TERRE HAUTE —
A federal audit says St. Mary-of-the-Woods College should return $42 million in loans and grants made to students between 2005 and 2010, something the college plans to challenge.
The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the U.S. Department of Education says the college’s students, both on campus and distance education, should not have received Title IV federal financial aid.
The audit says the college’s distance learning programs did not meet the regulatory definition of “telecommunications courses” and should instead have been categorized as “correspondence” courses.
The college disagrees and says its accrediting agency has designated its distance programs as telecommunications.
“I’m a little angry,” Dottie King, college president, said in a telephone interview today. “I know we have done nothing wrong.”
The college “has always acted in good faith with full transparency, and the program has always been completely approved by the Higher Learning Commission,” the college’s accrediting agency, King said.
The audit report includes recommendations to the U.S. Department of Education, and the Woods will now begin discussions will DOE. The college has hired outside legal counsel.
In the meantime, nothing changes for the college or its students while the matter is resolved, which could take some time. The college remains accredited and students’ financial aid is not affected. “It’s business as usual,” King said.
The audit says DOE should “terminate” the college’s participation in the federal Title IV program and require the return of all Title IV funds disbursed during award years 2005-06 through 2009-2010 to the federal government or FFEL lenders.
It also recommends that Title IV funds disbursed in 2010-11 should also be returned.
King believes the $42 million figure is misleading because students must already repay their federal loans and the government can’t ask that those funds be repaid twice.
The audit findings are recommendations that have been forwarded to the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) within the U.S. Department of Education.
FSA will undertake an independent review of the recommendations and the college’s response and determine whether any action is warranted, and if so, the nature of such action.
According to the audit report, under the Higher Education Act of 1965, “an institution is not eligible to participate in the Title IV programs if 50 percent or more of its students were enrolled in correspondence courses during its latest complete award year. The college considered its programs to be offered in either on-campus or telecommunications formats. It did not consider any of its programs to be offered through correspondence. However, based on our review of the College’s documentation and interviews with college officials and students, we concluded that courses were in fact offered in a correspondence format.”
The college submitted an extensive response to the OIG, which is part of the audit report.
The college has an enrollment of about 1,500 students.
The campus community is being informed of the findings today.
Sue Loughlin can be reached at (812) 231-4235 or sue.loughlin@tribstar.com.
Saint Mary-of-the-Woods
Federal audit says SMWC should return $42M in student aid
College plans to challenge findings
- Saint Mary-of-the-Woods
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Secret weapon: Kelsey Rosselli finishing Woods career with a bang
At Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, reporting game results to the Tribune-Star after a win or a loss is not always a high priority.
So when one of its athletes enjoys an outstanding season, like senior Kelsey Rosselli is doing for the Pomeroys’ softball team in 2013, media publicity doesn’t always follow.
In fact, her efforts almost seem like a government secret.
Rosselli’s name might sound familiar to longtime Terre Haute softball followers because she was a standout for North High School, from where she graduated in 2009.
Since then, she’s helped The Woods finish runner-up in three straight U.S. Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) national tournaments in 2010, 2011 and 2012. -
A time for firsts: SMWC seniors have national title aspirations
Even though St. Mary-of-the-Woods College has won eight national titles in softball in the last 16 years, seniors Sara Goelz and Jessica Jonas are among the many current Woods players who have not been part of a national championship team.
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Federal audit says SMWC should return $42M in student aid
A federal audit says St. Mary-of-the-Woods College should return $42 million in loans and grants made to students between 2005 and 2010, something the college plans to challenge.
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This underdog has its day
It’s been an up-and-down regular season for the St. Mary-of-the-Woods College women’s basketball team, but it concluded on a definite uptick.
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The mane attraction: Woods students learn about careers in equine world
A horse can be a powerful therapeutic tool, something Chris Marks knows firsthand.
“I’ve seen children with autism speak their first word to a horse,” causing their parents to “dissolve in a puddle of emotion,” said Marks, chairman of the Equine Studies program at St. Mary-of-the-Woods College.
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WOMEN'S BASKETBALL ROUNDUP: Rose, The Woods post weekend victories
Rose-Hulman relied on a balanced scoring attack and a strong defensive effort to earn a 55-44 women’s basketball victory Saturday over Mount St. Joseph.
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SMWC topples Rose-Hulman
After a sluggish first half for both teams, St. Mary-of-the-Woods College found enough offensive rhythm in the final 20 minutes to outlast host Rose-Hulman 51-41 in the 19th annual Clabber Girl Trophy women’s basketball showdown Tuesday night inside Hulbert Arena.
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METRO ROUNDUP: SMWC’s Runyon wins USCAA cross country title
Blinding snow and freezing temperatures couldn’t stop Saint Mary-of-the-Woods junior Stephanie Runyon, an education major from Noblesville, from becoming the 2011 U.S. Collegiate Athletic Association women’s national champion in cross country Friday.
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Trimmed roster may benefit SMWC
“Less is more” is a statement with many, many meanings, attributed to many, many sources through the years.
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Dottie King becomes 16th president of St. Mary-of-the-Woods College
As the mother of six children, Dottie King learned early on the importance of setting priorities and achieving the right balance between family, education and work.
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Pomeroys battle to second at national championship
Eight times, St. Mary-of-the-Woods has captured some form of a national championship in softball.
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Shearing Time
You’ve probably never seen a haircut quite like this.
Alpacas, remarkably sweet-looking members of the camel family, were getting their annual shearing last week at the White Violet Center for Eco Justice at St. Mary-of-the-Woods. -
SMWC puts up fight in tourney
St. Mary-of-the-Woods downed Judson 6-2 Sunday morning in the semifinal round of the 2011 USCAA national softball championships, earning a trip to the best-of-three title series.
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BREAKING: St. Mary-of-the-Woods College names Dottie King as 16th president
Dottie L. King, Ph.D. has been appointed the 16th president of St. Mary-of-the-Woods College, the board of trustees announced today.
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Ex-Wildcat finds new home at Woods
Many people find “the path of least resistance” as a preferable way to proceed in life. After all, less risk is involved with a sure thing.
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NEW: St. Mary-of-the-Woods College announces academic changes
St. Mary-of-the-Woods College announced today a refocus of its academic programs. An afternoon news conference is under way at SMWC, which posted a notice about the changes on its website, www.smwc.edu.
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Marian holds off Rose women’s second-half charge
Marian University relied on a strong defensive effort to hold off a second half Rose-Hulman charge and earn a 61-52 women’s basketball victory Saturday afternoon.
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Influx of new players has Pomeroys on rise
With a steady influx of “Killer B’s,” the fortunes of the St. Mary-of-the-Woods’ women’s basketball team are once again on the rise.
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Woods soccer goes 1-1, earns national honors
St. Mary-of-the-Woods returned from the United States Collegiate Athletic Association soccer finals with a 1-1 record and a host of national honors.
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Six St. Mary-of-the-Woods teams compete in national tournaments
St. Mary-of-the-Woods College athletics celebrates the end of a phenomenal year during the 2009-10 season as six teams competitively competed in national tournaments.
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Rosselli, other Valley talent leads Woods into national softball tourney
The St. Mary-of-the-Woods softball program is no stranger to national tournaments.
The Pomeroys claimed some form of a national championship in 1997, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2008, the last several sanctioned by the U.S. Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA). -
St. Mary-of-the-Woods plans Saturday commencement
St. Mary-of-the-Woods College will celebrate its 169th commencement Saturday. Graduation activities will begin at 10:30 a.m. with the traditional baccalaureate mass in the Church of the Immaculate Conception.
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Woods, Rose softball teams split doubleheader
Rose-Hulman and St. Mary-of-the-Woods College split a softball doubleheader that featured the longest athletic contest in history between the two schools on Friday night.
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Ring Day a much anticipated event at The Woods
Ring Day is a much anticipated and special day for most students, but for two St. Mary-of-the-Woods External Degree students in particular it was an especially great experience this year.
- Injury bug bites: St. Mary-of-the-Woods basketball trying to get and stay healthy A myriad of injuries have plagued the St. Mary-of-the-Woods women’s basketball team in recent seasons, forcing the Pomeroys to compete on numerous occasions with just seven, six and sometimes only five players able to play.
- The Woods appoints new vice president for development St. Mary-of-the-Woods College President David G. Behrs has announced the appointment of Serafina I. Spatola as vice president for development.
- St. Mary-of-the-Woods takes fourth in national tournament
- The Woods celebrates 168th commencement More than 140 students are expected to participate in St. Mary-of-the-Woods College’s 168th Commencement Ceremony on Saturday.
- Untold Stories: Film takes unique look ‘Inside Iraq’ At 7 p.m. Monday, St. Mary-of-the-Woods College will present “Inside Iraq: The Untold Stories,” which will include a film showing and discussion with the director of the film, Mike Shiley. The presentation, which will be in the Cecilian Auditorium of the SMWC Conservatory of Music building, is part of the College’s Four-Star series, and it is being co-sponsored by the SMWC Student Activities Committee. The presentation is free and open to the public.
- TH to promote ‘Crossroads of Higher Education’ at Statehouse Terre Haute may lie near Indiana’s western border, but business, education and government leaders want state lawmakers to know that the city that bills itself as the “Crossroads of America” is also the “Crossroads of Higher Education.”
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