OPPORTUNITY FOR STUDENTS TO EARN FREE COLLEGE CREDIT
A new, high-quality path to free college credit was launched in 2017.
The goal of the program, dubbed “Freshman Year for Free,” is to make
college more accessible and affordable for high school students, college
students and adult learners, including active duty military personnel,
their families, and veterans.
WHO IS MAKING THIS POSSIBLE?
Modern States, the New York-based charitable organization behind the
effort, has funded production of online courses taught by college
professors. The courses prepare students for introductory College Level
Examination Program (CLEP) exams in Economics, Sociology, Algebra, and
other areas.
HOW DOES THIS LEAD TO COLLEGE CREDIT?
The CLEP exams, administered by the College Board, are accepted for
credit by more than 2,900 colleges and universities. Modern States is
partnering with high schools and colleges that are making students aware
of the opportunity.
WHY PARTICIPATE?
This is the first time there have been courses (see list below)
taught by top quality college professors for CLEP subjects. Also, Modern
States is paying the CLEP exam fee and scheduling fee for students who
enroll in the courses and take the exams. The benefit for participating
institutions is that this creates a free on-ramp to college that
facilitates learning and earning credits.
WHAT ELSE DO I NEED TO KNOW?
Modern States will pay for you to take the CLEP exam. After you complete the coursework and practice questions, request a CLEP voucher
code from the Modern States website. There are no prerequisites for the
32 courses that are available, and all of them are self-paced. Some of
the courses stem from a partnership between Modern States and edX, the
online education platform created by Harvard and MIT.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Modern States Education Alliance™ offers free, high-quality online
courses taught by college professors that prepare you for the CLEP
exams, which are well-established and widely-accepted. Solid performance
on the exams (each participating college decides what scores you need
for credit) can earn you college credits and enable you to save tuition
dollars. You can take one course or many; if you do well on eight exams,
you can potentially earn Freshman Year for Free™.
This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback.
Dive Brief:
A state audit of employee spending practices at the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system found several financial transactions that broke university policies or lacked adequate documentation.
Comptroller Sean Scanlon detailed over $19,000 in spending on food by system Chancellor Terrence Cheng in fiscal years 2022 through 2024, by far the majority of spending on his institutional credit card. Violations included missing receipts, missing guest lists and purchases of restricted items like alcohol.
Scanlon’s probe came at Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont’s request after CT Insider reported Cheng spent lavishly on meals with a state-funded credit card over the past few years.
Dive Insight:
The report from CT Insider alleged that Cheng had spent as much as $1,114 at restaurants in a week, and paid for private chauffeurs despite having access to a state-provided car at the time. Once, he spent nearly $500 for the service, the outlet reported.
Scanlon’s office concluded that “while not technically violating state or university policy, we found that, in the absence of sound, comprehensive policies, the Chancellor utilized poor [judgment] when making P-Card purchases that were especially troubling given the financial stress on the CSCU system.”
The audit zeroed in on spending on food and transportation by the chancellor. Meals designated as business meetings accounted for 70% of the spending on the official’s card, and some transactions exceeded the $50 meal limit for system employees, the audit found. It also found 18 food purchases with tips deemed excessive — above 22% — which the report noted “is not a policy violation but a questionable use of university funds.”
Of the chancellor’s food-related transactions reviewed by the comptroller’s office, 43% had either no itemized receipts or were missing receipts entirely.
Among other violations were 30 instances where Cheng paid sales tax. That’s a violation of policy because institutional credit cards — also known as P-cards — are exempt from sales tax but must go through a process with vendors to credit those taxes.
However, the comptroller found that Cheng did not technically violate policy because as chancellor he can “override the policy at his own discretion.”
As for chauffeur use, the report noted three times when Cheng — who lives in New York state — paid for a private car service with his P-card, including two trips even more expensive than the one reported by CT Insider. Scanlon determined that these services did not represent violations but said that they “are of note as the Chancellor was provided with a state vehicle for their use.”
In an emailed statement Thursday, Cheng said that he appreciated the audit’s thoroughness and that the system is “committed to implementing stronger controls, policies, and comprehensive training.”
The system review also found issues with P-card use by other leaders, including the interim president of Southern Connecticut State University, Dwayne Smith. The audit found that Smith’s P-card “shows a wide variety of infractions spanning almost every category of restricted purchasing and failure to follow many of the policy requirements for documentation and reporting of transactions.”
Specifically, the comptroller’s office faulted Smith for failing to keep receipts, as well as purchasing tickets to an outside football game without stating its business purpose, among other issues.
In an emailed statement, Smith thanked the comptroller for his analysis and recommendations, adding that many of his office’s P-card transactions relate to his community engagement activities.
“These meetings have yielded significant support for our scholarship programs, internships, mentoring, and ultimately, enhanced job opportunities for our graduates,” Smith said.
Scanlon’s audit found many other issues across the Connecticut college system’s staff. His office’s report lists 10 recommended changes the system should make, including reinstating internal audits, establishing a central policy for P-card use, creating accountability measures for card misuse and establishing a policy for vehicle use.
“Unfortunately, this audit revealed troubling gaps in oversight and questionable spending practices,” Scanlon said in a Wednesday statement. “Our recommendations provide a clear path forward with more comprehensive policies, consistent enforcement, and greater overall accountability.”
In his statement, Cheng said the recommendations would “support the goal of accountability and transparency across the system.”
He added, “The system has begun to take steps in this direction and over the next 100 days, I’ve instructed my team to implement recommendations to improve compliance and reporting.”
The system’s governing board this fall moved to increase oversight of spending in its central office. As part of that process, the system recently hired a new chief compliance officer and legal counsel.