wfn.org | Hiwassee College makes progress toward keeping accreditation

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

July 29, 2002  News media contact: Linda Green7(615)742-54707Nashville,
Tenn.  10-71BP{330}

NOTE: Photographs are available with this report.

By United Methodist News Service

Officials of United Methodist-related Hiwassee College won't know until
later this year whether a sanction placed against the school will be lifted,
but they have completed an aggressive three-month financial campaign to
balance the budget and retain accreditation.

Last January, the two-year college in Madisonville, Tenn., was sanctioned
for 12 months for failure to comply with criteria related to conditions of
eligibility, institutional effectiveness and sufficient financial resources
to support programs. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in
Decatur, Ga., the regional accrediting body, placed Hiwassee and five other
United Methodist-related colleges and universities on probation, warning, or
delayed affirmation for financial and technical concerns.
 
Probation is a public sanction against a college for noncompliance with the
association's Criteria for Accreditation, a guidebook on accrediting
standards. Warning is a public or private sanction against a college for
failure to meet accreditation criteria. Delayed affirmation occurs when a
college has not met all accrediting criteria. Each college remains
accredited and has six to 12 months to dissolve the concerns and report to
the association for review and action.

After learning of the sanction and working toward correcting the inequities,
Hiwassee College launched a "Now is the Time" campaign in April to raise
$423,000 by June 30. The money would enable the college to balance its
budget for the 2002 fiscal year and meet accreditation standards.

In January, the 153-year-old school received word that an anonymous donor
would be providing  $20 million to renovate all campus facilities and enable
the college to offer international programming.  

In anticipation of the gift, then-president Chuck Philips had the school's
advancement office shift its focus from fund raising, leaving the college
with a $423,000 deficit. In March, officials learned that the college would
not be receiving the $20 million donation, and Philips resigned as
president. What was supposed to have been a $20 million charitable gift
turned out to be a series of financial transactions in which the school
could not ethically or legally participate, according to Randy L. Nelson,
assistant vice president for advancement.

The institution issued a call for help, and alumni and friends responded.
"The outpouring of love and support for the college was almost overwhelming,
and we want to thank each and everyone for their support during the
campaign," Nelson said.

The college announced in July that it had exceeded its financial goal by
raising $510,901 to balance its $5.01 million budget for 2002.  

Officials will not know if the sanction by the Southern Association of
Colleges and Schools will be lifted until the group meets in December.
However, a financial audit will be completed in August, Nelson said, "and
when they see that we're operating in the black, most likely the warning
will be lifted. I do not feel we're in jeopardy of losing accreditation."

"After what we've been through, it's going to be good to have something
that's successful," said Interim President James Murrell. "I had faith that
we would be successful, but this goes beyond that." 

The $500,000-plus fund-raising effort exceeds Hiwassee's usual $250,000 to
$300,000 in unrestricted gifts received each year, officials said. Donations
came in all sizes and were often accompanied with notes and letters about
how the school had changed former students' lives.

Two weeks before the June 30 deadline, donations from the George R. Johnson
Charitable Trust and the William B. Stokely Jr. Foundation "put Hiwassee
over the top of its goal," according to a Hiwassee press release. 
 
"This is a tremendous victory and propels us into the next academic year
with hope and promise," said Al Bowles, chairman of Hiwassee's board, in a
prepared statement.

Students return to campus on Aug. 21 for fall registration. Despite
publicity about Hiwassee's financial trials, officials expect a 10 percent
increase over the 2001 enrollment of 429. Nelson credited aggressive
recruiting efforts for the projected increase.

The 2003 fiscal year began July 1 with a budget of $5.22 million. Nelson
said the budget reflects "realistic increases in revenue and student
enrollment" as well as across-the-board cuts in expenditures.
# # #
This story was adapted from an article by Annette Bender, editor of The
Call, the newspaper of the Holston Annual Conference.

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United Methodist News Service
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