ATLANTA - Students at Morris Brown College are considering their options after learning that the school has lost its accreditation. <br>
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The 117-year-old historically black college learned Tuesday that the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools stripped Morris Brown's accreditation. <br>
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The decision - if it stands - means the school will not get federal financial aid that 80 percent of its students receive. That could force Morris Brown to close its doors permanently. <br>
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The school had been waiting months for the decision. <br>
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The federal government gives Morris Brown $8 million a year for financial aid. The school has been dealing with mounting financial debt, estimated at more than $23 million. <br>
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The debt grew in recent years as the school's enrollment expanded without additional housing. That forced the school to pay to house students in hotel rooms and to bus them to campus. <br>
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Also losing its accreditation was Mary Holmes College, historically a school for black women in West Point, Mississippi. Grambling State University in Louisiana, also an historically black institution, will continue on probation for another year. <br>
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Meanwhile, The president of Morris Brown College says the school is committed to staying open and will appeal the decision. College president Charles Taylor said the process could take several months.<br>
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The Atlanta-based Southern Association of Colleges and Schools is one of the nation's six regional higher education accrediting agencies, covering more than 800 schools in eleven Southern states.
