Academy of Natural Therapy in Greeley under federal cash-monitoring review

GREELEY – Academy of Natural Therapy in Greeley is among the U.S. Department of Education’s list of more than 500 colleges and universities under heightened financial monitoring.

The education department listed schools nationwide, including nine in Colorado, as being in two categories of cash monitoring, one being more stringent than the other. The federal agency released the list last week following requests by media outlets.

Academy of Natural Therapy is under “heightened cash monitoring,” the less stringent of the two categories, according to the education department.

“Heightened Cash Monitoring is not necessarily a red flag to students and taxpayers, but it can serve as a caution light,” Education Under Secretary Ted Mitchell said in a statement. “It means we are watching these institutions more closely to ensure that institutions are using federal student aid in a way that is accountable to both students and taxpayers.”

Academy of Natural Therapy made a profit last year and remains financially solvent, said Jennifer Mongan, owner of the school.

Monitoring of the school’s finances stems from a composite score that the education department uses to evaluate financial responsibility, she said.

That composite score takes into account reserves, equity and net income, according to the education department.

“We’re required to be audited every year,” she said. “We have very clean books. … They literally did not find anything wrong with how we do financial-aid processing.”

The school has had trouble meeting federal standards for cash-on-hand, because it has to finance improvements with cash, unlike public schools that can take on larger debt loads over longer periods of time.

Academy of Natural Therapy has maintained its commitment to students, 75 percent of which end up completing their one-year associate’s degree in massage therapy, Mongan said. The school also has a 95 percent career-placement rate for students.

“When you look at that, our private education is amazing here,” she said. “Our students, because there is a shortage of massage therapists right now, do very well.”

After a school makes loan disbursements to students from institutional funds, the school submits records to the federal government and draws down on federal student-aid funds to cover its disbursements. Under the less stringent monitoring category, schools like Academy of Natural Therapy can continue to draw funds from the federal government.

The education department did not disclose details on specific reasons about individual schools under review. But it noted the kind of cash monitoring that schools like the Academy of Natural Therapy face can be modified to apply more restrictive access to funds, depending on circumstances.

Other Colorado schools on the list are the Art Institute of Colorado, Heritage College, Montessori Casa International, all of Denver; Colorado Technical University and Everest College, both of Colorado Springs; Glenwood Beauty Academy of Glenwood Springs; and National Personal Training Institute of Colorado in Lakewood. All were listed as being monitored under the less stringent financial review.

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