CLC pays $405,827 for mistakes

The College of Lake County has paid the federal government more than $405,000 for errors made two years ago during the distribution of financial aid, college officials confirmed.

The problems were detected by the U.S. Department of Education in 2006.

"It is very true to say we've had problems in that department," said Evelyn Schiele, CLC's special assistant to the president for outreach and communications. "Since then, we have taken corrective actions to resolve these concerns."

The college recently sent the Department of Education $405,827, which completely resolves the issues, Schiele said.

During fiscal year 2006, financial aid given to students who later withdrew from the school was not refunded to the Department of Education.

CLC also had problems that year providing the required verification for the students who were awarded money, and calculating which students were eligible to receive financial aid. That year, a total of 3,403 CLC students received financial aid.

Currently, about 28 percent of the 13,000 eligible students receive financial aid. CLC has a total enrollment of 16,000.

"We believe we have fixed the problems in the department," Schiele said. After much staffing turnover, there is a new management team in place in the department and new controls have been implemented to safeguard against errors, she added.

Those steps, Schiele said, have paid off. The auditor's report for fiscal year 2007 indicates the college will have to pay the Department of Education $1,760 this year.

"Oakton (Community College) is the only school I know of that has a 100 percent clean audit," she said. "The financial aid regulations are very complex, especially at a community college where students are very fluid."

Jane Glickman, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Education, agreed it is not unusual for a school to have to pay back the government when dealing with financial aid.

Glickman said if a college has multiple financial problems, it is put on what is called heightened cash monitoring.

CLC is not being monitored, Glickman said.