25 degrees from New Birth church recognized after all

Accrediting ageny reverses stance, says degrees from defunct program are legit

By CHRISTOPHER QUINN

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

The president of a college accrediting agency reversed an agency finding last summer and recognized 25 college degrees earned at an unauthorized program at a metro Atlanta mega-church.

Belle S. Wheelan, president of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, said Tuesday that reports from three consultants hired by North Carolina Central University to vet its defunct program at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia convinced her the degrees were good.

The 25 students earned bachelor's degrees in criminal justice, hospitality and business administration. The program began in 2004.

"I didn't want to hurt the students because the university failed to follow procedure," she said by phone.

Bishop Eddie Long, the lead pastor at New Birth, is an alumnus, board member and supporter of NCCU. He announced in August he would give the school $1 million.

Long did not respond to phone calls through the public relations agency he uses.

Wheelan notified NCCU Tuesday.

The satellite campus came to the attention of SACS and the University of North Carolina system last summer. All satellite campuses have to be approved by both to be authorized. Neither knew of the Lithonia-based program.

When NCCU applied for certification last summer, the 77-member SACS commission found problems with faculty competency, resources such as library materials and institutional effectiveness. It did not approve certification.

Afterward, the NCCU hired consultants to report on the program and the curriculum at New Birth.

Wheelan reviewed the reports and said she was confident that the program was sufficient. The SACS commission did not have full information about the program when it made its decision. For instance, not all faculty credentials had been noted in the first report to the commission, she said.

The UNC system is still investigating how the program got started. It may have to pay back federal student aid received for those at the unauthorized campus, according to news reports.

The university is pulling together a way to allow several dozen students at the New Birth program who not graduated to continue their studies.