The Bush administration upgraded the rating of Gallaudet University from ineffective to adequate, but warned that the troubled Northeast Washington school needs much improvement and more ambitious goals.
The federal government provides about two-thirds of the school’s funding.
The announcement for the nation’s foremost college for the deaf comes while it tries to mend its wounds from the campus protests last fall that led to the ouster of the president-designate.
New President Robert Davila called the announcement “good news, but we accept criticisms of our programs that continue to be valid.”
Gallaudet failed to show adequate progress in key areas, including the number of students who stay in school and graduate, according to the report by the federal Office of Management and Budget. Gallaudet’s graduation rate of 42 percent was well below target levels.
The upgraded rating came after an appeal by the university. Last year at this time, the OMB reported that the school was not using U.S. tax dollars effectively. Gallaudet appealed because school officials were consulted for the assessment, a Gallaudet spokeswoman said Tuesday.
In December, an education oversight organization announced it was delaying the school’s accreditation because of the ineffective rating. The school is still accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, but is working on answering similar concerns from the commission.
