NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Living at hotels, scholarship money not coming through — these are just some of the issues Tennessee State University students are dealing with this year.
The state comptroller's office shared findings from an investigation it is conducting into TSU's finances during a meeting Tuesday.
Comptroller Jason Mumpower said the housing issues are a symptom of a larger management problem that he believes needs to be addressed.
The comptroller's higher education resource officer said she could not ignore the number of complaints coming in from students, so an audit was done.
Over the summer TSU was approved to "dip into plant funds" to pay for nine hotels and one property to house the students that the school didn't have room for on campus.
Mumpower said the financial audit on TSU found the most issues of any state entity and that some of these problems had been repeating for the last five to seven years.
TSU faced a big enrollment surge this year, and the question remains if there is a plan to solve this in the future.
"Enrollment is up at TSU and that absolutely is great news. But, is it success?" asked Mumpower. "In my view, having true success is an enrollment surge, but the ability to manage the enrollment surge in a way that students can be served."
TSU President Glenda Glover said one of the issues is that many upperclassmen are not able to afford to live off-campus anymore because Nashville has become so expensive.
"My career has been dedicated to recruiting and developing young adults in young education, especially those who are first-generation students as well as students with financial challenges. It was difficult to turn away students without exhausting all possible channels," said Glover.
"Me personally, I'm upset and I'm irritated. Maybe upset is not enough," said Tiyonna Curry, a student.
It's been a semester-long issue of Tennessee State University students having to be housed off campus.
"Now I'm just stuck in a hotel — motel. I'm sorry, not a hotel. Motel," Curry said.
We've heard stories like this since the beginning, like this one from August.
A mother learned her daughter was staying in the Red Roof Inn.
"Maybe I'm the only person that's gonna say something about it. But this is not where my daughter's used to. Not that we're better than anyone, because I don't feel that way. I just don't think that they should put students here for housing," said Keontae Humes.
Moving forward, the university plans to move up the housing deadline and close the housing waitlist much earlier to give students an option to find housing sooner.
TSU is also working to speed up the construction of two new residential halls with 1,000 bed capacity, with an anticipation of an opening date no later than fall of 2025, maybe as early as 2024.
