubb

Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print
About the author
Steve Dubb

Steve Dubb is senior editor of economic justice at NPQ, where he writes articles (including NPQ’s Economy Remix column), moderates Remaking the Economy webinars, and works to cultivate voices from the field and help them reach a broader audience. Prior to coming to NPQ in 2017, Steve worked with cooperatives and nonprofits for over two decades, including twelve years at The Democracy Collaborative and three years as executive director of NASCO (North American Students of Cooperation). In his work, Steve has authored, co-authored, and edited numerous reports; participated in and facilitated learning cohorts; designed community building strategies; and helped build the field of community wealth building. Steve is the lead author of Building Wealth: The Asset-Based Approach to Solving Social and Economic Problems (Aspen 2005) and coauthor (with Rita Hodges) of The Road Half Traveled: University Engagement at a Crossroads, published by MSU Press in 2012. In 2016, Steve curated and authored Conversations on Community Wealth Building, a collection of interviews of community builders that Steve had conducted over the previous decade.

More about: colleges and universities foundation grantmakingfundraisingManagement and LeadershipNonprofit News

Become a member

Support independent journalism and knowledge creation for civil society. Become a member of Nonprofit Quarterly.

Members receive unlimited access to our archived and upcoming digital content. NPQ is the leading journal in the nonprofit sector written by social change experts. Gain access to our exclusive library of online courses led by thought leaders and educators providing contextualized information to help nonprofit practitioners make sense of changing conditions and improve infra-structure in their organizations.

Join Today
logo logo logo logo logo
See comments

summer_sidebar_subscribe
You might also like
Hierarchy and Justice
Cyndi Suarez
Salvadoran Foreign Agent Law Threatens Human Rights Movements
Devon Kearney
Charitable Tax Reform: Why Half Measures Won’t Curb Plutocracy
Alan Davis
Healing-Centered Leadership: A Path to Transformation
Shawn A. Ginwright
Into the Fire: Lessons from Movement Conflicts
Ingrid Benedict, Weyam Ghadbian and Jovida Ross
How Nonprofits Can Truly Advance Change
Hildy Gottlieb

NPQ Webinars

Oct 5th and 6th, 2:00 PM ET

Mastering QuickBooks 2023

Advanced QuickBooks for Nonprofits for Online Users

Register Now
Oct 26th, 2:00 PM ET

Becoming A Great Manager

How to Conspire and Align with the People You Lead

Register Now
You might also like
Hierarchy and Justice
Cyndi Suarez
Salvadoran Foreign Agent Law Threatens Human Rights...
Devon Kearney
Charitable Tax Reform: Why Half Measures Won’t Curb...
Alan Davis

Like what you see?

Subscribe to the NPQ newsletter to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

See our newsletters

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

Summer 2023 issue

Independent & in your mailbox.

Subscribe today and get a full year of NPQ for just $59.

subscribe
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Copyright
  • Funders
  • Magazine Art

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

 

Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.