Atlanta Judge restricts SACS probe to accreditation realm in Auburn investigation

Posted 8:34AM on Thursday 17th January 2002 ( 23 years ago )

AUBURN, Ala. - A federal judge has narrowed the scope of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools' investigation of Auburn University to accreditation issues, saying Auburn officials had reason to be concerned about the probe's "inauspicious" beginning. U.S. District Court Judge J. Owen Forrester of Atlanta ruled that Auburn faced an investigation under SACS' special committee process that had no provision for "meaningful notice and opportunity to be heard." Forrester's order, released Wednesday, said Auburn has a right to "due process." Praising the ruling, Auburn interim president William F. Walker said the suit against SACS and its executive director was filed to protect those due process rights. Walker said it also was filed to assure that the agency conducted any investigation of the university in a manner consistent with the SACS' standing procedures and other legal standards. "Obviously, Auburn is delighted with the court's decision," Walker said in a statement. He said the judge's decision "clearly vindicates the decision by the university to file the lawsuit. I think this order accomplished our objectives fairly clearly. " Auburn has never sought to stop SACS' investigation of issues that relate to the university's accreditation, Walker said. "Through this lawsuit," he said, "Auburn sought only to protect its interest by assuring that SACS adhere to its own policies and procedures and that it limit its investigation to issues related to accreditation. The court has now ensured that this will occur." Faculty Senate chairman Jim Bradley did not immediately return a phone message for comment Wednesday. Among the issues the court said SACS cannot investigate: whether the university complied with Alabama's open meetings laws, the manner in which trustees are selected, the authority of trustees to remove or select presidents, adoption by the trustees of minimum standards for admission, retention and graduation, or grade forgiveness policies. The judge said those issues are not part of a university's accreditation standards. The judge ruled that use of a special committee "would violate SACS' own rules and, therefore, deny due process to Auburn." Auburn officials had filed suit to block SACS from looking into key aspects of campus discontent, including business dealings by trustees and the departure of former president William Muse. Last spring, a faculty committee asked SACS to review whether trustees undercut and wrongly ousted Muse and micromanaged decisions on athletics, buildings and student grades. SACS agreed to dispatch a review team to investigate the complaints. That visit was postponed after Auburn filed suit. Noting "the inauspicious manner in which SACS began its investigation," Forrester wrote in his 31-page opinion that "the university has cause for its concerns." The Atlanta judge said SACS may review -- under the scope of criteria for accreditation -- the alleged lack of institutional control over athletics, the denial of tenure to professor Charles Curran in the late 1980s, the alleged micromanagement by trustees and alleged business dealings among the trustees and the university. However, SACS must follow specific procedures for reviewing these allegations, including consideration of any steps already taken by the university to address these issues. The court added that at this stage of the proceedings, it found insufficient evidence to determine whether certain members of SACS' staff may have a conflict of interest in any investigation of Auburn. However, the court said it would allow the university to pursue additional discovery to determine whether such a conflict exists. SACS is the sole accrediting association recognized by the U.S. secretary of education to accredit college and universities in Alabama and 10 other Southern states. Auburn has been an accredited member of SACS since 1922.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/1/203350