Dive Brief:

• Government regulators and accreditors aren't taking enough steps against financial aid fraud in distance education, an audit finds.
• The report from the Education Department’s Office of Inspector General found nearly $222 million disbursed to more than 42,000 online students who were not earning credits when they received the money.
• The report recommends that the department require colleges to have tighter control over aid by making smaller disbursements more often.

Dive Insight:

In response to the audit report, two congressmen issued a statement promising to use the upcoming reauthorization of the Higher Education Act to combat financial aid fraud. This is hardly the first time the Office of Inspector General has issued a statement on the problem: A report issued last June reported an 82% increase in student aid fraud between 2009 and 2012, also finding that as many as 85,000 may have been involved in fraud rings. Distance learning was at the center of that report, as well.