Public Radio for the Piedmont and High Country
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Greensboro College "Back On Track" After Rocky Time

photo courtesy of Greensboro College
Greensboro College is a 176-year-old institution that is changing how it does business. Larry Czarda, president of the school, was recently asked by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools — the same accrediting body that imposed four years of sanctions against the school — to teach a workshop on how to navigate the same scrutiny and probation that Greensboro College emerged from just a year ago.

It's been three years since Greensboro College was placed on probation by its accrediting body. But now the college has regained its financial stability and is being looked at as a model for how a small liberal arts college that struggled during the recession can regain its footing.

Once one of the fastest-growing small liberal arts colleges in the country, the nonprofit Greensboro College fell into the red during the recession, as declines in enrollment crippled an aggressive expansion plan and investments in new programs, facilities and real estate.  But the 176-year-old school returned to the black last year and secured its accreditation.

Owen Covington with the Triad Business Journal looks at the financial troubles the college faced, and how it's now prepared to work toward a new vision for how students are taught and graded.

“A big part was rethinking the school it wanted to be, and shedding some of the investments it had made. College officials sold property, cut staff, and reworked its loans. All of this was done under new president Larry Czarda,” says Covington.

Covington says the school now stands as a model for other institutions facing similar challenges.  “They have built it on three pillars. One is to rededicate themselves to a liberal arts curriculum. The second is to recommit to an affiliation with the Methodist Church. The third is what really sets them apart. They have decided to overhaul the entire curriculum, the entire institution, under this premise called Universal Design for Learning.”

He goes on to explain that Universal Design for Learning is basically an overhaul of how students are taught and tested, and an institution-wide framework that seeks to support students and play to their strengths.

The Business Report on 88.5 WFDD is a partnership with the Triad Business Journal. You'll find Owen Covington's storyand more breaking business news at Triad.Bizjournals.com.

Follow Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news

Keri Brown is a multi-award winning reporter and host at 88.5 WFDD. She has been honored with two regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her stories about coal ash, and was named the 2015 radio reporter of the year by the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas (RTDNAC).Although she covers a variety of topics, her beats are environmental and education reporting.Keri comes to the Triad from West Virginia Public Broadcasting, where she served as the Chief Bureau Reporter for the Northern Panhandle. She produced stories for the state's Public Television and Radio programs and was honored by the West Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Association for her feature and enterprise reporting.She also served as an adjunct instructor at Wheeling Jesuit University and Bethany College in West Virginia. She worked with the Center for Educational Technologies in Wheeling, WV, and other NASA centers across the country to develop several stories about the use of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts in the classroom.Keri's journalism career began at WTRF-TV 7 in Wheeling. She worked in several roles at the station, including the head assignment editor. She also was a field producer and assignment manager at WPGH-TV Fox 53 in Pittsburgh.Keri is a graduate of Ohio University. When she's not in the studio or working on a story, she enjoys watching college football with her family, cooking, and traveling.Keri is always looking for another great story idea, so please share them with her. You can follow her on Twitter @kerib_news.

Support quality journalism, like the story above,
with your gift right now.

Donate