The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools this week gave Paine College an accreditation warning and one year to correct multiple compliance issues related to finance and leadership stability. The warning comes one year after reaffirming the school’s accreditation for a ten-year period, and months after an independent audit revealed significant problems with the school’s financial aid programs.

The audit detailed the school’s lack of resources and knowledgeable personnel dedicated to preparing financial statements and managing federal money. In the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011, the college spent $500,000 more than it had in income and ended with $343,000 in available cash, compared with $1.1 million the year before.

Paine lost access until 2014 to the Federal Perkins Loan, a need-based program for students, after not properly accounting for the funding.

The audit also found that Paine did not correctly manage federal student aid programs by giving money to two students out of a 40-student sample who did not attend the school, did not return leftover federal financial aid after students withdrew and did not properly record withdrawal statuses for students.

 

Paine College