Baptist-affiliated Louisiana College has been placed on probation for a year by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools for a year for violating the agency's standards.
Probation from the SACS is a more serious sanction than a warning or “notation” on the school's record, but less severe than the full removal of accreditation. The school in Pineville, La., will have 12 months to prove it is in compliance with the standards.
Louisiana College has been roiled by controversy for several years, with much of it coming to a head in the past two years as a group of conservatives gained a majority on the institution's board of directors. All board members are appointed by the Louisiana Baptist Convention.
In the past few months, the college's president, chief academic administrator and board chairman all have resigned. Last month-only a week after being introduced to the Louisiana Baptist Convention-the college's newly called president unexpectedly withdrew his application for the job, citing “governance issues.”
Earlier this year, a special committee from the accrediting agency visited the college's campus on a fact-finding mission. Committee members determined that Louisiana College was not in compliance with several of the association's standards regarding academic freedom and proper board governance.
“The committee concluded, based upon extensive interviews with members of the board of trustees, senior staff and faculty that a significant portion of the board of trustees of Louisiana College are influenced if not controlled by the agenda of the Louisiana Inerrancy Fellowship and the Louisiana Baptist Convention,” the SACS report read.
Associated Baptist Press