THE January 19, 1989 Vol. 87, No. 26
VISTA
Thursday Editio n
Central State University, Edmond, Oklahoma
CSU ENROLLMENT
84-85 85-86 86-87 87-88 88-89
Enrollment nears record for spring By Mei Pong Staff Writer Total enrollment at Central State University is projected at an all-time high for the spring sememster, Director of Admissions and Records Darrell Gilliland said. Enrollment as of January 17 was at 12,631, up 5.6 percent from the same time a year ago. Freshman enrollment was up 7.0 percent, and sophomore enrollment was up the highest with a 10.0 percent increase. Gilliland forecasts total enrollment to be close to 13,000, which will be a record spring enrollment. Total enrollment last spring was 12,746. "Our physical location, the nature of our schedule and the quality of our courses" are reasons that CSU continues to have a high rate of enrollment, CSU President Bill Lillard said. The largest enrollment this semester is in the business department, and the degree option with
the most students is accounting. "This is because more job opportunities are available in accounting than in other fields," said Joyce Navarre, adviser for accounting at CSU. With a high enrollment rate and a continuing high rate of transfer students from schools like the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University, CSU will continue to have a serious space problem, Lillard said. He hopes the university can get a general classroom building soon to solve the problem. The funds for the classroom building are not available in the budget and need to come from either the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education or through direct appropriation from the legislature, Lillard said. Phillip Arnold, assistant vice president for administration at CSU, said the increase in enrollment could result in a "high probability that we will get an equitable share in the funds."
No illegal involvement says Lillard
School officials respond to audit report This is the first part of a three part series in regard to an audit conducted by the State Auditor and Inspector's Office. By Valli Covert Managing Editor An investigative audit conducted by the State Auditor and Inspector's office has revealed some problems at Central State University, but none involve illegal handling of funds, President Bill Lillard said. The audit, which covered fiscal year ending June 30, 1987, raised some questions about accountability of funds that are handled by CSU and the Central State University Foundation. Joyce Mounce, vice president for administration, said some problems were found that the university was not aware of before the audit was completed. Mounce, who was not employed at CSU until Dec. 1, 1987, said one problem the audit pointed out was that the director of the South Central Safety Institute took money home for safekeeping. "(The safety institute) sometimes had workshops after the business office closed, and because of safety, the director (Lonnie Gilliland) was taking home the money," Mounce said. The problem has been corrected and the money is now deposited in a night deposit, she said. The athletic department ap-
peared hardest hit by the audit. The report indicates 22 student athletes' registration forms were scrutinized by the auditors. Eight had at least one class that was not on the university's list of scheduled classes. These students' permanent transcripts listed all of the approved classes, but the registration forms did not. The records were therefore incomplete, the report indicated. "The auditors did not understand about class schedules," Mounce said. Some of the classes may not have been in the schedules as a result of later class deletions or special or arranged courses, she said. The athletic department has also undergone some changes in the handling of scholarships since the audit was conducted, Mounce said. The audit found that problems existed with how money was used from an account to pay for nonresident tuition fees. It indicated that the money was taken from the wrong account and used to pay for those fees, said David Koehn, CSU's assistant comptroller. The problem is being looked into by the university administration. The physical plant also appeared to have problems. The audit noted that a total of approximately 6,730 hours of overtime for calendar year 1986 were worked by nine university maintenance
employees. The director of the physical plant, Nimrod Chapel, said the purpose of the overtime was for asbestos removal projects conducted by the maintenance department, according to the audit. One employee's timesheets documented 268.5 hours of overtime in one month in addition to his regular hours. Chapel also employed these same nine employees in his private asbestos removal business. The audit committee questioned whether there was a segregation of duties by Chapel since he also signed off the employees'
time cards. Mounce said that the audit committee never looked at the employees' actual time cards, and that the hours paid did not reflect the hours worked. If a person works more than 40 hours a week, he is paid at time-and-one-half for the overtime hours. The university pays the employee for one-half more hours than his time card indicates for any overtime hours, she said. It is a common practice to pay employees in this manner, and no one was paid more than was actually due him. "They looked at hours paid—not hours work-
ed—and misinterpreted," Mounce said. In response to the question of segregation of duties by Chapel, Mounce said, "There is no state law that prohibits him from doing that. As it happens, that year (1986) he did not have any jobs," in his private business. Chapel will no longer hire university employees to work in his private business. "He has saved this university thousands and thousands of dollars for being in-house because of his expertise," in asbestos abatement, Mounce said.
CSU student pleads guilty to drug distribution charge By Valli Covert Managing Editor A Central State University student has pleaded guilty in Oklahoma County District Court to a charge of distribution of a controlled dangerous substance. Donald S. Truitt, 26, of Bethany entered the blind plea to Judge John M. Amick on Jan. 11, said Clayton Niemeyer, a legal intern with the district attorney's office. Truitt and four other CSU students were arrested Dec. 7 on
campus by Edmond and campus police for suspicion of distribution of a controlled dangerous substance and have been charged in Oklahoma County court. Amick has ordered a presentence investigation to be done and set formal sentencing for Feb. 16. In a plea-bargain attempt, the district attorney's office had offered to recommend that Truitt receive a five-year sentence with four years to be suspended, but Truitt declined, Niemeyer said.
Truitt is free on bond pending sentencing. The preliminary hearing for Kenneth E. Hall, 33, of Wichita, Kan., has been continued until 9 a.m. Jan. 26. Steven Carr, 20, has had his preliminary continued until Feb. 13, court records indicate. James A. Clay, 18, of Jay and Kurt J. Wise, 19, will be in court Jan. 27. Clay and Wise will be able to plead at that time or will be bound over for trial, Niemeyer said.