wfn.org | Wood College seeks to regain lost accreditation

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

March 27, 2002 News media contact: Linda Green7(615)742-54707Nashville,
Tenn.  10-21-71B{134}

By Woody Woodrick*

JACKSON, Miss. (UMNS) - United Methodist-related Wood College has lost its
accreditation and must find enough money to show that it can support its
academic programs, according to school officials.

However, they also say the decision of the Southern Association of Colleges
and Schools (SACS), to remove accreditation was based on incorrect
information about the financial condition of the two-year college in
Mathiston, Miss.

On March 13, SACS denied an appeal of its December decision to remove Wood's
accreditation. The decision hinged primarily on funding and was not related
to academics, faculty and students, according to the college's board of
trustees. The association said the college failed to comply with criteria
for possessing sufficient financial resources to support all programs and
failed to demonstrate good cause for continuing accreditation. The college's
trustees voted March 19 to aggressively seek re-accreditation and launched
immediate efforts in fund raising to address financial concerns.

"We are well aware of the importance attached to Wood College by so many
persons and will endeavor to act promptly and completely to address issues
that have been the heart of the college's operation for so many years, so
that the future can be strengthened and secured," said Leo Boolos of
Vicksburg, Miss., board of trustees chair. "We value the opportunity to
serve students and will direct our efforts to overcome the challenges we
face."

College President Robert E. Lowdermilk III called the removal of the school
from accreditation membership a "grave mistake."
 
"Like many institutions, Wood College has had 'fragile' moments in its
history and has never prospered as many schools more fortunate," he said.
"At the same time, momentum has begun to develop within the college during
recent years, and we are pleased to be able to experience improvements in
enrollment, fund raising and overall exposure of the institution. We still
contend that the evidence of the college's commitment to fully comply with
all of the accreditation criteria constituted 'good cause' for continuation
in membership."

In late January, the college discovered that a SACS staff member had sent a
confidential memo regarding the school's finances to representatives of the
association's commission on colleges. J. Mark Hutchins, vice president and
acting chief administrative officer, said that the memo, sent in October,
portrayed the college's financial position as worsening when in fact it had
improved due to increases in fund raising and student enrollment. SACS
representatives claimed the error was corrected verbally in a Dec. 10
meeting, but no mention is made of the correction in the written record, he
said.

"Without any record of a correction, I believe this misinformation created
an erroneous picture that I don't think was ever changed mentally," Hutchins
said. "Because we did not know this information had been distributed, we
were not able to dispute its inaccuracy and set the record straight."

The nature of the appeals process set up by SACS prevented Wood College from
admitting new information. The school was unable to report its progress in
enrollment and donations. The college had recently received a $75,000 gift
from Starkville First United Methodist Church and $185,000 from two
anonymous donors. The school also boasted a 20 percent growth in enrollment
this spring compared to a year ago.

In the short term, the accreditation loss means that credits and other
achievements earned at Wood College, founded in 1886, might not transfer or
be recognized by other institutions. It could also mean loss of funding,
particularly federal dollars that assist college students. 

Wood College has already secured agreements for transferring credits with
several of the major state institutions. The board of trustees also directed
the administration to seek additional and extended agreements with senior
institutions so that academic credits earned by Wood College students will
continue to be accepted for transfer through June 30, 2003, and beyond.

Longer term, if the college cannot improve its financial situation enough to
regain accreditation, enrollment will likely drop, and other sources of
funding might disappear.

In the appeal, the college was able to demonstrate that its academics were
solid, Hutchins said. That was not in contention with SACS, he said. The
only question concerned finances.

"The coming year will be full of challenges," the trustees said in a
statement to faculty and staff.  "... The board believes that steps must be
taken in order to move the college further toward regaining accreditation
and that a decision not to operate in the coming year would be a mistake."

Wood began to appeal publicly for funds in February, when it ran a special
section in the Mississippi United Methodist Advocate acknowledging the SACS
decision and pointing out the college's strengths. It also pointed out the
role Wood College has played in the education of many United Methodist
pastors and Christian educators, and it included an endorsement by Bishop
Kenneth Carder, who leads the church's Mississippi Area.

"The board of trustees is committed to the re-founding of Wood College,"
Carder said, after learning of the SACS decision and the college's
intention. "I am convinced that Wood College is a vital component of the
church's mission in Mississippi as it seeks to provide higher education in a
Christian environment to many students who are first-generation college
students and
lack the financial means to attend most colleges. Also, Wood College has
tremendous potential to provide leaders for the church's mission in
Mississippi."

The denomination's Division of Higher Education assisted Wood College in
appealing to the association. The division will be closely monitoring the
college's situation.

"Since its founding, Wood College has been an expression of the United
Methodist concern for educational access and opportunity," said the Rev. Jim
Noseworthy, the division's associate general secretary for schools, colleges
and universities in Nashville, Tenn. "The next several months will be
critical to the future of the college and its education mission." The
division will continue to assist the college's leaders in exploring options.

"Wood College has made significant strides in addressing the critical issues
before it," he said. "This is a critical time for supporters of the college,
including the church, to join the college's leadership to address the
significant challenges that are ahead."

The institution is on property owned by the Women's Division of the United
Methodist Board of Global Ministries, but it is a national mission
institution of the entire agency. In a column addressing the college's
financial troubles, Lowdermilk cited this ownership as creating a cumbersome
and limiting arrangement.

"While Wood College has incurred no property indebtedness because of this
arrangement, the college is limited in its ability to utilize the property
as the local governing board deems appropriate. Major repairs and
renovations that are often beyond the college's operating means are never
guaranteed to be supported financially by the Women's Division," he wrote. 

"Annually, the Women's Division is never able to guarantee any specific
financial support for major facilities needs on the Wood College campus;
those needs pertinent to serving students are not addressed." Since 1997,
Wood College has sought to transfer ownership from the Women's Division to
the college.

According to Carlene Triplett, executive secretary for institutions at the
Board of Global Ministries, the agency, like the college's board of
directors, "is very concerned about the educational well-being of every
student at Wood" and is "encouraged by the forthrightness and vitality with
which the directors are confronting the school's financial difficulties."  

Triplett said the board fully supports the college's efforts to end the
school year without a budget deficit and its reapplication for accreditation
as soon as possible.
# # #
*Woodrick is editor of the Mississippi United Methodist Advocate, the
newspaper of the Mississippi Annual Conference.

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United Methodist News Service
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