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Feds Say Florida State College at Jacksonville Owes $3.4 Million

FSCJ President Cynthia Bioteau
FSCJ

Florida State College at Jacksonville will have to pay the U.S. Department of Education $3.4 million for the millions it improperly awarded in student financial aid.

FSCJ President Cynthia Bioteau announced the multi-million dollar repayment late Monday.

The college will have 45 days respond to the request.

Earlier this month, Bioteau discussed the school’s continued money woes, stemming from financial aid mismanagement between 2010 and 2012.

FSCJ recently repaid the federal government more than $4 million for improperly handing out federal loans and Pell Grants to students who didn’t qualify.  

But in the process of identifying and correcting those issues, more problems surfaced, many of them having to do with how financial aid for vocational students was calculated.

Bioteau has said the school will need to eliminate at least a dozen positions and outsource some of the work in the financial aid office in order to stay afloat.

In an email issued Monday, Bioteau said serving the educational needs of students in the community is “a guiding principle for Florida State College at Jacksonville.”

“FSCJ is committed to providing a high-quality instruction for our students, and this process ensures moving forward our students can have confidence in our programs and allow them to achieve their educational goals.”

You can follow Rhema Thompson on Twitter @RhemaThompson.

CORRECTION: This story originally incorrectly referred to the repayment as a fine.

Rhema Thompson began her post at WJCT on a very cold day in January 2014 and left WJCT to join the team at The Florida Times Union in December 2014.