Edward Waters Regains Accreditation

Edward Waters College n Jacksonville, FL, has regained full accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). The school has been fighting to keeps its accreditation for a year, and now things are looking much better for the school. College administrators are now focusing their efforts on fundraising and getting the school back on track financially.

After spending a year under a "warning status" with the Southern Association of colleges and schools (SACS), EWC President Dr. Oswald Bronson was able to share some good news at a staff appreciation gathering; the warning has been lifted.

That means students at the school who mostly rely on financial aid won't have to worry about losing that funding or be forced to get an education elsewhere.

EWC had sent documents to SACS that were plagiarized, putting the school's accreditation in jeopardy. The dispute landed both sides in federal court and EWC was granted a second chance to clean up its act, which included firing some administrators.

"We are pleased to say we have checks and balances in place with a new registrar to make certain all of our documents meet the principles of integrity," says Bronson.

Now that the accreditation process is cleared up, finances are the key. The college’s staff has already made $52,000 in pledges to support the school's fundraising campaign, and today EWC President Dr. Oswald Bronson announced he'll personally match that amount.

"We want to see the institution embraced in a larger way by the business and finance community,” says EWC Board Chairman Bishop Mckinley Young. “We want to see more students come to the institution."

EWC enrollment over the last year dropped from 1,200 to 750 last semester. But now that the school is in good standing, the school expects those numbers to rise in the fall.