Finding 1170521 (2025-003)

Finding 2025-003: Federal Program: U.S. National Science Foundation: Research and Development Cluster Office of Integrated Activities, Assistance Listing No. 47.083 Criteria: The University must have internal controls in place for compliance as required by 2 CFR Part 200.303. The University requires review by grant department before disbursement. Condition: During our testing of awarded scholarships for eight students, we noted that two student applications did not have evidence of being reviewed prior to disbursement of the scholarship. Cause: The University does not have a procedure in place to properly review scholarship applications prior to disbursement. Effect: Two students received scholarships that were not properly reviewed prior to disbursement. Questioned Costs: There are no questioned costs. Recommendation: We recommend that the University review and revise their policies and procedures related to reviewing and approving Research & Development grant scholarships prior to disbursement. Specifically, the University should:  Implement a review process to verify scholarships are reviewed and approved by Grant Administration prior to disbursement.  Provide training to relevant staff on proper documentation procedures to forward to Grant Administration to enhance compliance and accuracy. Views of responsible officials and planned corrective actions: The University agrees with the auditors' finding and recommendations. The following corrective action will be taken: The University will review and revise policies and procedures related to reviewing and approving Research & Development grant scholarships prior to disbursement. The University will do the following:  Implement a review process to verify scholarships are reviewed and approved by Grant Administration prior to disbursement.  Provide training to relevant staff on proper documentation procedures to forward to Grant Administration to enhance compliance and accuracy.