Fraudulent Student Accounts

August 2, 2022 by Leave a Comment

Dear Campus Community, 

Since the late spring quarter, diligent faculty, staff, and administrators have identified potentially fraudulent student accounts enrolled in classes for the summer and fall quarters. We know this has caused stress on:

·         Students who were artificially limited in available class offerings and potentially locked out of necessary classes. 

·         Faculty and Advisors who navigated classes that appeared to be full, although they knew some of the students enrolled were not actually attending.  

·         Staff and Advisors who sought to support real students trying to enroll in full classes and understood there was a problem. 
 

What we know so far: 

A preliminary investigation has revealed patterns in these potentially fraudulent accounts which appear to be generated by automated software (i.e., “bots”) using Shoreline’s application system. These “students” are admitted to the college and then register for classes, typically for those without any pre-requisites. Shoreline’s Office of Institutional Assessment and Data Management (IADM) has created an initial report of “suspect” accounts based on the identified patterns, which revealed 240 potentially fraudulent accounts enrolled in the summer quarter and 831 enrolled in the fall quarter. 

The motivation behind this activity appears to be financial aid fraud, in particular emergency aid funded through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. We also know that this type of fraudulent activity has affected community colleges throughout Washington and nationally. The State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) is aware and is working to gather information from all area colleges about the patterns of enrollment and possible security and business process measures that can be implemented state-wide to minimize the threat of this type of fraud. 
 

Actions taken so far: 

A Shoreline Fraud Investigation Team, which includes staff from eLearning, Enrollment Services, Financial Aid, IADM, Student Support, and Technology Support Services (TSS) was created and moved quickly to respond. Their first priority was to identify all fraudulent accounts enrolled in the fall quarter and then drop them from classes to free up spots for legitimate student enrollment. As a result, the College dropped the first-tier of 239 fall quarter students, whose accounts fit identified patterns of fraud, on Monday, August 1. Additionally, the team has identified and is assessing a second-tier of 100 fall quarter students and will – most likely – drop them on Thursday, August 4. 

The Fraud Investigation Team will continue to review the remaining 492 suspect accounts to verify whether they are or are not legitimate. They are also developing additional procedures to automatically identify and shut down these fraudulent accounts, drop them from classes, and prevent any disbursement of financial aid. The College will also report these fraudulent accounts to SBCTC, and in cases where any fraudulent accounts received financial aid funds, to the Office of Inspector General. 
 

Looking ahead: 

While the Fraud Investigation Team continues to develop a process for a full review of fraudulent student accounts enrolled in fall quarter, they will also review, investigate, and take appropriate action on suspect student accounts enrolled in summer quarter. 

The process for a full review of these fraudulent accounts will be based on the following: 

·         Effort 1: Communicate with the State Board to identify automated system-wide mechanisms to flag these students before we process their applications. Shoreline’s Acting Director of TSS Gavin Smith is coordinating this effort. 

·         Effort 2: Create a fraud review report to help the College proactively identify fraudulent accounts before they can register for classes and apply for financial aid.  

·         Effort 3: Identify a list of ‘red flags’ that can be used by faculty and staff to identify fraudulent accounts that may be currently enrolled in classes and eventually remove them from these classes. 

How can I help? 

The Fraud Investigation Team is confident that the students dropped from classes on August 1 and who will be dropped on August 4 are not real students. However, if a student reaches out to you because they were incorrectly dropped, please advise them to contact Enrollment Services at enrollmentservices@shoreline.edu   

If you suspect you may have fraudulent student accounts enrolled in your class, please contact support@shoreline.edu with the subject line Fraudulent Student Account. Please include the following information in your message: 

·         Student name(s); Student ctcLink ID(s); Course name(s); ctcLink class numbers; and why you think they are fraudulent 

Please look for additional information as we continue to learn more and adjust the process. If you have any questions, please contact Amy Rovner, Chippi Bello, or Joe Chiappa at support@shoreline.edu. Thanks to all of you who have done your own research on this issue, alerted your supervisor and/or colleagues, and for the support you provide every day to our students. 

Sincerely,

Phillip J. King, Ed.D.

Vice President for Student Learning, Equity, and Success

Shoreline Community College

pking@shoreline.edu

Filed Under: Announcements

UPDATE: Filming on SCC Campus August 1st-3rd

August 1, 2022 by Leave a Comment

Filming on SCC Campus August 1st-3rd

Monday, August 1st, through Wednesday, August 3rd, you’ll see quite a bit of activity around campus. Filming will be ongoing in Buildings 2300 and 2600 on Tuesday, August 2nd, with additional rooms in use in Building 2900. Set up and clean-up will be scheduled for August 1st and 3rd. On the attached map, the areas marked in green will be cordoned off for the duration of the event, with the areas marked in blue seeing high traffic. All roadways will still be open for use, excluding the east roadway which is closed as a part of our HSAAMCC project. Please be respectful of the work that is being done and follow all directives given by campus staff.

HBO/Warner Brothers will be filming “Sex Lives of College Girls” on campus Tuesday August 2nd with set up starting Monday August 1st at 8 am.. in some of the north campus buildings.  It is set in a small college in Vermont and produced by Mindy Kaling. They filmed at UW last week. It will be a large professional film shoot and Tony Doupe will be with current film students on the set shadowing the producer. Some of our students are extras too! We also have dedicated SCC security and staff working the event.

The call time for the shoot (talent, extras, hair/makeup) is at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday August 2nd, so this will not interfere with the construction concrete pour, construction vehicles, and most of the college work day and classes.

They will still be setting up starting Monday and Tuesday, with most of the crew and equipment gone early Wednesday morning from a few classrooms and the #2000 and west parking lots.

  • The crew will be large and expect to see cables being pulled into #2300 and #2600 Monday from a generator in the #2100 parking lot. 
  • We are blocking off the west parking lot from IA Way to

#1400 (parking by #1400 ok). Parking in the west lot from #1500 – #1700 open for staff, student, film extras parking.

  • Expect to see 5+ large trailers and trucks filled with equipment in the west parking lots and the food services/hair/makeup/extras holding areas in the #2900 building/lot.
  • #2900 parking lot will be mostly inaccessible so please try to park elsewhere that day if you normally park near #2900. We are accommodating the ACCESS bus and other college business, as needed.
  • Upper gravel lot by #2000 will be blocked off but the lower lot is open for staff, students, film extras to park. Some of the actors are being shuttled from hotels in the area.
  • Loading/Unloading will be constant and will congest the roadway that runs between Bldg. 1700 and 1800 to the back of the Library. As well as unloading in the gravel Fire Zone between Bldg. 1800 and 1900. Drivers will always be with their vehicles to ensure the ability to be moved in the event of emergency
  • Please be quiet if you see “Filming in progress” signage on Tuesday afternoon after 3 p.m. and follow all of the instructions on the signs placed by the production crew and SCC security on campus that day.
  • The production will not impact #7000 Student Housing or the neighborhood.

If you have any questions, you may contact Suzanne Gugger at sgugger@shoreline.edu or Tony Doupe at tdoupe@shoreline.edu Greg Cranson at gcranson@shoreline.edu “

campus map

If you have any questions, you may contact Suzanne Gugger at  sgugger@shoreline.edu or Greg Cranson at gcranson@shoreline.edu.

Filed Under: Announcements Tagged With:

UPDATE: Shoreline CAMPUS ALERT 07/29/22 2:00pm PST

July 29, 2022 by Leave a Comment

Dear Campus Community, 

The police activity from earlier this morning has concluded. Due to this, at 2:00 pm this afternoon, all on campus activities and work may resume as normal. 

Employees experiencing stress or other impacts from this messaging please work with their supervisor and HR for support.  

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Gregory Cranson, Director of Safety & Security at gcranson@shoreline.edu

Filed Under: Announcements Tagged With: ,

Shoreline CAMPUS ALERT 07/29/22

July 29, 2022 by Leave a Comment

Dear Campus Community, 

Shoreline Police is investigating a fatal shooting that occurred near the Richmond Highlands Park, located several blocks away from our campus. Local law enforcement is canvasing the area, searching for 3 suspects believed to be armed and dangerous. Due to the close proximity to campus and out an abundance of caution, the campus will enter Suspended Operations at 10:45 am. On-campus classes are canceled for the remainder of the day and staff are directed to go leave campus. Our on-campus housing has been notified and Campus Security is increasing patrols and monitoring the situation. 

Employees experiencing stress or other impacts from this messaging please work with their supervisor and HR for support.  

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Gregory Cranson, Director of Safety & Security at gcranson@shoreline.edu

Filed Under: Announcements Tagged With: ,

Campus Updates 07/28/22

July 28, 2022 by Leave a Comment

EVENTS AND NEWS  

Fall Quarter Planning 

  • Return to Work Update- DAAG 
  • Campus Operating Hours: 
    • Monday-Thursdays 8 am-5 pm, Friday 8am – 4:30pm: all services will be available in person, as well as online.  
  • Employee Work Schedules: 
    • Administrative/exempt, classified staff, and non-instructional faculty will return to on-campus work for their regularly scheduled work shifts.  
    • Faculty will have an increased on-campus presence with the return to predominantly in-person instruction, office hours, and events.  
  • Campus Cleaning:  
    • Starting in the Fall quarter, Custodial services will revert to pre-COVID cleaning standards.  These standards are currently being reviewed for updates and will be posted shortly. 
  • Permits for on-campus parking will continue to be free through Fall Qtr. 2022.  

Foundation News 

If you are employed by a U.S. federal, state, local, or tribal government or not-for-profit organization, you might be eligible for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. Keep reading to see whether you might qualify. Click here to learn more. 

ctcLink Updates 

Do you have questions about ctcLink? Are you looking for a refresher?  

If you have questions, please visit shoreline.edu/ctclink or our Support Center at support.shoreline.edu. 

Events and Updates 

Please share with your students and campus community networks:  

RETURN TO CAMPUS/COVID-19  
Cases     

  • Four (4) new positive cases were reported in the last 7 days (3 fewer than the previous week). 

Questions?     

Filed Under: Announcements
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