July 9, 2025
The school will stay on the probationary period until June 2026.
Johnson C. Smith University has been placed on probation by its accrediting agency for failing to show it can control its finances. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission of Colleges (SACSCOC) issued the news in a July 8 statement.
According to the Charlotte Observer, the organization determined the HBCU has not demonstrated financial responsibility after a two-year review. The accreditor also stated that JSCU lacked control in its sponsored research and external funds.
The Charlotte, North Carolina-based institution could lose its accreditation if these issues are not fixed. Thankfully, the SACSCOC believes the HBCU can fix these infractions, placing it on probation for “good cause.” The standing means that SACSCOC expects the Johnson C. Smith to remedy its financial standing.
The HBCU has until next June to course-correct. If it fails to do so, the university could risk its accreditation. JSCU has kept its standing intact since 1933. It is the only historically Black college in Charlotte.
Despite the probation, JSCU believes the update signals improvement for the university.
“The ‘good cause’ designation signifies SACSCOC believes the institution is making progress and has the ability to ameliorate problems,” JCSU said in a statement to the Observer. “Given the longstanding issues that are being addressed by our current university administration, we are aware of the importance of directly addressing the standards that we have been cited for, and we are fully committed to doing so for the long-term sustainability of our university.”
The accreditation board will review the school’s improvements in a report delivered next year before deciding if JCSU can get out of probation, stay on it, or strip its accreditation entirely.
“Improvement is an ongoing process, and we appreciate the bandwidth SACSCOC has provided our institution,” added the statement. “We are confident that JCSU will meet the required standards, and we will work hard to do so for as long as we need to do so.”
The school faced similar risk before, going into probation in 2017 for financial issues. However, it hopes to recover from this latest infraction as it did years ago.
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