Charlotte, N.C./June 2025 – The Board of Trustees of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) informed Johnson C. Smith University of their decision to continue our accreditation and to place our institution on probation for good cause. As we reflect on the SACSCOC decision, we accept the charge to grow as an institution of higher learning and to build on our current successes: providing a high-quality education to students, achieving record high enrollment, supporting student-scholars and athletes, enhancing our faculty-staff culture of engagement, increasing alumni participation, and becoming an anchor institution in Charlotte’s Historic West End community.
We are fully committed to strengthening all of our internal controls as we strive to become a nationally ranked, top-performing HBCU. Over the last year and a half, we have worked hard to improve our overall operations. In the weeks and months ahead, additional improvements will be made as we prepare for an on-campus visit from a SACSCOC Special Committee in 2026. Being placed on Good Cause provides us with an important opportunity to ensure continuous internal controls.
Our University will always act with integrity, responsibility, and trust. We are a beacon of light, a storied institution that values intellectual rigor. We are an economic engine in the city of Charlotte, across the nation, and around the world. Our core values will not change: excellence, integrity, civic engagement, social justice, student centeredness, and innovation. We will continue to provide fully accredited, higher education access to our students and their families.
