Country’s oldest black college to remain accredited

PHILADELPHIA – The nation’s oldest historically black college will remain accredited after a state commission decided to work with the school, citing “significant progress” after a two-year probationary period.

Cheyney University has grappled with financial and administrative woes in recent years. In August, Pennsylvania’s state-owned university system agreed to forgive $30 million in loans if the school maintained a balanced budget over the next four years.

Losing accreditation would likely have signalled the death knell for Cheyney, founded in 1837 as the Institute for Colored Youth.

President Aaron A. Walton began his tenure in May. The Middle States Commission on Higher Education says Cheyney is “making a good-faith effort to remedy existing deficiencies” in its letter Friday. The school must continue to make improvements and report back to the commission next September.