Finding Text
Finding 2022-005: Significant Deficiency ? Education Stabilization Fund ? Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund - Reporting Program: Education Stabilization Fund Assistance Listing Number: 84.425 E, F and L Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Education Federal Award Identification Number: P425E200371, P425F201133, and P425L200166 Federal Award Year: June 30, 2022 Criteria: The U.S. Department of Education (the Department) has issued guidance for the Education Stabilization Funds (ESF) Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds (HEERF) for quarterly reporting for all sections (a)(1), (a)(2), (a)(3) and (a)(4) that requires that institutions to prepare a report for each quarter for funds that are drawn down and disbursed/spent. The reports are to be posted on the institution?s website within 10 days of the calendar quarter end. Condition/Context: For three of the four quarterly reports selected for testing, two for the student portion, and one containing both institutional and student portion reporting, it was noted that some of the information reported did not agree to the support provided, two of those reports also did not agree to the drawdowns from G5, two of those reports had required information missing, and two of those reports were posted late. ? Student portion report - for quarter three of calendar year 2021 the amount of emergency grants to students of $1,133,392 did not agree to the underlying support of $1,078,437 or drawdowns from G5 of $954,932. The number of eligible students and the number of students who received an emergency financial aid grant were missing from the report. ? Student portion report - for quarter four of calendar year 2021 the amount of emergency grants to students of $1,745,664 did not agree to the underlying support of $1,735,664 or drawdowns from G5 of $1,902,140. The number of eligible students was missing from the report. The report was posted to the Institution's website on January 24, 2022 after the required deadline of January 10, 2022. ? Combined report - For quarter one of calendar year 2022 the amount of emergency grants to students of $405,000 was reported for the institutional portion of HEERF but should have been for the student portion, the same amount was also reported for the institutional portion as covering student outstanding account balances and lost revenue. The report was posted to the Institution's website on July 8, 2022 after the required deadline of April 10, 2022. The report for quarter two of calendar year 2022 report was not submitted timely and was in process during the audit and therefore, was not selected for testing. The annual report had several items that did not agree to the underlying support. How many students received HEERF emergency financial aid grants, amount disbursed directly to students for emergency financial aid grants, amount of grants disbursed to students from all HEERF funds, total institutional funds used did not include amounts for room and board refunds that were reported in quarterly reporting during calendar 2021. The sample of reports tested was not a statistically valid sample. Cause: The College?s control surrounding preparing, reviewing and posting the reports did not deter or prevent errors in the reporting or late posting of the quarterly reports to the University?s website. The College noted there was significant staffing issues/changes in key positions in the student financial aid office and business office and that resulted in the incorrect and untimely HEERF reporting. Effect: The College was not in compliance with the HEERF quarterly reporting requirements. Questioned costs: Not applicable. Recommendation: The College should ensure it keeps up to date on the Department?s HEERF guidance and ensure that reporting is done accurately and timely. Management?s Response: Management acknowledges the finding. The staffing changes in the Business Office and the Financial Aid office resulted in learning curves for the new employees regarding how to report expenses for HEERF. The College reached out to the Department of Education and alerted them to the late filing of the reports and received acknowledgment of the late filings. The College has completed all quarterly filings for HEERF funds as they have all been spent. The final annual HEERF report for calendar year 2022 will be filed accurately and on time.