A decision on whether Hampshire College will be placed on probation or lose accreditation will wait until November, because the regional accreditor for the New England states decided it doesn’t yet have enough information to make a determination.
The New England Commission of Higher Education decided to issue a public notation stating that Hampshire, a private college in Massachusetts, is in danger of not meeting standards on institutional resources and on organization and governance. A notation signals that the college’s accreditation could be pulled if its current state continues or grows worse.
When the accreditor met at the end of May, Hampshire had appointed an interim president, started a search for a new president, installed several new board members and put a new board chair in place. Offering more time will allow the college to report on hiring a new president, improving board governance practices and developing plans for fund-raising, enrollment, tuition discounting and long-term sustainability, the accreditor said in a news release Friday.