Duncan Ferguson, the PC(USA)’s associate director for higher education, has told the Mission Support Services and National Ministries Division committees this week that the college has not met enrollment goals for this fall and is in danger of losing its accreditation.
The school, whose property is still owned by the PC(USA), is more than $2 million in debt and desperately needs cash for much-needed repairs and improvements to its campus.
The enrollment goal for the fall was 325 full-time students and the budget was built around 300, but only 264 actually enrolled. As a result, the school’s operating budget will have to be cut by $185,274.
The council is not being asked to take any action regarding the college during this meeting, which ends Saturday. But Ferguson said the church may soon have to take one of three courses of action.
First, there could be a celebration of Mary Holmes College’s history and tradition, then the church could help it close “with dignity.”
Second, the church could help find a sister institution with which the college might merge, consolidating administrative and faculty expenses. Third, the church could help Ð as owners of the property Ð the college get “a substantial loan” to eliminate the debt and provide resources to “implement a strategic plan.” This would “buy a window of opportunity” during which the school might make major.
“This loan may be linked to the transfer of the property,” said Ferguson in a written report. “The risk of the loan is that it may not be possible to finance it and pay it back in a timely way.”
The report also takes to task the school’s leadership. “There is a need for a stronger leadership team in order to move the institution into the future. This team will need to provide bold leadership and fundamentally change the current norms of the institution.”
Academically the school doing an adequate job, said Ferguson, giving it a “B” on the traditional A-F scale. Graduates are able to either find employment or transfer to four-year schools, he told the National Ministries Division Committee.
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), however, puts much emphasis on an institution’s financial status. Mary Holmes is now on probation with the association and Ferguson said the financial situation is the biggest problem. If SACS denies accreditation, “it would be a serious blow” to the college.
Ferguson and two other PC(USA) officials visited the Mississippi campus earlier in September. Mary Holmes president, Nate Jackson, and the college’s board chairman will meet with church officials in Louisville next week. The school’s board of trustees will meet shortly thereafter. In the meantime, the SACS team will be working on its report.
Better news elsewhere
The news was better regarding three of the other racial ethnic schools related to the church which have come to the GAC for help recently. A written report to the GAC says the following.
Sheldon Jackson College (Alaska), which was in danger of closing a couple of years ago, hopes to have 100 students enrolled this fall. President C. Carlyle Haaland “feels confident” that the school’s administration “will present a stronger report than last year” to accreditation officials.
Barber Scotia College (N.C.) has taken major strides in turning around its fortunes under President Sammie Potts. During his tenure, “the school has reduced its debt ratio, taken receivership of the property [from the PC(USA)], increased student enrollment and increased its capital account.
While still awaiting accreditation, Knoxville College (Tenn.) has more than doubled its enrollment in recent years and is the first historically African American school to become a work college, where students help pay for their education by working jobs on or near the campus. Despite receiving no federal funds, the college is breaking even financially. President is Barbara R. Hatton.
