Since the work study fraud in the Athletics Department first became public in late November of 2004, little has changed in the University’s monitoring process but the Athletics Department incorporated several new changes, including new manuals, more strict training processes and policies that emphasize that students caught violating work-study policy will be fired.
Athletics Director Al Bean, declined to comment on his department’s changes, deferring questions to Bob Caswell, executive director of Media and Public Affairs.
Caswell declined to comment on disciplinary action taken against particular staff members, but did say a staff member could face anything from verbal reprimand to suspension. No students were charged with crimes, but violators were required to pay full restitution, complete community service projects and for 17 student athletes, serve suspensions that ranged from 10 percent to 30 percent of their games.
“We feel that the sanctions required students to take responsibility for their actions and gave them a chance to learn from their mistakes,” Caswell said.
Thirty-five student employees were found in violation of work-study policy and defrauded the University for slightly less than $8,000.
The investigation was conducted through a process of interviewing students and checking for scheduling conflicts. Caswell said there is no way to be sure if all students have been caught, but the Athletics Department “checked each student time card against the student’s class schedule and other commitments.”
“I would say there is a renewed emphasis on how important it is to make sure that students receive an hour of pay for an hour of work,” said Caswell via email.
“If you have a flat tire, you don’t buy a new car,” said Keith Dubois, director of Financial Aid. He said last year’s work-study fraud represented an “isolated incident at the institution.”
According to Dubois, the University does not have a mandatory training process for supervisors and students. However, when a supervisor hires a new student, both must fill out paperwork stating they understand the policies posted online.
Dubois said training sessions are held several times a year, but aren’t mandatory. Work-study policy is readily available for students and supervisors on the Financial Aid office’s webpage. “You can provide information, but you can’t always force people to read it.” Dubois said.
A memo sent out last semester by USM President Richard Pattenaude outlined a list of “supervising deficiencies” which included students being paid for hours not worked, students claiming they were never informed of job duties, students working with little or no supervision and no defined work schedule, students being hired in work areas without enough work and students being encouraged to work over 40 hours a week and then being coached on how to improperly submit excessive hours.
Pattenaude’s memo encouraged all student-employee supervisors to be more accurate in monitoring students. He also said that such weaknesses in the University’s Federal Work Study program “could result in serious ramifications for students, staff, the department and the University as a whole.”
While there have been individual cases of work study fraud in the past, as far as Caswell knows this “certainly was the first incident involving this number of students.”
Caswell said USM submitted a report to the National Collegiate Athletic Association, but have not received a response as to the NCAA’s intentions.