Finding 43789 (2022-001)

Assistance Listing Number, Federal Agency, and Program Name - 84.425E Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) - Student Portion Federal Award Identification Number and Year - P425E201974 - Year ended June 30, 2022 Pass through Entity - Not applicable Finding Type - Significant deficiency Repeat Finding - No Criteria - The U.S. Department of Education, through a notice issued on May 13, 2021, requires that quarterly reports related to HEERF are publicly posted on the University's website no later than 10 days after the end of each calendar quarter. Further, the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund III FAQ dated May 11, 2021 requires reporting activity separately each quarter. Condition - The quarterly report for the student portion of HEERF was not posted on the University's website within the time frame and format allowed in one instance. Questioned Costs - None Identification of How Questioned Costs Were Computed - Not applicable Context - The student portion report for the quarter ended September 30, 2021 was not posted on the University's website within the required time frame. Cause and Effect - Confirmation of the upload of the quarterly report for the student HEERF grant under the American Rescue Plan (ARP) was not monitored sufficiently to ensure timely posting to the University's website. Recommendation - We recommend the University implement additional monitoring controls to ensure that required reports for grants that are new, or for which the University does not have historical experience (such as HEERF), are issued according to the prescribed guidance within the allowed time frame. Views of Responsible Officials and Corrective Action Plan - The University agrees with the finding and recommendation. The University spent and accounted for $75.6 million in HEERF grants appropriately and followed all applicable guidelines. The University also adhered to the various reporting guidelines that changed multiple times during the grant period, with the exception of this one untimely report posting to the Oakland University website. This was caused by personnel turnover occurring at that time within multiple departments that were part of the process. This situation was unique and has been corrected.