JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – Lawmakers say last fall’s campus turmoil has made them question whether the four-campus University of Missouri System needs annual state audits.

System officials told a Senate panel Wednesday they don’t oppose state audits and already conduct at least 50 internal audits a year along with a broad external audit. The system’s Vice President for Finance Brian Burnett said that’s comparable to other university systems.

Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt, of Glendale, questioned the effectiveness of internal audits. Burnett says other state universities should receive state audits if the four-campus UM system has to undergo them.

Legislative leaders have said the University of Missouri will be under heightened scrutiny this year because of the handling of protests at the Columbia campus over what some students say was indifference to racial issues.