The University of the Virgin Islands remains fully accredited but has been placed on “show cause” status by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, requiring the institution to demonstrate by Sept. 1 why its accreditation should not be withdrawn because of ongoing concerns related to its finances, governance, and delayed audits.
The action, approved by the commission on June 25 and posted publicly this week, does not remove UVI’s accreditation. Instead, it requires the university to submit extensive documentation demonstrating that it has the financial resources, planning processes, governance structure, and completed audits necessary to remain in compliance with accreditation standards. The university will remain accredited while on show cause, after which commission representatives are expected to conduct another campus visit before making a final determination.
In an interview Wednesday with the Source, UVI President Safiya George said the university is confident it can satisfy the commission’s requirements.
“We received a notice from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education that they decided to have a show cause action, which just requires the university to submit a very detailed report by Sept. 1, 2026, and then have a follow-up site visit, probably in October, showing that we have sufficient financial resources to support the university,” George said.
She stressed that the commission’s concerns center on two accreditation standards — financial resources and governance — and said the lengthy public notice reflects every element contained within those standards, not deficiencies across the board.
“They cite Standards Six and Seven,” George said. “Although that’s all they’re concerned about, they still have to list everything under that standard. Any school that has to do this has to describe every criterion within the standard, even though we’ve already shown that we’ve met many of those.”
Among the commission’s requirements are evidence of adequate financial resources, a sustainable budgeting process, responsible fiscal management, completed audited financial statements for fiscal years 2022 through 2025, and documentation showing the institution can maintain compliance with accreditation standards moving forward. The commission also directed UVI to prepare a teach-out plan, which is a standard requirement during a show cause process to protect students in the unlikely event accreditation is ultimately withdrawn.
George said the timing of the government’s allotments has been inconsistent. For example, although the university has received its March 2026 allotment, its September 2025 allotment remains outstanding.
The commission also cited the absence of completed audits for fiscal years 2022 through 2025. George said those delays predate her arrival as president in August 2024.
“When I got here, the last audit that had been completed was 2020,” she said.
The delay has been attributed by UVI trustees and officials to a previous auditing firm, BDO, which took an extended period to complete the 2020 audit, creating a backlog that affected subsequent years.
The university has since transitioned to Ernst & Young. George said the 2021 audit has been completed and published, while audit work for fiscal years 2022 through 2025 has already completed its substantive procedures and is now in the final stages of review before issuance.
She also said some delays stemmed from waiting for financial and personnel data from government agencies, including information related to employee retirement records that auditors required to complete their work.
The financial challenges outlined by Middle States mirror concerns university officials raised before lawmakers in May. During a Senate Education and Workforce Development Committee hearing, administrators warned that UVI’s free tuition program could be suspended without additional funding. At the time, officials said the university was carrying a deficit tied to the scholarship program while also awaiting approximately $8.5 million in overdue government allotments, creating cash-flow pressures affecting payroll, vendor payments, and daily operations.
They estimated the university would need roughly $2.6 million to fund tuition awards through the 2026 academic year, followed by about $3 million annually to sustain the program.
Despite the challenges, George expressed confidence that UVI will satisfy the commission’s requirements by the Sept. 1 deadline.
“We’re going to do everything that we need to do to ensure that doesn’t happen,” she said when asked about the possibility of losing accreditation. “I’m pretty confident that we will not lose our accreditation.”
George said the university is working closely with the Government of the Virgin Islands to resolve the outstanding allotments while continuing to finalize the remaining audits.
She also said UVI is pursuing additional revenue through fundraising, donor support, partnerships, and other initiatives designed to strengthen the institution’s long-term financial position.
“We’re fundraising, talking to donors,” George said. “Our deans and administrators are also identifying ways to increase revenues. We’re working on a number of things, including partnerships to generate additional revenue.”
George said she remains confident the university will retain its accreditation.
“I don’t think the Government of the Virgin Islands is going to let that happen either,” she said. “I know the senators won’t let that happen. I will do whatever I need to do to ensure that doesn’t happen.”
Contacted by the Source Wednesday, Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. said the university’s funding challenges are part of broader fiscal pressures affecting the territory’s entire government, rather than an issue unique to UVI. While acknowledging delays in allotment payments, he said the university will receive its regular budget allotments and noted that UVI’s outstanding September 2025 allotment now requires a legislative appropriation because the fiscal year ended before the payment was made.
The governor attributed much of the territory’s budget strain to rising personnel costs approved by the Legislature, including increases to the minimum wage for government employees and higher government contributions toward employee health insurance. Those additional expenses were previously offset by federal American Rescue Plan Act funding, Bryan said, but that source of revenue has now been exhausted. He estimated the initial impact of those increased personnel costs at roughly $8 million.
