THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, June 2, 1995 TAG: 9506020542
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PERRY PARKS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: Medium: 51 lines
Elizabeth City State University's unfunded scholarship commitments rose to more than $1 million last year, a state audit released this week says.
However, the 1994 audit report highlighted far fewer problems with ECSU's accounting practices than a report released one year ago. Aside from the continuing scholarship problem, state auditors said that only a few adjustments, required by standard accounting practices, were necessary. .
The previous year's report had noted difficulties in several other areas, such as handling of federal grants and endowment fund bookkeeping.
The audit for the year ended June 30, 1994, shows the university is working to rectify its problem of unfunded scholarships and has stopped granting scholarships that it cannot pay for. But commitments made to students still at the school increased the unfunded balance by about $300,000.
The audit report says ECSU's total scholarship indebtedness through prior commitments will reach about $1,857,897 by June 30, 1998.
ECSU officials agreed in the 1993 audit to stop awarding scholarships it could not immediately fund. And the school has begun a repayment plan that is scheduled to wipe out the debt by 2000.
The university announced last month that it has completed a $5 million fund-raising campaign that will be used to pay off scholarship debt and fund new grants to students.
``They have ceased the policy of awarding new scholarships when there is no source of funds for those scholarships,'' State Auditor Ralph Campbell Jr. said from his Raleigh office Thursday.
``Elizabeth City State Universityhas made some significant strides in the financial affairs of the university,'' Campbell said. ``We feel very good about the improvements that have been made.''
ECSU officials also said progress was being made.
``We were quite pleased with the audit report and the job that the auditors did this year,'' said Roger A. McLean, ECSU's vice chancellor for business and finance. ``We continue to work hard to make sure that we're in compliance.''
The state auditor's office, responsible for conducting annual audits of North Carolina's 16 universities, 58 community colleges and other state agencies, opened a satellite office in Elizabeth City this year.
The new office, from which ECSU's audits will be handled beginning with the fiscal 1994-95 report, will make it easier for local officials to communicate with their auditors, Campbell said. by CNB