Opinion

Little return

Opinion of the Sun Sentinel
Published: December 22, 2012

Once again, Florida A&M University is on probation and faces the possible loss of its accreditation. If the drama sounds familiar, that's because it is, and significant improvements to the university won't occur until those persons who claim to support FAMU demand them.

At the moment, the school is better known for controversy than academic excellence. Hazing, the initiation ritual that led to the death of a student and the suspension of the school's famed Marching 100 band, continues to be a problem. So do the administrative shenanigans that have led to audits, a Florida Department of Law Enforcement criminal probe and an order to return $5.2 million in federal funds that had been designated for student financial aid.

It would be easy to blame FAMU's problems on the hazing death of Robert Champion, the 26-year-old drum major who was fatally beaten during a band initiation ritual that went horribly wrong. But last week, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools' Commission on Colleges found other problems of "operational integrity" and leadership, and again put the university on probation — for the second time in five years.

So once again, FAMU, the state's only public historically black university, teeters on academic embarrassment. The loss of accreditation would be a virtual death sentence because it would strip the school of all federal funding, including financial aid, and stick students with a dubious degree from a non-accredited school.

Florida taxpayers expect so much better. They've poured millions of dollars into FAMU's operations, only to see their money wasted by administrative bungling and activities that border on criminal behavior. Taxpayers deserve a better return on their investment.