After 158 years in operation, St. Augustine’s University will not offer any classes or educational programs this fall.This spring, the HBCU in Raleigh, NC gave up on a lengthy court battle for accreditation and filed for bankruptcy. Despite that, the school developed and planned to launch eight online, nondegree programs this September. The courses — which focused on topics like programming, artificial intelligence and public health — were going to cost students between $1,100 and $4,500.St. Augustine’s already- developed syllabi, identified instructors and marketed these courses. They were slated to start in mere weeks.But earlier this month, bankruptcy judge David Warren raised serious concerns about this effort, saying he didn’t think St. Augustine’s was in a position to make promises to potential students. And although preserving the school’s century-and-half-old educational mission is important, he said, it may not be the smartest use of resources at this particular point.So the school is putting the development of those programs on pause, the university’s lawyer, Ciara Rogers, told Judge Warren in bankruptcy court Thursday.
