The embattled University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) got a rare bit of good news today, when it was taken off probation and its accreditation was restored, according to The New York Times.

The Middle States Commission on Higher Education determined that the school had made sufficient progress in cleaning up its act after being on probation since June, 2006. UMDNJ president, William Owen applauded the commission's decision in a statement posted on the university's website, writing that "UMDNJ was able to demonstrate to this accrediting body that our institution has in fact been transformed into an organization worthy of the public's trust."

The UMDNJ has been fraught with allegations of corruption, cronyism, and financial abuses since early 2005. In April, 2005, the university admitted to awarding several thousands of dollars in no-bid contracts to politically connected awardees and in November, 2006, the school was charged with paying kickbacks to cardiologists and defrauding Medicare and Medicaid of tens of millions of dollars.

After these and other problems were uncovered by a federal investigation of the university, the UMDNJ made several changes, including the establishment of an office of Ethics and Compliance, hiring Owens and a new General Counsel, and adopting new purchasing and procurement policies.

In his statement, Owens wrote that commission evaluators sent to assess UMDNJ's progress were impressed by the university's resilience in surviving years of mismanagement. "They remarked how the organization, which has had to weather so much over the past few years, has pulled together when many other institutions may have become more fragmented and dysfunctional," Owens wrote. "Our ability to pull together when it is most needed, should serve as a signal to everyone, both inside and outside of UMDNJ, that our organization remains strong even in the face of adversity."

The UMDNJ is due for another evaluation in October of next year.