The North Dakota Board of Higher Education announced on Monday that it has given unanimous preliminary approval for the North Dakota State College of Science’s plan after an audit a year ago revealed conflict of interest in hiring a firm to help promote the school’s workforce academy.

The board voted to accept NDSCS’s plan – a 312-page plan – that the school says will help improve procedures at NDSCS.

A state audit in April of 2019 accused NDSCS of not disclosing that NDSCS vice president for work force affairs Tony Grindberg was married to Karen Grindberg, part of a group NDSCS hired to promote a proposed career workforce academy in Cass County.

NDSCS president John Richman said the year-long process brought “was valuable to go through” and that the school is hoping to draw some closure going forward/.”