Finding 1081224 (2024-002)

-
Requirement
A
Questioned Costs
$1
Year
2024
Accepted
2024-11-06
Audit: 327409
Organization: University of Cincinnati (OH)

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: The University charged unallowable costs to the Trio Cluster - Student Support Services program, totaling $69,353.
  • Impacted Requirements: Costs must comply with program legislation, federal regulations, and award terms; failure to do so resulted in material noncompliance.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: The University should review and enhance expense review procedures to prevent future unallowable charges and ensure compliance.

Finding Text

Assistance Listing, Federal Agency, and Program Name - 84.042, U.S. Department of Education, Trio Cluster - Student Support Services Federal Award Identification Number and Year - P042A201799; 2021, 2022, 2023 Pass through Entity - N/A Finding Type - Material noncompliance with laws and regulations Repeat Finding - No Criteria - The requirements for activities allowed or unallowed are contained in program legislation, federal awarding agency regulations, and the terms and conditions of the award. Condition - Through an internal audit review, the University identified costs charged to this program that were determined to be unallowable or questionable. Questioned Costs - $69,353 Identification of How Questioned Costs Were Computed - Specific amounts identified by the University's internal audit (IA) department Context - Of the total questioned costs identified, $5,222 was partially unallowable, $35,335 was questionable, and $28,796 was deemed unallowable. The costs spanned from fiscal year ended June 30, 2022 to fiscal year ended June 30, 2024. At the time of identification, $306 of charges was immediately removed from the grant due to the nature of the costs (personal expenses). The remaining questioned costs, as well as all travel expenditures during that period, are being reviewed by IA in further detail to determine if they are unallowable. Cause and Effect - Despite having controls to review cost allowability, a program manager approved costs for the grant that did not clearly meet the program’s terms and conditions. Recommendation - The University should review its procedures regarding expense review to determine whether any changes need to be made to prevent unallowable costs being charged to the program. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions The University’s internal audit department identified the noncompliance referenced in this finding. The University promptly informed the sponsor and provided refunds for the inappropriate charges. Staff involved in these improper actions were disciplined up to and including termination. Current staff have been counseled and provided additional training. The University has also instituted an additional review step for all large dollar projects and provides central support for the administration of large grants as needed.

Categories

Questioned Costs Allowable Costs / Cost Principles

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 504777 2024-001
    Significant Deficiency
  • 504778 2024-001
    Significant Deficiency
  • 504779 2024-001
    Significant Deficiency
  • 504780 2024-001
    Significant Deficiency
  • 504781 2024-001
    Significant Deficiency
  • 504782 2024-002
    -
  • 1081219 2024-001
    Significant Deficiency
  • 1081220 2024-001
    Significant Deficiency
  • 1081221 2024-001
    Significant Deficiency
  • 1081222 2024-001
    Significant Deficiency
  • 1081223 2024-001
    Significant Deficiency

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
84.268 Federal Direct Student Loans $249.56M
84.063 Federal Pell Grant Program $51.08M
93.645 Stephanie Tubbs Jones Child Welfare Services Program $7.29M
84.038 Federal Perkins Loan Program_federal Capital Contributions $3.75M
93.264 Nurse Faculty Loan Program (nflp) $2.22M
93.279 Drug Abuse and Addiction Research Programs $1.97M
84.033 Federal Work-Study Program $1.80M
93.398 Cancer Research Manpower $1.67M
84.007 Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants $1.66M
84.365 English Language Acquisition State Grants $1.16M
27.011 Intergovernmental Personnel Act (ipa) Mobility $1.10M
84.047 Trio Upward Bound $866,016
93.632 University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, and Service $664,619
93.732 Mental and Behavioral Health Education and Training Grants $625,479
97.137 State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program Tribal Cybersecurity Grant Program $609,948
84.U01 Department of Education $558,516
84.323 Special Education - State Personnel Development $531,401
16.560 National Institute of Justice Research, Evaluation, and Development Project Grants $513,333
93.178 Nursing Workforce Diversity $511,699
84.425 Covid-19 - Education Stabilization Fund $495,039
84.116 Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education $461,095
93.351 Research Infrastructure Programs $400,829
84.044 Trio Talent Search $378,467
93.211 Rural Telemedicine Grants $342,444
84.336 Teacher Quality Partnership Grants $295,824
20.232 Commercial Driver's License Program Implementation Grant $293,814
20.RD Department of Transportation $293,060
84.217 Trio McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement $289,326
93.364 Nursing Student Loans $288,992
93.342 Health Professions Student Loans, Including Primary Care Loans/loans for Disadvantaged Students $267,178
93.103 Food and Drug Administration Research $263,298
47.075 Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences $242,585
81.121 Nuclear Energy Research, Development and Demonstration $227,284
43.012 Space Technology $225,681
84.042 Trio Student Support Services $224,402
12.300 Basic and Applied Scientific Research $221,831
93.360 Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (barda), Biodefense Medical Countermeasure Development $221,195
84.229 Language Resource Centers $216,040
93.846 Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Research $215,597
93.918 Grants to Provide Outpatient Early Intervention Services with Respect to Hiv Disease $213,438
16.827 Justice Reinvestment Initiative $208,117
93.136 Injury Prevention and Control Research and State and Community Based Programs $201,902
20.701 University Transportation Centers Program $191,881
93.912 Rural Health Care Services Outreach, Rural Health Network Development and Small Health Care Provider Quality Improvement $182,333
93.853 Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders $177,084
64.054 Research and Development $172,898
93.173 Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders $161,493
93.926 Healthy Start Initiative $153,809
93.142 Niehs Hazardous Waste Worker Health and Safety Training $151,974
94.026 Americorps National Service and Civic Engagement Research Competition 94.026 $150,985
93.121 Oral Diseases and Disorders Research $150,956
77.008 U.s. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Scholarship and Fellowship Program $149,928
93.859 Biomedical Research and Research Training $149,658
93.162 National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment $144,130
81.049 Office of Science Financial Assistance Program $143,957
93.940 Hiv Prevention Activities Health Department Based $143,356
81.086 Conservation Research and Development $141,984
17.268 H-1b Job Training Grants $139,244
17.502 Occupational Safety and Health Susan Harwood Training Grants $138,846
11.619 Arrangements for Interdisciplinary Research Infrastructure $129,973
12.903 Gencyber Grants Program $126,976
93.143 Niehs Superfund Hazardous Substances_basic Research and Education $126,374
81.087 Renewable Energy Research and Development $121,652
93.917 Hiv Care Formula Grants $114,091
66.511 Office of Research and Development Consolidated Research/training/fellowships $108,535
93.837 Cardiovascular Diseases Research $106,226
93.421 Strengthening Public Health Systems and Services Through National Partnerships to Improve and Protect the Nation�s Health $104,378
81.RD Department of Energy $104,140
93.286 Discovery and Applied Research for Technological Innovations to Improve Human Health $97,758
93.394 Cancer Detection and Diagnosis Research $97,740
87.RD Consumer Product Safety Commission $91,064
15.605 Sport Fish Restoration $87,566
93.104 Comprehensive Community Mental Health Services for Children with Serious Emotional Disturbances (sed) $87,224
12.420 Military Medical Research and Development $80,637
93.884 Primary Care Training and Enhancement $79,253
11.417 Sea Grant Support $78,255
93.865 Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research $77,288
27.011 Intergovernmental Personnel Act (ipa) Mobility Program $76,815
45.312 National Leadership Grants $74,915
93.270 Viral Hepatitis Prevention and Control $74,180
16.817 Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation Program $72,956
47.070 Computer and Information Science and Engineering $72,482
93.359 Nurse Education, Practice, Quality and Retention Grants $71,994
12.RD Department of Defense $70,885
93.850 Improving Epilepsy Programs, Services, and Outcomes Through National Partnerships $69,905
10.557 Wic Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children $68,520
93.575 Child Care and Development Block Grant $65,962
66.436 Surveys, Studies, Investigations, Demonstrations, and Training Grants and Cooperative Agreements - Section 104(b)(3) of the Clean Water Act $65,387
93.778 Medical Assistance Program $65,034
93.840 Translation and Implementation Science Research for Heart, Lung, Blood Diseases, and Sleep Disorders $64,098
93.353 21st Century Cures Act - Beau Biden Cancer Moonshot $61,724
93.077 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act Regulatory Research $61,627
43.003 Exploration $59,130
93.RD Department of Health and Human Services $56,712
15.676 Youth Engagement, Education, and Employment $56,402
21.019 Covid-19 - Coronavirus Relief Fund $54,909
47.050 Geosciences $54,836
47.084 Nsf Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships $53,171
12.800 Air Force Defense Research Sciences Program $51,785
16.738 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program $50,023
84.010 Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies $50,000
93.113 Environmental Health $47,299
15.611 Wildlife Restoration and Basic Hunter Education and Safety $44,559
84.374 Teacher and School Leader Incentive Grants (formerly the Teacher Incentive Fund) $44,294
20.108 Aviation Research Grants $40,709
10.558 Child and Adult Care Food Program $38,689
93.838 Lung Diseases Research $37,328
16.593 Residential Substance Abuse Treatment for State Prisoners $35,674
93.110 Maternal and Child Health Federal Consolidated Programs $35,651
93.396 Cancer Biology Research $35,394
93.847 Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research $34,802
93.262 Occupational Safety and Health Program $34,697
93.121 Environmental Health $31,136
27.011 Office of Personnel Management $30,063
11.020 Cluster Grants $30,000
16.026 Ovw Research and Evaluation Program $29,931
11.609 Measurement and Engineering Research and Standards $29,516
93.242 Mental Health Research Grants $28,479
93.855 Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research $26,753
15.506 Water Desalination Research and Development $26,533
43.002 Aeronautics $26,476
20.200 Highway Research and Development Program $26,002
84.305 Education Research, Development and Dissemination $24,625
84.027 Special Education Grants to States $24,086
93.124 Nurse Anesthetist Traineeship $23,791
19.900 Aeeca/esf Pd Programs $23,701
15.922 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act $23,623
93.273 Alcohol Research Programs $23,571
93.908 Nurse Corps Loan Repayment Program $22,934
66.516 P3 Award: National Student Design Competition for Sustainability $22,598
84.324 Research in Special Education $21,850
16.812 Second Chance Act Reentry Initiative $21,771
15.807 Earthquake Hazards Program Assistance $19,648
84.326 Special Education Technical Assistance and Dissemination to Improve Services and Results for Children with Disabilities $19,215
93.839 Blood Diseases and Resources Research $18,154
16.587 Violence Against Women Discretionary Grants for Indian Tribal Governments $17,489
47.041 Engineering $17,230
93.243 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Projects of Regional and National Significance $17,001
84.017 International Research and Studies $16,717
93.399 Cancer Control $16,252
12.431 Basic Scientific Research $16,210
15.810 National Cooperative Geologic Mapping $16,049
12.900 Language Grant Program $15,740
81.117 Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Information Dissemination, Outreach, Training and Technical Analysis/assistance $15,471
84.367 Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants (formerly Improving Teacher Quality State Grants) $15,382
84.325 Special Education - Personnel Development to Improve Services and Results for Children with Disabilities $14,827
93.172 Human Genome Research $12,876
93.070 Environmental Public Health and Emergency Response $12,272
93.395 Cancer Treatment Research $9,693
93.087 Enhance Safety of Children Affected by Substance Abuse $9,586
45.164 Promotion of the Humanities Public Programs $8,853
93.307 Minority Health and Health Disparities Research $7,451
93.834 Capacity Building Assistance (cba) for High-Impact Hiv Prevention $7,433
16.831 Children of Incarcerated Parents $7,219
93.867 Vision Research $7,213
16.601 Corrections Training and Staff Development $6,871
93.323 Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Infectious Diseases (elc) $6,552
12.630 Basic, Applied, and Advanced Research in Science and Engineering $6,248
47.074 Biological Sciences $5,957
93.361 Nursing Research $5,893
93.080 Blood Disorder Program: Prevention, Surveillance, and Research $5,440
93.788 Opioid Str $5,180
21.016 Covid-19 - Equitable Sharing $4,778
43.RD National Aeronautics and Space Administration $4,437
43.001 Science $4,253
16.827 Second Chance Act Reentry Initiative $4,084
15.RD Department of the Interior $3,895
10.225 Community Food Projects $3,749
93.135 Centers for Research and Demonstration for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention $3,228
93.959 Block Grants for Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse $3,192
47.049 Mathematical and Physical Sciences $2,880
93.250 Geriatric Academic Career Awards Programs $2,777
93.866 Aging Research $2,712
15.808 U.s. Geological Survey Research and Data Collection $2,706
85.002 McC Foreign Assistance for Overseas Programs $2,557
43.008 Office of Stem Engagement (ostem) $2,500
93.943 Epidemiologic Research Studies of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (aids) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (hiv) Infection in Selected Population Groups $2,475
17.267 Employment Training Administration $2,320
21.027 Covid-19 - Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds $2,253
93.393 Cancer Cause and Prevention Research $1,979
45.024 Promotion of the Arts Grants to Organizations and Individuals $1,625
20.205 Highway Planning and Construction $1,600
93.350 National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences $1,095
47.083 Integrative Activities $1,032
93.318 Protecting and Improving Health Globally: Building and Strengthening Public Health Impact, Systems, Capacity and Security $978
84.334 Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs $800
47.076 Stem Education (formerly Education and Human Resources) $715
93.879 Medical Library Assistance $559
16.585 Treatment Court Discretionary Grant Program $443
93.145 Aids Education and Training Centers $279
93.667 Social Services Block Grant $221
16.838 Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Other Substances Use Program $60
84.002 Adult Education - Basic Grants to States $42
15.805 Assistance to State Water Resources Research Institutes $-43
93.107 Area Health Education Centers $-125
93.226 Research on Healthcare Costs, Quality and Outcomes $-527
93.600 Head Start $-3,865
81.089 Fossil Energy Research and Development $-21,909