Raleigh, N.C. — An audit of financial statements at North Carolina A&T State University shows that scholarship money was disproportionately awarded to relatives of university employees.

According to the audit, a review of 13 scholarships awarded from the University Bookstore Fund showed that three of those, at a value of $5,300, were given to relatives of staffers in the Vice Chancellor's office. The review showed that there was no formal policy to define how recipients of the Bookstore Fund scholarships would be chosen.

In interviews with university officials, auditors discovered that members of the Treasury and Financial Aid departments could request that a scholarship be awarded with no questions asked.

The audit found 13 areas where the university's monitoring of its finances was lacking – ranging from inconsistent payroll records to not billing students for medical insurance. In each case, the university agreed with the findings and recommendations for improvement.