Editor’s note: This is an ongoing story and will be updated with new information when available.
Citrus College is tackling enrollment fraud head-on. The college was alerted to fraudulent enrollment patterns and began to resolve the issue on March 10.
Dean of Enrollment Gerald Sequeira said in a phone interview that he believes a potential group of people organized a large-scale enrollment scheme to commit financial aid fraud by using false information to enroll in classes at Citrus.
In a staff-wide memo sent on March 10, Citrus administrators warned about fraudulent enrollments. “Phantom students,” or students who have shown suspicious activity in classes and have unusual identifying information, should be monitored.
“It is really complex what they are doing if they managed to fool the department of education and the FAFSA process; it’s sophisticated enough that it is not being flagged as odd,” Sequeira said.
Vice President of Academic Affairs Joumana McGowan and Vice President of Student Services Rick Rams alerted faculty to the issue on March 10 in an email. They instructed faculty to track attendance on synchronous courses, track assignments and create check-in posts on Canvas to find and drop inactive students to combat the issue.
These “phantom students” use stolen identities and falsified information in an effort to obtain financial aid funds.
Rams said in a phone interview that the school’s method of tracking students should help prevent the funds from being received by fraudulent students.
There has been a total of 48 confirmed “phantom students,” and the number of classes affected is still unknown, Sequeira said.
Sequeira said someone reached out to Citrus from out of state saying their identity had been stolen, registered to Citrus and had a completed FAFSA application.
Without further information, the financial impact of these “phantom students” is still unknown.
“This is a growing issue of concern to all community colleges and I am especially grateful to our Student Services, Financial Aid, Academic Affairs and Technology leadership teams who with the help of our faculty and staff are addressing this matter in a most proactive manner,” Superintendent/President Dr. Geraldine Perri said in a March 12 email interview. “I am confident that they will continue to monitor the situation and take swift action to prevent a growing problem and report the matter to the appropriate agencies for their review and action.”
