RALEIGH, N.C.
An annual audit of North Carolina A&T State University found 27 percent of the scholarships reserved for the Bookstore Scholarship Fund for needy students were awarded to relatives of university employees.
State Auditor Les Merritt released a report Friday that found three scholarships totaling $10,392 were distributed. The report says there was no formal policy defining eligibility requirements.
Merritt says the university should create a clear policy saying employees should not be allowed to award scholarships to themselves or immediate family members.
“Need-based scholarships should have clear guidelines and be awarded equitably based on the needs of students,” Merritt said in a news release.
A message left for a university official after hours Friday was not immediately returned.
Auditors also found two questionable trips charged to a vice chancellor’s discretionary account totaling $4,769. Twelve of those cases came from excessive mileage reimbursement. The auditor says the expenses were not properly approved.
The report also noted poor management of student accounts, unallowable costs paid from state appropriations, deficiencies in financial reporting, and employees circumventing internal controls. Some students were not billed for their medical insurance and there were also some grants not accounted for.
The News & Observer of Raleigh had reported that an audit report last August disclosed more than $1 million in fraud, mismanagement of federal grants and misuse of money at the historically black college.
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