NC A&T funneled millions in aid to students, children of university employees, audit says
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- NC A&T’s financial division improperly funneled more than $5 million from 2017 to 2025.
- More than $780,000 went to students who were employees, family, or had personal ties.
- Officials who were involved in the allocations are no longer employed at the University.
A financial division of N.C. A&T State University improperly funneled over $5 million in financial assistance across eight years to students, many of whom had personal or professional ties to university employees, the state auditor announced Thursday.
In a probe into the school’s Administrative Recovery Funds from 2017 to 2025, the Office of the State Auditor found N.C. A&T’s Division of Business and Finance wrongfully authorized millions of dollars in financial awards to students. Of that $5 million, more than $780,000 was given to students “who were university employees, family members of university employees, or had a direct personal or professional connection to N.C. A&T,” the report states.
“The influence and actions by former senior officials, combined with the lack of internal controls at N.C. A&T, led to several instances of preferential treatment that resulted in personal advantage and gain,” State Auditor Dave Bolieck wrote in the report. “Public university dollars that could have benefited other students or programs were instead directed toward those who had the benefit of having a personal connection with senior officials.”
University leadership reported the “improper conduct” to the state auditor’s office, the report says, after receiving an inquiry in fall 2025 about financial assistance that was promised to a student related to a university employee. The auditor’s office immediately launched an investigation into the division.
N.C. A&T’s Administrative Recovery Fund consists of fees charged to students for services like housing, dining or parking, according to the report, and is typically reserved for “unanticipated or emergency institutional needs.” The university does not authorize the fund’s use for tuition assistance, the report states.
Per the report, a nephew of the university’s former executive director of the Real Estate Foundation received $73,063 in financial awards. The daughter of a member of the Center for Teaching Excellence External Advisory Board was given $23,052. The son of a former part-time English instructor was given $22,545 in aid.
The report also details that after a discussion between the former associate vice provost for Enrollment Management and the former director of Financial Aid Operations, the son of a former associate vice provost was allowed to remain enrolled despite having an outstanding account balance for that semester. That student also received a $10,000 scholarship — a steep increase from the $2,000 that had originally been budgeted for the award.
“The amount of financial assistance a student receives should never be a function of who they know,” N.C. A&T Chancellor James R. Martin II wrote in an email to students Thursday. “We award assistance based on need and merit — not on relationships or as favors.”
The audit outlines recommendations for university leaders to employ following the misused funds, like assigning responsibility for financial-aid decisions to a different university office, establishing stricter policies about the fund, requiring documentation for all financial-award decisions and reporting instances in which family members of university employees may receive financial aid to the Board of Trustees.
“If the University does not take corrective action, it could be at greater risk of additional misuse of funds, noncompliance with financial aid regulations, and reputational risk, leading to loss of public and private donor support,” the report states.
In a letter to the state auditor’s office responding to the report’s findings, Martin confirmed the university’s agreement with the findings and listed the steps it would take to “mitigate the risk of recurrence.” The school will conduct an independent audit into the financial aid awarding process, hold mandatory training for financial aid staff and develop policies to govern internal financial awards.
Martin said the Division of Business and Finance’s practice of awarding financial assistance has been permanently discontinued. The university will also “immediately discontinue” further awarding of the specific scholarships that had been wrongfully allocated to students as identified in the report, he said.
Senior officials who were involved in the wrongfully allocated funds are “no longer employed by the University,” Martin wrote.
A university spokesperson declined to comment further on the investigation as it remains under review.
“The University believes these actions demonstrate its commitment to accountability, transparency, and continuous improvement in stewardship of institutional and financial aid resources,” he wrote.
