The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) has placed Florida Memorial University on accreditation probation for good cause due to failure to meet standards relating to financial health, fiscal controls, and federal and state compliance obligations.
In June 2021, the Miami Gardens-based HBCU was placed on probation for good cause, but that was lifted after a year due to improvements in financial stability. However, an on-site SACSCOC visit to Florida Memorial University in 2023 determined the HBCU was again not meeting the commission’s financial standards. On December 9, 2025, the SACSCOC reaffirmed its 2023 findings, resulting in an official probation.
Going forward, Florida Memorial University will be required to submit financial reports to the SACSCOC, engage in a continued improvement process, and maintain full transparency throughout the probationary period. During this time, the HBCU will remain accredited.
“We are encouraged that SACSCOC has recognized our significant recent progress in addressing our financial position and our potential to remedy the deficiencies within the sanction period,” wrote President William C. McCormick, Jr. “It is long overdue to completely rectify our fiscal position and take the necessary steps to address our business model, provide controls and discipline to business practices, and ensure that FMU operates in a responsible, cost-effective manner and lives within its resources. We believe our next audited financial report will demonstrate that we are now on solid ground.”
He continued, “I also want to acknowledge that many of the fiscal challenges identified did not arise in a single moment, nor under a single administration. They reflect years of accumulated pressures and inherited structural issues that affected the university’s financial stability. Today, however, we are in a new era, one driven not by blame, but by solution-focused leadership, disciplined management, and unwavering commitment to transparency. We are now addressing these long-standing challenges in a comprehensive and sustainable manner. This disciplined work is already strengthening our foundation and positioning FMU to stabilize, elevate, and thrive for generations to come.”
