Michigan State pays ED $2.8M in fines for breaking agreement

Michigan State University paid the Department of Education nearly $2.8 million in fines after awarding financial aid to students who were enrolled in academic programs that the department had not yet approved, The Lansing State Journal reported.

The university reached a settlement with the department in June, acknowledging that it had violated the Higher Education Act of 1965 by distributing Title IV funds to roughly 800 students who enrolled in 16 programs before they were approved.

MSU was placed on “provisional standing” for financial aid in 2019, following the Larry Nassar scandal, in which the university was fined millions for failing to report the sexual abuse of hundreds of women athletes by a former athletics doctor. As part of the agreement, MSU was required to earn ED approval for all academic programs before students on financial aid could participate in them.

In December 2022, MSU officials detected and reported the university’s own violation of that provision, MSU spokesperson Mark Bullion told the Journal.

The academic programs in question, all of which have gained approval, include B.A.s in games and interactive media, African American and African studies, and public relations, and masters’ degrees in athletic training, criminal justice and cybercrime, and digital investigation science.

Bullion said the fine was paid in full on July 19, about two weeks before the Aug. 1 deadline. He added that no students were adversely affected by the settlement.