Arizona's Pima Community College faces a possible freeze on enrolling students who receive federal aid for military veterans after it failed to fix problems within its record-keeping systems, The Arizona Daily Star reported. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has asked the state agency that oversees veterans' education benefits to determine if the college should be allowed to keep serving such students.
Federal auditors found that, for the second year in a row, the college is not in compliance with laws aimed at protecting the tax dollars that fund education benefits for veterans. Among other things, colleges are required to promptly notify the VA of changes in a student's status, such as dropping out, that should cut off the student’s military aid. Last year a VA audit team examined 50 student veterans' files at Pima and found 29 errors. This year, auditors found even more problems—40 errors in 45 files tested, according to the Daily Star.
"The college dropped the ball. It's not acceptable," PCC Chancellor Lee Lambert said in an interview on Friday.
A spokesman for the Arizona Department of Veterans Services said the state agency was sending an inspector to the Tucson-based college. The inspector could recommend a 60-day freeze in new veteran enrollments while the college puts fixes in place, the spokesman said. If that does not work, the college could face a minimum one-year ban on enrolling veterans. Veterans already enrolled would be able to stay to finish their programs.
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The Arizona Daily Star
http://azstarnet.com/news/local/education/college/pcc-may-face-freeze-on-veteran-enrollments/article_3d2d8918-883d-5dab-be11-f3ee9deaee09.html