Purpose

To determine whether Metropolitan College of New York complied with the Education Law and the Commissioner of Education’s Rules and Regulations when certifying students for State financial aid.

Background

Metropolitan College of New York (Metropolitan) operates at two locations, Manhattan and the Bronx. The school offers degrees in areas such as Business, Healthcare System Management, Human Services, and Emergency Management & Business Continuity. The school’s year-round operations include three semesters per academic year. Metropolitan enrolled 575 undergraduate students for the 2015-16 year. Undergraduate tuition for spring 2016 was $584 per credit, or $8,760 per term (15 credits). TAP is an entitlement program designed to provide funds for paying tuition costs to eligible students. Schools receiving State financial aid awards certify student eligibility. For the three academic years ended June 30, 2014, the school certified 3,718 awards totaling almost $6.6 million that were paid to the school on behalf of 1,560 students. We reviewed a sample of 75 randomly selected awards paid during that period, as well as other awards to these students through spring 2015.

Key Findings

• We determined that the procedures used by Metropolitan officials to certify students for State financial aid substantially complied with the governing Law and Regulations. 
• However, we determined that Metropolitan was overpaid $20,944 because school officials incorrectly certified some students as eligible for State financial aid awards.

Key Recommendations

• The Higher Education Services Corporation should recover $20,944 plus applicable interest, from Metropolitan.
• The State Education Department and the Higher Education Services Corporation should work with school officials to help ensure future compliance with the eligibility requirements cited in the report.  
• Metropolitan should comply with the State Education Law and the Commissioner of Education’s Rules and Regulations when certifying students for State financial aid.  

Other Related Audits/Reports of Interest

Higher Education Services Corporation: Audit of the State Financial Aid Program at Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology (2015-T-6)    
Higher Education Services Corporation: Audit of the State Financial Aid Program at Wagner College (2015-T-3)
Higher Education Services Corporation: Audit of the State Financial Aid Program at the Metropolitan Learning Institute  (2014-T-1)