Barber-Scotia goal: Take a class, help credential application

BARBER-SCOTIA COLLEGE

Barber-Scotia College has launched an initiative to enroll a minimum of 30 students for its accreditation application.

Barber-Scotia College needs to enroll 30 students as part of its accreditation pitch.

In a Tuesday email to supporters, Barber-Scotia President Chris Rey said the historically Black school in Concord plans to apply this month for accreditation through the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools. As part of the campaign, BSC is asking alumni and supporters to enroll in a four-week continuing education course, “BSC Legacy and Future,” to meet the 30-student threshold set by TRACS. The class is part of Barber-Scotia’s One Community program.

“As we prepare to submit our accreditation application to the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools …we must reach one essential goal: enrolling 30 degree-seeking or non-degree-seeking students,” Rey wrote. “This is a team effort, and this enrollment requirement is the key to moving forward in our accreditation process.”

The class – a review of BSC’s history and future – is an hour a week from Nov. 12-Dec. 10.

“We’ve accomplished so much already, but we need your active participation to cross this critical threshold,” Rey wrote.

BSC, founded in 1867 as Scotia Seminary to educate Black women for careers in education and social work before merging with Barber Memorial College of Anniston, Alabama, in 1930, lost its accreditation in 2004 when the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools revoked its membership due to inaccurate reporting on finances and academics.

The school has struggled to rebuild enrollment since due to the lack of need-based student financial aid, which is often used by to pay tuition costs. Without accreditation, the school is ineligible to receive federal student aid, which is often used by low-income students. Without the revenue generated by financial aid, enrollment and facilities are all but certain to decline, which usually leads to closing.

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