Dive Brief:
- Guilford College’s accreditor has removed the institution from probation after what its president described as significant improvements in financial management and operations, the college announced Tuesday.
- Guilford President Jean Parvin Bordewich and a five-person delegation made their case over the weekend during a meeting with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. The delegation pointed to expense cuts and a balanced budget for both fiscal 2025 and the first five months of the current fiscal year.
- SACSCOC initially put Guilford, in North Carolina, on probation in 2023, flagging the college for weak financial processes and later for inadequate financial resources. “Now we are on sound financial footing and well positioned to fulfill our mission,” Bordewich said in a statement Tuesday.
Dive Insight:
Just six months ago, Guilford was on the hunt for cash as it raced to balance its budget for fiscal 2026 — a necessity for maintaining its accreditation beyond the December meeting with SACSCOC. At the time, Bordewich said the private, Quaker-founded college was “between the proverbial rock and a hard place.”
Guilford has since “turbo-charged” its fundraising, doubling last year’s number of alumni donors in just four months, Bordewich told SACSCOC in prepared remarks last weekend. The college has received $7 million in unrestricted donations for the first third of fiscal 2026, more than 66% of its goal for the year. For the calendar year 2025, Guilford has received $12.6 million in unrestricted cash, nearly five times what it had last year.
The college has also made painful cuts and now operates with one-third fewer employees compared to a year ago.
In June, Guilford’s governing board opted not to declare financial exigency — a process invoked by institutions in financial distress so they can lay off tenured faculty.
However, some faculty chose early retirements and exits. Faculty also, with staff, accepted suspended retirement contributions, according to Bordewich.
In all, Guilford cut its operating expenses by $5.7 million in fiscal 2025 and by another $6.6 million in 2026.
“The College needed serious pruning,” Bordewich told SACSCOC. “We dug into the core of Guilford’s financial dysfunction, implemented changes, and month by month, the institution grew stronger.”
Along with slashing its budget, the college has also raised new revenue. Beyond donations, it has sold some $400,000 in art and struck a $7.5 million development deal with the Piedmont Land Conservancy for 120 acres of the Guilford Woods. The land deal will open up access to the green space for the public while Guilford retains ownership.
Many of Guilford’s financial woes have stemmed from sagging enrollment. Between 2018 and 2023, fall headcount declined 23.4% to 1,208 students. That number is down 57.3% from 2010.
Prior to this year, the college reported a $2.4 million operating deficit in fiscal 2024 and $4.7 million operating deficit in fiscal 2023.
“This has never been about the student experience in or out of the classroom, which has remained exceptional,” Bordewich said Tuesday. “This has been about finances, and SACSCOC has now affirmed that we have the financial resources to support Guilford's unique approach to a liberal arts education.”
