CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The state Higher Education Policy Commission has voted to continue the suspension of Salem University from participating in state college financial aid programs for at least another year.
The HEPC passed a resolution during its meeting Friday.
HEPC Senior Director of Financial Aid Brian Weingart told commission members his office has been working with Salem for more than a year to get previous problems with the handling of state financial aid money cleared up and some improvement has been made but not enough.
“We allowed them to go through 25-26 (academic year) to make sure their internal controls and everything was in place. We reviewed their work. There were still issues regarding eligibility, regarding disbursement, regarding reconciliation of funds,” Weingart said. “They have requested reinstatement but in my opinion they don’t have the systems in place or the experience to administer these programs properly.”
Salem University President and CEO Paul Weber asked the HEPC to allow the university to front the 135 students who would receive state financial aid the money and then allow the state to pay back the university.
“For those students sake and just for the wellness of Salem, I ask for consideration of a heightened monitoring where we pay in advance and through an audit or whatnot get approval from the state for reimbursement of those funds,” Weber suggested.
His proposal received no support from the HEPC.
The resolution passed by the commission Friday commends Salem for the work it’s done to improve its handling of financial aid but also urges the university to continue with “staff training and a correction plan.”
According to the resolution, Salem can reapply for reinstatement of state financial aid at the HEPC’s meeting next June.
Weingart told the PSC Friday Salem started having problems with handling state financial aid a few years ago following a key retirement in its financial aid department.