JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction allowing Edward Waters College to keep its accreditation while court-ordered mediation takes place.

EWC has asked Federal Judge Timothy Corrigan to block the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools from pulling the school's accreditation after the organization denied the school's appeal of its decision pulling the school's accreditation.

SACS decided to pull the school's accreditation after the organization found one of the documents submitted was plagiarized from Alabama A&M University.

The college has acknowledged its fault and lack of oversight that allowed the plagiarism to occur. The college vice president who submitted the document is no longer at the school, and the college's attorney arguing for the injunction said the organization's punishment is too harsh for the infraction.

"The college has shown substantial likelihood that it will prove at trial that the association denied the college due process in the procedures the association employed to expel the college from association membership," Corrigan ruled.

"This is an important victory for EWC," said Bishop McKinley Young, chairman of the college's board of trustees.

EWC officials have warned that loss of accreditation, and the subsequent loss of federal tuition assistance for students, could be disastrous for the school. Students at non-accredited schools are also not eligible for scholarships from the United Negro College Fund.

An estimated 90 percent of the college's students receive financial aid.

The uncertainty about the school's future has already caused the second semester enrollment to drop from about 1,300 students to 900.

EWC President Jimmy Jenkins resigned last month, saying he wanted to give the private Jacksonville college its best shot at successfully appealing the decision to revoke its accreditation.

Edward Waters College, established in 1866 to educate the descendants of blacks newly emancipated from slavery, is a private four-year liberal arts co-educational residential institution, committed to Christian principles which emphasize high moral and spiritual values, as a result of its close affiliation with, and support from, the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

The college offers baccalaureate degrees in the arts and sciences and other career-based professional fields.

College officials are holding a news conference at 5 p.m. to react to the ruling. Watch the local station at 6:30 and 10 p.m. for complete reports.