2 Michigan schools mistakenly award scholarships to students

ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. (AP) — A university in Michigan said Friday it erroneously notified students that they would receive top tuition awards, just days after another school in the state said its prospective students were mistakenly told they had won full-ride scholarships.

Oakland University, north of Detroit in Rochester Hills, said in a statement that due to human error its undergraduate student application system sent email notifications to some admitted students that they were entitled to receive the school's Platinum Presidential Scholar Award.

The school said about 5,500 students received the erroneous notification. Those students have qualified for other levels of scholarship awards, according to the school, which learned of the error on Jan. 4.

The award is Oakland University's highest, but the students who received the notification don’t meet eligibility requirements for the award. The email was intended for students who had already been sent notice of their Presidential Scholar award through an official scholarship award letter, the university said.

“An immediate correction update was sent within two hours to the students who received the scholarship messages in error,” the school said. “Our Undergraduate Admissions team also scheduled phone calls to explain the situation for those who contacted us.”

A follow-up apology notice was sent Jan. 5.

The Platinum Presidential Scholar award is worth $12,000 per year for four years. The average tuition for freshman and sophomores is $13,934. Room and board averages about $11,192 per year.

Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant said 58 youths received messages last weekend through the university portal telling them they had won a Centralis Scholars Award, which includes full tuition, room and board, money...