A federal monitor overseeing the university's finances had no comment on the matter.

Two federal monitors commended the police force last week for its initial effort.

A federal monitor and a new management team were appointed in 2004 after a series of scandals.

The decree, which follows years of failed efforts at reform, has placed a federal monitor over the department.

Late last month, the university trustees agreed to a federal monitor as a way to avoid prosecution on criminal fraud charges.

It would also end the role of a federal monitor appointed in 1986.

But the agreement that federal monitors helped arrange was only for five years, and it expired in 2000.

Last month, the university was forced to accept a federal monitor because investigators found $4.9 million in Medicaid overbilling.

The added presence of the federal monitors strikes some as reminiscent of another political age.

In 2005, a federal monitor was appointed to keep watch on the city's hiring practices.