University of St. Thomas interim president responds to re-accreditation concerns

University of St. Thomas administrators announced that they are planning a faculty and staff town hall “to share important updates and discuss our plans” following widespread concerns about the Houston Catholic school’s re-accreditation.

Interim President Fr. Dempsey Rosales-Acosta addressed some of the issues in a Monday afternoon email, which was obtained by the Houston Chronicle. An article published Monday morning had reported on questions of financial stability, leadership turnover, faculty cuts, and the accreditation status of individual programs.

Rosales-Acosta said that “these external narratives … do not fully capture the work we do and the positive impact we strive to make every day.”

“Our focus remains on ensuring the highest standards of academic excellence for our students," he wrote. "Our leadership team is prepared to advance in our work with faith and a renewed commitment to our University community that we serve in the name of the Lord.”

Read more: Here's what to know as University of St. Thomas goes up for re-accreditation

The university’s accreditor, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, is expected to visit St. Thomas this month to determine its accreditation renewal in December. All of its members go through the once-a-decade quality assurance review. Institutions must be accredited in order to distribute federal financial aid to their students.

St. Thomas is addressing specific concerns, Rosales-Acosta said. The music department and libraries are ensuring that students have access to necessary resources, he said. And the private Catholic university “was determined to be compliant” with the accreditor’s standards on financial resources, he added.  

The Chronicle reported last fall about six consecutive years of financial losses at St. Thomas, and in January about a surprise renovation that dismantled the music library last summer. 

St. Thomas officials had not responded to the Chronicle's questions about future accreditation plans in the Cameron School of Business. Separate the university's institutional accreditation, the Cameron School is also accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.

The business faculty moved a reaccreditation visit last year, and accreditation is set to expire in 2026, the Chronicle has reported. Business Dean Bob Keith said “we review the business school accreditation standards internally to see if it matches with our future strategy for the Cameron School ... and we are consistently re-evaluating to see if the business accreditation aligns with our new business school strategy and how we want to move forward,” Dempsey shared in the email to faculty.

Keith also reiterated that business school accreditation “has nothing to do” with institutional accreditation.