A letter has been issued to the college asking it to assure the accrediting agency it is in compliance with their standards and explain how its actions are in accordance with policy, Wheelan said. The school will have until April 1 to reply.

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and the Association of Theological Schools are investigating whether recent governance changes at Erskine College and Seminary might have violated accreditation standards.

On March 3, the General Synod of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, which formed Erskine College in 1839 and Seminary in 1837, voted to dissolve the school’s 30-member board of trustees after a commission report alleged the board consistently ignored directives from the church.

Belle Wheelan, president of the SACS Commission on Colleges, said she learned about the changes at Erskine through news reports and two primary concerns were brought to mind — is there a policy on how board members will be dismissed and was it followed? And are board members free from duress by outside influences?

Both of these items are part of SACS accreditation standards.

A letter has been issued to the college asking it to assure the accrediting agency it is in compliance with their standards and explain how its actions are in accordance with policy, Wheelan said. The school will have until April 1 to reply.

Erskine spokesman Rick Hendricks said the school has received a similar letter from ATS. A phone call to ATS to inquire about the letter was not returned.