Finding Text
Federal Programs: COVID-19 - Education Stabilization Fund - Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) and Strengthening Institutions Program (SIP)
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Education
Pass-Through Entity: Not Applicable
CFDA Numbers: 84.425F and 84.425M
Federal Award Year: May 31, 2023
Repeat Finding: 2021-002 and 2022-002
Criteria: Section 18004(e) of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), directed institutions receiving funds under Section 18004 of the Act, to submit a new, separate form covering aggregate amounts spent for HEERF I, HEERF II, and HEERF III funds each quarterly reporting period (September 30, December 31, March 31, June 30), concluding after an institution has expended and liquidated all (a)(1) Institutional Portion, (a)(2), and (a)(3) funds and checks the "final report" box. Additionally, the CARES, CRRSAA and ARP institutional quarterly portion reporting requirements involve publicly posting completed forms with accurate information on the institution's website. In addition to quarterly public reporting, the College is required to submit an annual report to the Department of Education.
Condition/Context: The College did not accurately report the amount of education stabilization fund spent in their June 2022, September 2022, December 2022 and March 2023 quarterly reports submitted during fiscal year 2023. In addition, the College did not maintain supporting documentation to verify the accuracy of the information reported in the 2022 annual report which was submitted to the Department of Education during the 2023 fiscal year. These reports were also not filed or publicly posted timely within the required reporting periods.
Cause: The College failed to follow education stabilization fund reporting requirements to ensure information is accurate within the quarterly and annual reports and that these reports were filed timely within the required reporting periods.
Effect: The College did not provide the public with accurate and reliable data related to the amount and use of the education stabilization fund spent during the 2022 calendar year and 2023 fiscal year.
Questioned Costs: None
Recommendation: The College should assign an individual to track reporting requirements of federal awards to ensure the College is in compliance as well as implement secondary reviews of data reported prior to submission.
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions: The Controller’s Office will learn the reporting compliance requirements, internally compile the data needed to complete accurate reporting and ensuring timely submission. This will include a secondary review of the reporting data prior to submission to ensure accuracy.