READING — Albright College has been warned that continued poor budgeting and financial instability could risk the eventual loss of its accreditation.

The Middle States Commission on Higher Education issued notices last month to over a dozen schools, including the private Berks County liberal arts college, for issues such as budgeting, educational effectiveness, and ensuring adequate physical and technical infrastructure.

Albright received a noncompliance warning, which is the least serious type of noncompliance notice the commission offers.

Three other Pennsylvania institutions received warnings, while the private and Christian University of Valley Forge in Chester County received a show-cause notice — the most serious action.

To be accredited, colleges must meet academic standards set by a commission recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

No law requires schools to be accredited, but the status allows students to transfer credits and for degrees to be recognized by other institutions and employers. Additionally, accreditation is required for students to receive federal financial aid for the college they’re attending.

University of Tennessee, Knoxville professor Robert Kelchen, an expert in higher education finance, accountability policies, and practices, said colleges and universities commonly fall out of compliance with accrediting agencies. For Albright College, the warning serves as an early alert to accreditors having concerns.

But the private college in Reading isn’t high on the commission’s radar at this point, Kelchen said.

“It’s not like accreditation loss is imminent,” he said. “But it’s the accreditor sending a clear message that if you can’t turn things around in the next year or so, then you may really be at risk of losing accreditation.”

Albright has until Feb. 16, 2027, to show accreditors it “has achieved and can sustain ongoing compliance” with Standard VI, which deals with planning, resources, and institutional improvement. The college will have a site visit with the Middle States Commission in March.

Albright College President Debra Townsley told Spotlight PA on July 2 that students, faculty, and staff were notified June 30 of the accreditor’s warning, as was the college’s Board of Trustees.

In a June 30 email to Albright staff obtained by Spotlight PA, administrators said over the past year the school had submitted a self-study report addressing “all operations of the college” to the commission.

“The college satisfactorily met almost all of the required standards of [accreditors], but improvement of our financial condition remains,” Irene Langran, vice president for academic affairs, wrote. Because of this, Albright was issued a warning, and accreditors want “to see continued improvement in the financials of the college over the coming year.”

Townsley said the self-study report was based on “multiple prior years, including COVID and post-covid years.”

The warning from accreditors comes after an audit earlier this year found the college’s touted $10 million surplus was less than half that, underscoring the school’s continued financial strain. In a routine review, auditors also flagged a material weakness due to turnover in positions like the controller. A material weakness is a serious, systemic failure in an organization’s internal financial controls, which can lead to errors in financial statements.

Kelchen said it’s “quite possible” that Albright College’s critical audit released earlier this year played a part in accreditors flagging the college’s status.

“It could be driven more by other factors,” Kelchen added. “The other factors that could potentially trip the accreditor would be … an institution being placed on heightened cash monitoring by the Department of Education.”

Albright College has been on heightened cash monitoring for “financial responsibility” since September 2025, according to the federal education department.

Townsley said the material weakness in the college’s latest audit “did not contribute” to the accreditor’s warning. Some of what was requested, like an IT plan, hadn’t been written, Townsley added, but that will be in place this coming year.

“As you know, we have implemented a turnaround. When the report was submitted to [the Middle States Commission], only one year of the report was based on the turnaround and turnarounds take three to five years,” Townsley said. “We maintain our accreditation and all student financial aid is unaffected. As noted above, we are continuing in our turnaround strategies and the transformation of the college.”

Albright remains accredited for now, but the Middle States Commission gave the educational institution a deadline to take corrective measures to be deemed compliant. Specifically, the commission asked the college to provide:

– A financial planning and budgeting process that aligns with the college’s mission and goals.

– Documented financial resources, a funding base, and plans for “financial development adequate to support its educational purposes and programs and to ensure financial stability.”

– Evidence of actions taken to address findings in prior audited financial statements.

– Comprehensive plans for “facilities, infrastructure, and technology that includes consideration of sustainability and deferred maintenance and is linked to the institution’s strategic and financial planning processes.”

Other local colleges and universities, including Alvernia, Kutztown, Penn State, and Reading Area Community College, all had their accreditations reaffirmed by the commission in recent years.

Kutztown was issued a noncompliance warning by the Middle States Commission in 2018 and returned to compliance the following year. Penn State received a warning in 2012 amid the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal. Alvernia has not had any accreditation actions against it since at least 2010, according to the commission website.