Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

University's admissions director out after scholarship error

An admissions director is out of a job after dozens of prospective students inadvertently were told they had won full-ride scholarships to Central Michigan University

Via AP news wire
Friday 28 January 2022 12:15 EST
Scholarship Error
Scholarship Error (AP2005)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

An admissions director is out of a job after dozens of prospective students inadvertently were told they had won full-ride scholarships to Central Michigan University.

The director no longer is employed by Central Michigan, WZZM-TV and The Detroit News reported Friday, and another employee has taken over her responsibilities. It was not immediately clear if she resigned or was fired.

Central Michigan officials said 58 youths received messages last weekend while accessing the university portal telling them they had won a Centralis Scholars Award, which includes full tuition, room and board, money toward books and supplies, and a $5,000 “study away award.”

But the university said Wednesday that those contacted hadn’t won the prestigious award and the message had gone out “inadvertently” as school staffers were testing new messaging technology.

University officials apologized for the error Wednesday night, and offered all 58 prospective students the equivalent of a full-tuition scholarship.

It is not clear how much more money that means for the affected prospective students, but tuition for U.S. residents at CMU is estimated to be about $12,750 a year.

The Centralis Scholars Award is considered the premier merit scholarship CMU offers, according to the school’s website. The scholarships are awarded to high school seniors and only students who have a minimum 3.7 GPA and have already been admitted to the university are eligible.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in