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USF St. Pete On Probation

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By ADAM EMERSON

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 28, 2008

The University of South Florida St. Petersburg's academic standing has been put on probation by its accreditor.
University Chancellor Karen White sent an e-mail to faculty and staff late Thursday telling them that the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools found the regional campus in violation of two standards for accreditation.

USF St. Petersburg, accreditors said, didn't properly document its students' competency in college-level general education or its students' achievements.

As a result, the regional campus is on probation for one year.

SACS warned the campus in December that its compliance with the two standards was deficient. Campus officials since thought they satisfied the accreditor's concerns, especially after the university worked with the state to properly document course completion, state licensing examinations and job placement rates of its students.

"We believe we made a strong case," said Holly Kickliter, a university spokeswoman, who added that SACS provided no details for its decision.

SACS accredits about 800 colleges and universities in 11 Southern states and some in Latin America. It places 16 to 18 schools on warning or probation every year. Florida A&M University, which was on probation for a year, had its accreditation restored Thursday.

USF St. Petersburg received its own accreditation just two years ago. The University of South Florida system already was accredited, but state lawmakers several years ago said USF was not funding the St. Petersburg campus adequately. They passed legislation requiring the regional campus to pursue separate accreditation.

With separate accreditation, the regional campus was able to make its own decisions on its own needs. It developed its own curriculum and academic programs and hired its own staff, among other things.

Probation is one step away from the loss of accreditation, a rare move from SACS. Normally, if the association revokes a school's accreditation, its students wouldn't be able to receive federal financial aid. Because USF St. Petersburg is part of an accredited system, however, the consequence of losing accreditation was unclear Friday.

USF officials say they are confident they can regain their good standing; the regional campus is out of compliance with only two of 89 accreditation standards.

The deficiencies, Kickliter said, are in how administrators measure student progress, not in the quality of faculty or academic programs.

In a written statement, USF President Judy Genshaft said the decision by SACS "shows that we have to dedicate the resources to demonstrate the success our students are achieving."

White, the chancellor, told faculty and staff that the university will learn more from the association in the coming weeks. A SACS team also will visit the campus in spring 2009 to review the school's progress.

"While disappointed with the decision of the commission, I am proud of the performance of the students ... and the efforts of the faculty and staff to measure and document the high quality of instruction and learning of our students," White said.

Reporter Adam Emerson can be reached at (813) 259-8285 or aemerson@tampatrib.com.

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