A view of the campus of St. Augustine’s university in Raleigh. The school stripped of its accreditation Tuesday by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on College board. (Photo: https://st-aug.edu/)
Saint Augustine’s University was stripped of its accreditation Tuesday, as the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on College board voted to remove the Raleigh HBCU from its membership.
The university plans to appeal the Tuesday ruling.
Without accreditation, students hoping to attend Saint Aug would find themselves unable to receive federal student aid from the U.S. Department of Education.
Dr. Marcus Burgess, interim president of the university (Photo: st-aug.edu)
“While this may seem like a disappointing decision, we view this as an encouraging outcome that acknowledges our progress, and we are excited about the opportunity the appeal affords us,” said Dr. Marcus Burgess, interim president of the university, in a statement.
“This opportunity to prove that SAU is now a stronger and more financially healthy institution will bring confidence to our stakeholders and partners, ensuring them that SAU remains a cornerstone of opportunity and innovation for our students and the Raleigh community.”
In its ruling Tuesday, the commission found that the university had resolved all non-financial issues and allowed the school to submit financial information for review at a February hearing.
December 2024 and May 2025 graduates will still receive degrees from an accredited institution, the university said. A December commencement — the first in school history — is scheduled for Friday.
In 2022, St. Augustine’s was placed on probation after it failed to meet accreditation standards. A year later, it was removed from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and had its accreditation revoked.
The university appealed the 2023 ruling, being initially denied before a panel reversed its decision in July — leaving the school accredited but on probation until the commission’s meeting this week. An appeal to the new ruling would result in another temporary accreditation, until a final ruling is made.
Th accreditation challenges is not St. Aug’s only challenge. Multiple financial liens have been filed against the school, WRAL reported in February — including a $7.9 million lien from the IRS for unpaid taxes dating back to 2020 and a $598,000 lien for failing to pay a contractor for a new turf field.
The college has on multiple occasions failed to meet payroll, leaving faculty unpaid as they cancelled classes. Students were asked to move out of dorms as instruction was moved to remote-only. And an alumni group sued the Board of Trustees arguing that members had failed to properly follow procedures for contracting bids. The case was subsequently dismissed.
In late November, the university announced a strategic partnership with Florida-based 50 Plus 1 Sports. The university has said that the land-lease deal could generate $70 million benefiting students, faculty, and a fast-growing section of Raleigh. That deal came on the heels of a $7 million loan with Gothic Ventures that school leadership agreed to in August to ensure that classes would occur for the fall semester.
Two years ago the HBCU served more than 1,000 students. This year enrollment has fallen to just 200.
Critics called the terms of the Gothic Ventures deal “predatory.”
If the university ends up losing accreditation permanently, it would be barred from participating in federal aid programs, likely see students leave, and see its path back to solvency further complicated.
Established in 1867, SAU sits on 105 acres of prime real estate northeast of downtown Raleigh.