Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary\u2019s accreditation is restored, ending three years of being under a warning status<\/a> with its regional academic accreditor, school officials said<\/a> Thursday.<\/p>\n President David S. Dockery announced in a statement on the school\u2019s website<\/a> that the seminary \u201cis now in full compliance with all accreditation expectations\u201d of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges following action by the accreditation board on June 11, Dockery said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Warnings were placed on the seminary in June 2023 following a report released by school officials revealing the institution had accumulated a $140 million<\/a> shortfall between 2002 and 2022. School leaders have been pushing ever since to get the sanctions removed and improve the institution\u2019s finances through property sales and increasing net assets.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are genuinely grateful to God to receive this good and encouraging report that all sanctions have been removed, which is an answer to the prayers of many,\u201d Dockery said.<\/p>\n Dockery gave thanks to God and the seminary community for the institution\u2019s improvements and said the school \u201cmust and will continue to be thoroughly committed to faithful institutional stewardship and a renewed sense of overall institutional responsibility in the days ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Lord has used a team effort from across the Southwestern community to get us to this positive position,\u201d Dockery said. \u201cThe Southwestern community must and will continue to be thoroughly committed to faithful institutional stewardship and a renewed sense of overall institutional responsibility in the days ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n The removal of sanctions came after accreditors signaled that might happen<\/a> following an April visit to the school.\u00a0<\/p>\n The seminary \u201cmade concerted efforts\u201d to follow guidance from regional accreditors, including by increasing net tuition, auxiliary revenue and overall operating revenue, and decreasing personnel expenses and overall operating expenses, according to the statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n In August 2023, Fort Worth City Council approved an $11 million purchase<\/a> of 15 acres of the Carroll Park Apartments, previously used for seminary student housing.\u00a0<\/p>\n The property sale allowed the school to pay off $6.1 million in short-term debt, Dockery said in a March 2024 statement<\/a>. Another $3.4 million from the sale was set aside in a \u201cquasi-endowment account\u201d that requires board approval to be used, while the remaining $3 million has been set aside in reserves.<\/p>\n Unrestricted net assets have increased more than $40 million since the end of the 2022 fiscal year. Cash reserves and cash equivalents now total about 50% of the annual budget, Dockery said in his Thursday statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n Marissa Greene is a Report for America corps member, covering faith for the Fort Worth Report. You can contact her at marissa.greene@fortworthreport.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n