After two years on probation, in December 2019 the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) notified historically Black Bennett College in Greensboro, North Carolina, that it will lose its accreditation. Bennett College promptly appealed the commission’s decision.
The appeal was heard by the Appeals Committee of the College Delegate Assembly on February 18. On February 22, the committee rejected the appeal. In a statement, the SACSCOC stated that the decision to revoke accreditation was “reasonable, not arbitrary, and based on the standards cited.” Despite the raising of $8 million by the college in an emergency fundraising drive, the SACSCOC statement went on to say that “the Appeals Committee found that Bennett College had failed to show that the institution possesses resources demonstrating a stable financial base to support the mission and scope of programs and services.”
The college immediately filed a lawsuit and obtained a court order under which the college would retain its accreditation while the litigation ran its course. That suit is still pending.
The college is also seeking accreditation from the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools. The organization had planned to visit the Bennett College campus in March, but the COVID-19 pandemic thwarted those plans. Now the college has announced that it will host an evaluation team from the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools on June 23-26.
