Saint Augustine’s University, the 158-year-old HBCU in Raleigh, will not offer classes or educational programs during the fall 2026 semester as it works through bankruptcy and an uncertain future.
The decision marks a reversal for Saint Augustine’s. University leaders had planned to launch eight online, nondegree programs in September, according to The News & Observer.Those programs would have covered subjects including programming, artificial intelligence and public health. Students would have paid between $1,100 and $4,500. The university had already developed course syllabi, identified instructors and marketed the programs.However, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David Warren questioned whether the financially troubled HBCU could deliver on promises made to prospective students. He also raised concerns about spending limited resources on classes while the institution remains in bankruptcy.Warren reportedly described the university as “essentially closed” during a court hearing. Saint Augustine’s stopped offering traditional courses after losing its accreditation and filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this spring.The university had previously fought the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges over the termination of its accreditation. That lengthy legal battle ended earlier this year.
Saint Augustine’s focuses on bankruptcy exit
Saint Augustine’s attorney Joseph Behr told the court that the university’s first priority must be emerging from bankruptcy in better financial condition.That “fresh start,” Behr said, could eventually allow the Raleigh institution to return its attention to education.“I’m starting to feel good that there’s a possibility that some entity that performs the services that St. Augustine’s performs will continue to exist on that property and provide those services into the future,” Behr said, according to The News & Observer. “So that’s a positive development.”The university also amended bankruptcy filings involving money owed to students. Saint Augustine’s initially listed nearly every debt as disputed, including claims from individual students. Those student debts are no longer marked that way.Behr said some students might not have understood that they needed to file claims because the university had classified their debts as disputed. In some cases, students may still owe borrowed money despite not receiving funds owed to them by the university.The HBCU now faces the challenge of satisfying creditors while attempting to preserve its educational mission and historic presence in Raleigh.
University considers selling portions of campus…