Gallaudet University’s accreditor has postponed a decision on its accreditation after expressing “serious concern regarding recent developments at the institution,” The Washington Post reported today. Gallaudet, the nation’s only liberal-arts college for the deaf and hard of hearing, will retain its existing accreditation despite the delay. The university experienced convulsive protests at the start of the academic year this fall — by students, faculty members, and alumni — against the choice of a former provost to be the new president. In October Gallaudet’s Board of Trustees rescinded the appointment and announced that it would reopen the search for a president. The board said it would choose an interim president this week.

The accreditor, the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools’ Commission on Higher Education, announced in a written statement that it had decided on a delay because of “institutional statements and press reports that have raised serious public concerns” about governance and the general climate at Gallaudet. In addition, a 2005 report from a federal agency described Gallaudet as “ineffective” in certain areas. And Gallaudet failed to provide the commission with information required of the university in a recent periodic self-report. The commission said it would send a small team to visit Gallaudet by January 12, 2007.