25 students got no-good degrees from New Birth campus says Christopher Quinn in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

(The Atlanta Journal-Constitution) — Twenty-five students who attended a satellite program of North Carolina Central University at Bishop Eddie Long’s Lithonia megachurch earned bachelor’s degrees that are not recognized by the school’s accrediting agency.

A school spokeswoman said 39 other students were in the program earlier this year when it was shut down.

Long and the school, in Durham, started the satellite campus four years ago. They closed it in June after the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools learned of it, reviewed the program and refused to sanction it. All extension programs have to be approved by SACS for degrees to be recognized.

Tom Benberg, chief of staff at the Commission on Colleges at SACS, said any degrees earned in the program at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, “would not be a degree from an accredited operation.”

Long released a statement saying the church has partnered with various education programs to hold classes at the church.

“Regrettably, the university did not seek appropriate approvals at that time prior to launching the program. Last month [SACS] denied approval for NCCU to continue the program offerings at the New Birth site.”

Long said the church and the school are continuing to work toward getting the program recognized by SACS so it can continue.

Long is a graduate of NCCU, a school trustee and announced a $1 million gift to university last week.

The University of North Carolina system, of which NCCU is part, learned of the program last week, according to a spokeswoman. The program should have been vetted by the system’s board of governors.

Erskine Bowles, president the University of North Carolina system, said in a written statement, “I can think of no justifiable reason why the former NCCU leadership would have completely ignored and failed to abide by the appropriate approval process in creating this program. Such action is contrary to all university policy.”

Bowles continued, “This circumstance is one of many problems Chancellor [Charlie] Nelms inherited when he arrived last year, and he has managed each of them professionally and effectively.”

The university system and the staff at NCCU are investigating the situation and trying to answer the legal and academic questions caused by it, said Joni Worthington, vice president of communications at UNC.

The school and Long’s church tried to get the program approved ex post facto, but SACS denied their request in June. Read the Full Story…