KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A new audit has concluded that the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s business school was allowed to run up an operating deficit of nearly $11 million in an ill-fated effort to boost its enrollment.

The Kansas City Star reports the Henry W. Bloch School of Management’s rankings did rise until the newspaper discovered faculty members had submitted false data to boost them.

The audit says the school’s shortfall rose from $1.5 million in 2009 to $10.6 million in the fiscal year that ended last June.

UMKC spokeswoman Stacy Downs says it’s not out of the ordinary for an academic unit to run up a deficit, but officials at Kansas State and University say it’s not their practice to do so.