Alliance University accreditation under review; AU president calls move ‘a bit premature’
Alliance University, a New York City-based Christian institution formerly known as Nyack College, is having its official academic accreditation reviewed.
The Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) is reviewing the accreditation of Alliance, having put the Christian school on “show cause” back in March, meaning that Alliance must show why it should remain accredited.
In a press release in March, the accrediting organization reported it had found “insufficient evidence that the institution is in compliance with the Commission’s standards for accreditation, requirements of affiliation, policies and procedures, and applicable federal regulatory requirements.”
The Commission opted to move Alliance to what is deemed as “show cause” after putting the school on probation last June and then after receiving a monitoring report that was due last December.
MSCHE went on to note that Alliance “remains accredited on show cause,” with the university expected to provide a “teach-out plan” that provides “for the equitable treatment of students to complete their education if the Commission were to withdraw accreditation.”
Alliance University President Rajan Mathews told The Christian Post in an emailed statement that he considered the move to “show cause” to be “a bit premature,” noting that MSCHE had “qualified” Alliance “on all accreditation parameters and criteria except Std. 6 — financial health.”
“Given the devastating impact of COVID on academic institutions, especially those institutions catering to economically disadvantaged, marginalized and minority students, we believe MSCHE should have noted the significant improvements we were making on all fronts, including financial, and provided us adequate time to complete the improvements we had already commenced,” said Mathews.
“Placing us on show cause only makes it harder for us to overcome yet another ‘challenge’ on our road to financial health and self-sufficiency.”
On April 14, Alliance filed a report stating that it's in compliance with financial health regulations, noting that MSCHE commissioners visited the campus on April 24-25.
According to Mathews, Alliance is planning to give a presentation before the entire Commission on June 21 “to represent why we believe we are in compliance with” financial health standards.
Alliance was founded in 1882 and originally named the Missionary Training Institute. It changed its name to Nyack College in 1972 after the village where it was located and to reflect its expanded academic offerings.
In 2020, the school sold its 107-acre campus in Nyack and moved all academic programs to its campus in Lower Manhattan, changing its name to Alliance University last September.
