THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 2, 1994 TAG: 9406020481
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: D1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PERRY PARKS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940602 LENGTH: ELIZABETH CITY
That practice was one of eight areas in which the school used improper standards in its record-keeping, affecting more than $1 million in the fiscal year ending last June, according to the report, signed by State Auditor Ralph Campbell Jr.
{REST} Most of the missteps were procedural errors that will have no financial impact on the university, Campbell said Tuesday. But the scholarship awards could cause problems until a solution is worked out, he said. ``If a funding source is not found, yes, revenue will be lost,'' State Audit Manager Tim Underhill said Tuesday. ``I would characterize it as very serious.''
At the time the audit report was written, there was an unfunded balance of $738,221.98 in scholarship awards.
University officials have agreed to remedy the situation and plan to pay for the scholarships out of a five-year, $5 million ``Centennial Campaign'' fund-raiser launched in 1991, ECSU officials said.
``It's not a total surprise,'' said Roger McLean, ECSU's vice chancellor for business and finance. ``We knew that this would be a cost to the university.
``It's very difficult to attract good, quality students without a good, quality scholarship program.''
In their reply to the audit's findings, which is included in the report, university officials said the scholarships were offered based on projected revenues and had helped boost the university's retention and graduation rates to among the highest in the University of North Carolina system.
``It has really worked well for us,'' McLean said. ``In every area, we have excelled.''
Among other infractions listed in the audit report, ECSU:
Paid academic personnel working with federal grants above their base pay rate without receiving prior permission from the granting agencies. ECSU is currently working to get permission for those payments.
Failed to keep proper track of some equipment bought with federal grant money, including a $2,575 computer that was temporarily unaccounted for.
Failed to apply generally accepted accounting principles in its endowment fund bookkeeping.
Held on to an average of more than $100,000 in extra funds pulled from a federal grant account for longer than the three days allowed.
Campbell said university officials had agreed with the audit's findings and were working to fix the bookkeeping problems that remained.
``We feel pretty good about the audit itself, in terms of how we're going to proceed to deal with things,'' McLean said. ``Most of the things that they have pointed out, we have dealt with those already.''
by CNB