Towson University was more generous with scholarships than it should have been, giving at least $123,500 in tuition breaks that weren't deserved over three years.

The University of Maryland, Baltimore County sidestepped requirements to bid out work by hiring vendors through a standing maintenance contract.

The findings were part of state audits of the two higher education institutions released in recent weeks.

The state Office of Legislative Audits regularly looks at the books of government institutions and school systems.

Both universities said they have fixed the problems.

While Towson University won't be able to recoup the money from students, officials said they have implemented an automated system to track changes in residency and adjust scholarships accordingly.

University System of Maryland officials said the contracting practice, used for convenience, has been discontinued.

At Towson, provost scholarships provided 1,057 students with $5.7 million in fiscal year 2015, according to the audit. Out-of-state students receive more money to defray their more expensive tuition.

But administrators had no way to ensure that scholarships were adjusted if out-of-state students moved to Maryland, according to the audit.

In a sample of about 20 students from 2012 to 2015, auditors found nine received scholarship money at out-of-state rates while on the books they paid tuition as in-state students. They were overpaid a total of $123,500, according to the audit.

Because scholarship letters didn't warn students that their award would change if they moved, university lawyers advised that the school couldn't ask for the money back.

At UMBC, most contracts are required to be bid out. But workers would direct a contractor to hire a particular vendor instead of the contractor bidding out the work.

—?Tim Prudente