Dive Temporary:
- Saint Augustine’s College is reducing half its workforce — 67 employees positions and 69 school positions — to scale back prices by $17 million and stabilize its monetary place, the establishment stated in a launch Saturday.
- The college — a non-public, traditionally black establishment in North Carolina — has additionally nixed “a number of” packages with low enrollment, it stated. Moreover, it’s working to repay excellent balances with distributors.
- The Southern Affiliation of Faculties and Faculties Fee on Faculties put Saint Augustine’s on probation in July. The transfer possible saved the college by reversing an earlier determination to withdraw accreditation fully. SACSCOC’s board plans to vote on subsequent steps for the college in December.
Dive Perception:
College management framed the choice to chop its worker numbers by 50% as mandatory to realize monetary stability.
“Whereas troublesome, we acknowledge the seriousness of our monetary challenges, and these measures are essential for our long-term sustainability,” Interim President Marcus Burgess stated in an announcement. “We’re dedicated to reworking SAU right into a financially secure establishment that prioritizes the success of our college students and stakeholders.”
Saint Augustine’s posted a $6.4 million whole working deficit for the fiscal 12 months that ended this July and racked up an almost $9.1 million deficit the 12 months earlier than, in keeping with its newest financials.
Amongst its many fiscal challenges, web tuition and price income fell by roughly half to $7.9 million between 2022 and 2024. Income declines have compelled the college to grapple with multimillion-dollar deficits at the same time as working bills fell from $42.1 million in 2022 to $27.3 million in 2024.
On prime of these challenges, Saint Augustine’s delayed the beginning of its fall semester after Tropical Storm Debby ravaged North Carolina and broken campus services.
Dropping its accreditation might have spelled monetary catastrophe, as it will have rendered the college ineligible to obtain federal Title IV monetary assist.
Within the college’s newest financials, an impartial auditor cited the potential accreditation loss and liquidity pressures earlier than including a warning that the college may not be capable of proceed as a “going concern.” Auditors add such warnings when organizations face substantial danger of being unable to satisfy their monetary obligations or being compelled to liquidate.
A SACSCOC arbitration committee reinstated the college’s accreditation after the accreditor’s board voted to take away it final December. On the time of the reversal in July, Brian Boulware, chair of the college’s board of trustees, referred to as the choice a “pivotal second for SAU’s redemption and renewal.”
However the college stays on probation and should shore up its funds to be in full compliance.
“By addressing our challenges head-on, we aren’t simply complying with accreditation requirements; we’re laying the groundwork for a resilient establishment that prioritizes the wants of our group,” Mark Yates, the college’s chief working officer, stated in a Saturday assertion.
The college pointed to a number of milestones it has hit, together with reinstating pay and medical health insurance for workers, after the U.S. Division of Labor opened an investigation earlier this 12 months into Saint Augustine’s.
It additionally secured an settlement with a enterprise capital agency to ensure its operations for the 2024-25 tutorial 12 months. The financing takes the type of a mortgage of as much as $30 million that carries a 24% rate of interest, which one lending skilled referred to as predatory.
It additionally stated donation ranges have remained constant, and it has acquired 700 purposes from potential college students for fall 2025, “signaling robust curiosity in its tutorial choices.”
