St. Augustine’s University cancels fall classes as HBCU works through bankruptcy

The North Carolina university had planned to offer online programs this semester but reversed course amid more than $74 million in debt.

A small historically Black college and university in North Carolina preparing to open for the fall has reversed course and informed students it would not be offering classes this semester.

St. Augustine’s University, located in Raleigh and one of the state’s 12 HBCUs, had previously announced it would offer eight online, non-degree programs as it sought accreditation and worked its way out of bankruptcy. In April, the university announced its intention to enter Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to sort out its finances and position the school “for future success.”

“Chapter 11 provides a comprehensive path to address our financial challenges and move forward with a stronger foundation,” the university’s Board of Trustees said. In the process, the school’s interim president, Dr. Jennie Ward-Robinson, resigned.

However, the school, with a student body of 924 per university statistics, is now also opting to pause classes and educational materials for the upcoming semester, despite having already created course syllabi for courses focused on programming, artificial intelligence and public health. Tuition for these courses would have cost students between on $1,100 and $4,500.

The school’s bankruptcy judge, Judge David Warren, argued that the school was not in a position to serve students who would have considered attending the university effectively and said the school was “essentially closed.” The sentiment was echoed by bankruptcy administrator Brian Behr, who said the school’s main focus at the moment should be exiting bankruptcy and then resuming its duty of educating students.

“The board is dealing with a lot,” Behr said during a hearing on August 19. “The first priority needs to be exiting bankruptcy.”

The school has been forced to borrow from non-profit educational organizations to stay afloat. According to WRAL, Self-Help Ventures Fund has donated more than $1 million to the university.

Last month, the school revealed it was more than $74 million in debt and owed about 300 different creditors. Although the programs would have generated some money, it remains unclear what the process going forward will be for St. Augustine’s, founded by Reverend J. Brinton Smith, D.D., secretary of the Freedman’s Commission of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and the Right Reverend Thomas Atkinson, D.D., Bishop of the Diocese of North Carolina in 1867. Among noted alums is Dr. Anna Julia Cooper, who was the fourth Black person ever to receive a doctoral degree.

One idea floated is for the university to sell off parts of its campus. According to reports, the 105-acre campus is valued at nearly $200 million.

“I’m hopeful that the path forward will not necessarily involve a wholesale sale of the property,” Behr said. “I don’t think that’s necessarily in the best interest of the debtor, at least currently. But the debtor likely does need to have that on the back burner as a possibility if everything were to fall apart.”