Liberty University Placed on Probation

Liberty University Placed on Probation

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) placed Liberty University on probation for one year on December 9. The Lynchburg, Virginia, school founded by Jerry Falwell has had ongoing financial problems (CT, Dec. 9, 1996, p. 62).

“Liberty is carrying a heavy debt load,” Jack Allen, associate executive director for the SACS Commission on Colleges, told CT. “The financial situation has impinged on the education program.”

Liberty’s indebtedness is approximately $40 million, the largest portion of which is owed to a group of around 2,000 individual bondholders. Scheduled payments have been late the past two years.

Probation is the most serious sanction imposed by the accrediting agency. SACS placed Liberty on probation for one year in 1990, when debt totaled $110 million.

Liberty President A. Pierre Guillermin believes the school has turned the corner, in large part because of supporters who have bought up debt and forgiven the loans. “I seriously doubt that any 25-year-old university with approximately 6,000 students on campus and several thousand others in external programs has ever made such financial progress in such a brief period.”

Guillermin says with “the assistance of many special friends” debt should be reduced to around $20 million soon. “This level of indebtedness is both comfortable and manageable,” he says.

The December action stemmed from a SACS team reaffirmation visit to the campus in February 1996. In all, SACS found more than three dozen violations by Liberty, including in the areas of academic freedom, faculty compensation, and faculty loads.

A SACS team will return to the campus in October to determine how the school has complied with its recommendations.

Copyright © 1997 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

February 3, 1997 Vol. 41, No. 2, Page 74

Also in this issue

The Class of '00: Members of the class of '00 are cyber-suckled. They've been there, done that. And they don't trust adults. These millennial" teenagers are forcing us to re-engineer youth ministry."

Our Latest

News

Ghana May Elect Its First Muslim President. Its Christian Majority Is Torn.

Church leaders weigh competency and faith background as the West African nation heads to the polls.

Shamanism in Indonesia

Can Christians practice ‘white knowledge’ to heal the sick and exorcize demons?

Shamanism in Japan

Christians in the country view pastors’ benedictions as powerful spiritual mantras.

Shamanism in Taiwan

In a land teeming with ghosts, is there room for the Holy Spirit to work?

Shamanism in Vietnam

Folk religion has shaped believers’ perceptions of God as a genie in a lamp.

Shamanism in the Philippines

Filipinos’ desire to connect with the supernatural shouldn’t be eradicated, but transformed and redirected toward Christ.

Shamanism in South Korea

Why Christians in the country hold onto trees while praying outdoors.

Shamanism in Thailand

When guardian spirits disrupt river baptisms, how can believers respond?

Apple PodcastsDown ArrowDown ArrowDown Arrowarrow_left_altLeft ArrowLeft ArrowRight ArrowRight ArrowRight Arrowarrow_up_altUp ArrowUp ArrowAvailable at Amazoncaret-downCloseCloseEmailEmailExpandExpandExternalExternalFacebookfacebook-squareGiftGiftGooglegoogleGoogle KeephamburgerInstagraminstagram-squareLinkLinklinkedin-squareListenListenListenChristianity TodayCT Creative Studio Logologo_orgMegaphoneMenuMenupausePinterestPlayPlayPocketPodcastRSSRSSSaveSaveSaveSearchSearchsearchSpotifyStitcherTelegramTable of ContentsTable of Contentstwitter-squareWhatsAppXYouTubeYouTube