Oral Roberts University to Pay Over $300,000 for Allegedly Violating Ban on Incentive Compensation

Oral Roberts University (ORU), based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, will pay $303,502 to resolve allegations under the False Claims Act of submitting false claims to the U.S. Department of Education in violation of the federal ban on incentive-based compensation, the Department of Justice announced.

Title IV of the Higher Education Act (HEA) prohibits any institution of higher education that receives federal student aid from compensating student recruiters with a commission, bonus, or other incentive payment based on the recruiters’ success in securing student enrollment. The incentive compensation ban protects students against admissions and recruitment practices that serve the financial interests of the recruiter rather than the educational needs of the student.

“The integrity of our system of higher education is founded on allowing students to make enrollment decisions based on their own educational interests,” said Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “We will not allow these important decisions to be compromised by educational institutions offering recruiters financial incentives to enroll students.”

“Our higher education system should prioritize the educational interests of students, not the financial interests of schools and recruiters,” said U.S. Attorney Sherri A. Lydon for the District of South Carolina. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office will fight to protect against misuse of federal taxpayer dollars intended to serve students’ educational needs.”

Read more: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/oral-roberts-university-pay-over-300000-allegedly-violating-ban-incentive-compensation