GREENSBORO, N.C. — One of the two remaining historically black private women's colleges in the United States is suing to keep its doors open after losing its appeal to have its accreditation restored.
[ [ALSO READ: Accrediting board rejects appeal from historically black NC women's college] ]
Bennett College filed a federal lawsuit Friday, the same day the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges announced it would uphold its decision to revoke the North Carolina school's accreditation.
[ [ALSO READ: North Carolina historically black women's college surpasses fundraising goal] ]
Bennett president Phyllis Worthy Dawkins tells news outlets a federal judge in Atlanta granted a temporary restraining order, preserving Bennett's accreditation while the court case continues.
Dawkins says her team was "devastated" with the appeal's outcome, having raised $9.5 million to prove Bennett could survive financially. That's nearly twice their fundraising goal.
[ [ALSO READ: Bennett College works to raise $5M in less than 40 days to keep accreditation] ]
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Bennett has also applied for accreditation from the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools.