Finding Text
Finding 2022-001 ? COVID-19 Education Stabilization Fund, Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds - Quarterly Reporting (Student Grants Portion) Federal Program: COVID-19 Education Stabilization Fund Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Education Pass-Through Entity: Not Applicable Assistance Listing Number: 84.425E Federal Award Number: P425E200445 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 and annual reporting for all sections (a)(1), (a)(2), (a)(3) and (a)(4). The reporting requirements specify for the student portion the required items to be disclosed include the estimated total number of students at the institution that are eligible to receive Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students under the CARES (a)(1) subprogram and the CRRSAA and ARP (a)(1) subprograms. . Condition/Context: The auditor noted from reviewing the University?s student portion reports posted on the website that the estimated total number of students eligible to receive emergency financial aid grants was not disclosed as required. Questioned Costs: Not applicable. Cause: The University inadvertently omitted this required item in the reporting posted to the University?s website. Effect: The University was not in compliance with the HEERF student portion quarterly reporting requirements. Recommendation: The University 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: The University strove to strictly follow all federal guidance in the administration of HEERF Funds and voluntarily chose to report awarded grants more often than required to illustrate the consistent access students had to the intended funds. The University listed the number of students receiving grants, but did not explicitly indicate the number of students who were considered eligible. The University has since updated the reporting webpages to clearly meet the specific federal requirement for disclosure of the estimated total number of students eligible. Going forward when presenting data and information related to federal funding, the University will use the exact vocabulary for all specified populations as suggested by the department of education. Further, all HEERF funds have been expended by the University and reporting has concluded. Therefore, no additional administrative revisions to the processes are required and the University considers this issue completely resolved.