In surprise reversal, Erskine College removed from probation by accreditor
Barely a month after placing Erskine College on probation, its accreditor has lifted the conservative Christian college’s sanctions and reaffirmed its accreditation.
The Due West college announced last week that its accreditor, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, had changed course and given the college a clean bill of financial health.
“In a very unexpected and rare turn of events, SACSCOC has reversed its decision to place Erskine College on Probation for Good Cause,” Erskine College President Steve Adamson wrote Friday in a letter to faculty and staff. “As of today, Erskine has been removed from sanction. Our accreditation has been reaffirmed through 2032 with no monitoring required!”
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the decision. A document posted on the accreditor’s website confirms that Erskine is no longer under sanction and that its accreditation has been reaffirmed.
Just last month, the accreditor’s board placed Erskine College on “probation for good cause” and denied reaffirmation of its accreditation, citing the school’s failure to comply with a core accreditation requirement related to financial resources and a standard related to financial responsibility.
The decision came after the college spent two years on warning status for failing to exercise fiduciary oversight; failing to demonstrate a stable financial base to support its mission and programming; and failing to manage its financial resources in a responsible manner.
According to a statement posted Friday on Erskine College’s website, the accreditor reversed its board’s decision following an internal review.
Adamson attributed the reversal to the accreditor’s recognition of Erskine’s improved financial condition, which has been an intense focus of his administration.
The college finished the 2023-2024 fiscal year with its best overall financial performance in more than two decades, according to Adamson, who cited increases in total assets, operational revenues and charitable giving.
“This reversal provides external validation for the changes we have made and the financial performance we have attained in recent years,” he said in the statement. “We are ready to move forward with renewed energy and strength.”
The accreditor’s decision is also welcome news for Erskine’s affiliated K-12 charter school operation.
The Charter Institute at Erskine, a taxpayer-funded affiliate of Erskine College that oversees 26 charter schools throughout the state, had been hamstrung by the college’s sanctions after lawmakers last year used them as justification to allow Charter Institute schools to switch sponsors.
Ordinarily, charter schools may only transfer to another sponsor with the permission of their current sponsor.
But under a one-year measure inserted in last year’s state budget, charter schools sponsored by a college or university under sanction by its accrediting body could unilaterally jump to another sponsor.
The measure resulted in at least one Charter Institute at Erskine school transferring to the Limestone Charter Association, an affiliate of Limestone College.
This story was originally published January 22, 2025 at 5:00 AM.