Marian Court finances under Dept. of Ed review

SWAMPSCOTT – Marian Court College President Dr. Denise A. Hammon said her school did nothing wrong to land on a list of colleges that have been placed under a higher level of financial scrutiny by the federal government, and that the college closely manages its finances in order to provide students with maximum aid.”There have been no improprieties. Our mission is to serve students who deserve access and opportunity for a four-year education,” Hammon said.The U.S. Department of Education placed 560 colleges worldwide, including Marian Court, seven other Massachusetts colleges and a state hospital nursing school, on its “heightened cash monitoring” list last month.DOE spokesman Jim Bradshaw referred questions about Marian Court’s inclusion on the list to a department statement describing the monitoring as a way federal officials can “provide additional oversight” for college financial or federal compliance concerns.”Heightened cash monitoring is not necessarily a red flag to students and taxpayers, but it can serve as a caution light. It means we are watching these institutions more closely…” the statement said.A Roman Catholic educational institution founded in 1964 by the Sisters of Mercy, Marian Court has approximately 200 students. Almost all are first-generation college-goers and the vast majority, said Hammon, rely on financial aid to afford Marian’s $16,200 annual tuition for full-time students.”We keep our tuition purposely low and 93 percent of our students receive significant financial aid,” she said.Hammon said she received an email notice last Thursday informing her of Marian Court’s inclusion on the cash-monitoring list.”They did not give me a reason,” she said.Hammon said Marian Court operates “close to the edge” in its efforts to manage school finances and help students meet financial aid and tuition needs. She pointed out the school does not enjoy endowment money available to other schools.”We operate like many other nonprofits within and outside of education – trying to bring in just slightly more revenue than what it costs us to operate. This means we charge no more than what is necessary in order to serve students and families of the North Shore,” she said.