Outside the Beltway

MORRIS BROWN COLLEGE

James Joyner · Monday, July 28, 2003 · 1 comment

AJC has the bizarre tale:

Morris Brown College will open this fall with a skeleton staff and vastly decreased enrollment, school officials said Monday.

Interim president Leroy Frazier said the college — which lost its accreditation in April — will retain just 21 of its 108 faculty members to teach the approximately 225 students who have committed to attend.

Officials at Morris Brown, which has a mission of serving all students — including many not academically or financially prepared for other colleges — have said the school will be open in the fall. In recent months, Morris Brown has laid off staff, closed buildings and chopped the athletics program to cut costs.

The school had about 1,500 students for the spring semester, including about 370 who graduated. When the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools revoked Morris Brown’s accreditation, the school lost federal financial aid eligibility. About 90 percent of Morris Brown students relied on that aid to help pay for their education, including about $10,000 a year in tuition. That aid accounted for more than 70 percent of Morris Brown’s revenue.

Having been through a couple of SACS reviews, I can attest that failing one of them is virtually impossible. Mail-order degree mills routinely keep their accreditation. And, frankly, how much could a degree from this place be worth? Georgia has numerous open admissions community colleges and state universities. If one is not academically prepared even for JuCo, college may not be the answer.