The scrutiny over Tennessee State University’s (TSU) financial distress appears likely to increase following a lawsuit filed by the university’s former director of financial aid.¶
Tanaka Vercher filed the suit in Davidson County Chancery Court on Monday claiming TSU leaders fired her the day after she refused to provide incorrect information to the federal government to speed up disbursement of financial aid to the cash strapped university.¶
In the suit, Vercher claims TSU leaders, and a consulting firm helping the university with its financial struggles, pressured her at the start of the fall semester to submit financial aid information to the federal government without first going through a “reconciliation process” to determine how many students should qualify. Vercher says the reconciliation process is standard practice each year conducted under “penalty of perjury,” and would delay financial aid payments until October 2024.¶
The suit claims consultants said that date was “too late” despite Vercher’s concerns about the need for reconciliation. She estimates 20 percent of TSU students had been admitted this year without proof of a high school diploma. These students represented approximately $7 million in financial aid funds Vercher’s suit claims university leaders wanted included in financial aid documentation.¶
“Those students are generally included in the initial list of students eligible for financial aid, prior to a disbursement request, because they have been admitted to TSU. However, because they are not actually eligible for enrollment at TSU and because they do not meet the eligibility requirement of having a high school-level education, they are also not eligible for financial aid,” the suit said. “The reconciliation process is designed to catch issues like this so that these ineligible students can be removed from the list of students eligible for financial aid. This way, TSU does not request disbursement of government funds to which it or its students are not entitled.”¶
The lawsuit comes less than two weeks after TSU leaders outlined plans to avoid running out of money following a decrease in enrollment and other financial challenges, including years of alleged underfunding by the state. The university is one of seven historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) in Tennessee.¶
Vercher served 8 years as a member of Metro Council in Nashville and had worked for TSU for 21 years until the university terminated her in August. According to the lawsuit, university officials fired her the day after a second meeting where Vercher again refused to request financial aid disbursement until she completed the reconciliation process.¶
“Ms. Vercher believed that requesting these funds prior to reconciliation violated U.S. Department of Education Regulations. Ms. Vercher also believed that it would be a crime for her to certify under penalty of perjury that the information provided to the government was accurate when she did not believe it to be true,” the suit said. “She was given no warning and no explanation for her termination. She had previously received highly favorable performance reviews and had just been given a raise in July, one month earlier.”¶
Tennessee State University responded to the lawsuit in a statement to the Tennessee Firefly.¶
“Tennessee State University has been made aware of the lawsuit filed yesterday and does not comment on pending litigation. We are committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity and will address the matter appropriately as it progresses,” said the university. ¶
