In the face of next week's critical visit from an accreditation team, FAMU President James Ammons projected confidence Thursday. "We are ready for this visit," he said in a press release. "I believe we have presented a compelling reason why FAMU should be removed from probation."

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, better known as SACS, put FAMU on probation in June (see the St. Petersburg Times story here) after concluding the university is not complying with 10 accrediting standards, many of them related to financial resources and fiscal controls, and some of them tied to findings in several unflattering state audits. Since then, FAMU, under Ammons' leadership, has put together an action plan to address each of the areas of concern. SACS will decide in December whether FAMU should remain on probation. To see the monitoring report FAMU submitted to SACS three weeks ago, click here.