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Association Decides To Keep FAMU On Probation

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The Associated Press

Published: December 12, 2007

Florida A&M University will remain on probation for at least another six months because of its financial troubles, the school's president said Tuesday.

An accrediting organization meeting was continuing Tuesday in New Orleans, but university President James Ammons told the Tallahassee Democrat that the Atlanta-based Southern Association of Colleges and Schools has decided not to lift the probation.

According to a statement from Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, the association removed the college from warning status.

The college said the association placed Eckerd on warning in December 2006 and requested that the college provide more information on its financial stability. In October, Eckerd "provided financial statements reflecting a continuation of positive trends demonstrating financial stability and a multi-year financial plan that will continue building the college's financial reserves."

FAMU's problems arose from state audits that cited university financial records that could not be verified, questionable contracting and the university's inability to account for millions of dollars in inventory, questions that led to probation last summer.

Ammons said the school has made improvements in its financial situation, but a recent report on FAMU's situation wasn't completed in time to convince auditors.

A state audit issued Friday said the university's financial records were in order, although it did cite some areas that need improvement.

Ammons took over as president in July in the midst of the problems and has had to make restoring the school's financial credibility his top job.

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