1/16/02
Bob Lowry, 334/844-9999
FEDERAL COURT RULES SACS MUST GIVE AUBURN UNIVERSITY DUE PROCESS
AUBURN A federal court judge in Atlanta has ruled that Auburn University is entitled to due process while the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools conducts any investigation of the university.
U.S. District Court Judge J. Owen Forrester, in a ruling released Wednesday, also imposed several limitations on any investigation of Auburn by SACS.
"Obviously, Auburn is delighted with the court's decision," said AU Interim President William F. Walker. "This ruling 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," said Walker. "Through this lawsuit, 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 insured that this will occur."
SACS had announced last summer it would send a review team to Auburn to investigate complaints over governance brought by the University Senate and other groups. 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 court order noted that AU "faced investigation under the 'Special Committee' process which has no provision for meaningful notice and opportunity to be heard."
That was one of the issues that prompted AU to file suit against SACS and its executive director -- to protect its due process rights and assure that the agency conduct any investigation of the university in a manner consistent with the SACS' standing procedures and other legal standards.
SACS agreed earlier in a hearing before Forrester to narrow the scope of its investigation to issues related to Auburn's accreditation.
The court said SACS may not investigate whether the university complied with Alabama's open meetings laws, the manner in which Board of Trustee members 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 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 the Board of 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.
Finally, the court ruled that use of a special committee "would violate SACS' own rules and, therefore, deny due process to Auburn."
jan02:AU-sacs
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