FAC Explorer

Finding 72329 (2022-001)

-
Requirement
N
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2022
Accepted
2023-03-30
Audit: 63485
Organization: William Marsh Rice University (TX)
Auditor: Pricewaterhousecoopers LLP

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: The University failed to include a required statement for students to voluntarily consent to electronic transactions as mandated by the E-Sign Act.
  • Impacted Requirements: This omission may lead to electronic transactions being deemed invalid or unenforceable due to lack of consent.
  • Recommended Follow-up: Update the terms and conditions to include the consent statement for electronic transactions in the annual agreement process for federal student assistance.

Finding Text

Section III?Federal Award Findings and Questioned Costs Finding 2022-001 ? E-sign Act Cluster: Student Financial Assistance Cluster Federal Awarding Agency: Department of Education Award Name: Federal Work Study Program, Federal Pell Grant Program, Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants, Federal Perkins Loan, Federal Direct Student Loans Award Numbers: Not applicable Award Year: July 1, 2021 ? June 30, 2022 Assistance Listing Title: Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, Federal Work-Study Program, Federal Perkins Loans, Federal Pell Grant Program and Federal Direct Student Loans Assistance Listing Number: 84.007, 84.033, 84.038, 84.063 and 84.268 Pass-through Entities: Not applicable Criteria The Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (?E-Sign Act?) states that a school must obtain a student?s voluntary consent to participate in electronic transactions. Condition In examining 25 student records, we noted that the University requires each student annually agree to certain terms and conditions before they accept federal student assistance, however, a statement prompting the student to voluntarily consent to participate in electronic transactions was not included in the list of terms and conditions. Cause The University inadvertently omitted the statement prompting the student to voluntarily consent to participate in electronic transactions from the list of terms and conditions each student is required to accept. Effect A lack of student consent to participate in electronic transactions may result in the transactions being denied legal effect, validity, or enforceability solely because it is in electronic form or because an electronic signature or electronic record was used in its formation. Questioned Costs None noted. Recommendation We recommend the University add a statement that the student voluntarily consents to participating in electronic transactions to the list of terms and conditions annually agreed to by students receiving federal student financial assistance. Management?s View and Corrective Action Plan Management?s views and corrective action plan are included at the end of this report after the summary of status of prior audit findings.

Categories

Student Financial Aid Matching / Level of Effort / Earmarking

Other Findings in this Audit

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
84.268 Federal Direct Student Loans $28.08M
84.425E Covid-19 Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (heerf) Student Portion $5.82M
12.300 Office of Naval Research $4.86M
12.RD Office of Naval Research $3.78M
84.063 Federal Pell Grant Program $3.70M
12.431 Army Research Laboratory $2.71M
84.038 Federal Perkins Loan Program_outstanding Loans As of July 1, 2021 $2.19M
12.910 Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency $2.03M
12.800 Air Force Office of Scientific Research $1.92M
12.630 Basic, Applied, and Advanced Research in Science and Engineering $1.69M
47.075 Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences $1.06M
81.RD Oak Ridge National Laboratory $774,517
12.910 Research and Technology Development $765,029
12.431 Army Research Office $685,316
84.116 Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education $598,512
84.425F Covid-19 Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (heerf) Institutional Portion $596,366
14.218 Community Development Block Grants/entitlement Grants $554,567
11.802 Minority Business Resource Development $539,598
93.838 Lung Diseases Research $509,908
93.286 Discovery and Applied Research for Technological Innovations to Improve Human Health $445,975
11.609 Measurement and Engineering Research and Standards $443,646
93.575 Covid-19 Child Care and Development Block Grant $420,700
43.012 Space Technology $388,900
93.172 Human Genome Research $350,928
81.087 Renewable Energy Research and Development $345,775
98.RD U.s. Agency for International Development $324,523
84.007 Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants $319,621
47.074 Biological Sciences $308,999
93.RD National Institutes of Health $307,813
11.020 Cluster Grants $297,684
84.324 Research in Special Education $295,124
81.041 Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory $294,470
93.143 Niehs Superfund Hazardous Substances_basic Research and Education $292,187
12.420 Military Medical Research and Development $274,888
81.089 Fossil Energy Research and Development $268,508
12.420 US Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity $259,381
12.RD Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency $205,382
12.RD Air Force Research Laboratory $180,527
12.351 Basic Scientific Research - Combating Weapons of Mass Destruction $173,821
43.RD NASA Shared Services Center (nssc) $167,108
47.050 Geosciences $163,571
47.078 Polar Programs $154,492
93.103 Food and Drug Administration_research $154,432
93.242 Mental Health Research Grants $148,742
84.033 Federal Work-Study Program $126,005
81.112 Stewardship Science Grant Program $125,955
81.RD Argonne National Laboratory $125,384
93.866 Aging Research $119,956
93.398 Cancer Research Manpower $118,734
81.049 Los Alamos National Laboratory $115,256
10.219 Biotechnology Risk Assessment Research $111,089
45.024 Promotion of the Arts Grants to Organizations and Individuals $105,674
93.121 Oral Diseases and Disorders Research $105,100
47.070 Computer and Information Science and Engineering $101,976
93.226 Research on Healthcare Costs, Quality and Outcomes $101,610
12.RD Department of Defense $97,224
93.396 Cancer Biology Research $97,085
93.837 Cardiovascular Diseases Research $89,524
10.212 Small Business Innovation Research $86,941
11.431 Climate and Atmospheric Research $86,585
93.847 Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research $82,111
81.U01 National Renewable Energy Laboratory $77,530
81.086 Conservation Research and Development $76,252
81.RD Ut Battelle- LLC $72,334
93.839 Blood Diseases and Resources Research $72,042
43.001 NASA Shared Services Center (nssc) $70,906
93.867 Vision Research $68,842
12.RD US Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity $60,329
21.015 Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States $55,316
93.350 National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences $54,932
47.049 Covid-19 Mathematical and Physical Sciences $52,209
81.123 Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory $51,767
81.041 University of California Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory $50,153
12.431 Basic Scientific Research $49,140
93.846 Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Research $45,803
93.397 Cancer Centers Support Grants $36,476
47.075 Covid-19 Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences $35,516
10.682 National Forest Foundation $34,224
47.076 Education and Human Resources $32,614
81.135 Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy $31,747
43.009 Cross Agency Support $30,629
47.074 Covid-19 Biological Sciences $30,479
93.354 Public Health Emergency Response: Cooperative Agreement for Emergency Response: Public Health Crisis Response $29,244
15.441 Safety and Environmental Enforcement Research and Data Collection for Offshore Energy and Mineral Activities $29,077
81.049 Office of Science Financial Assistance Program $28,863
12.RD Air Force Office of Scientific Research $28,763
47.083 Integrative Activities $28,592
12.431 Office of Naval Research $27,269
93.865 Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research $25,795
84.305 Education Research, Development and Dissemination $24,982
93.879 Medical Library Assistance $19,934
81.RD Sandia National Laboratories $19,526
12.RD Small Business Innovation Research $19,500
10.RD United Soybean Board $18,555
47.RD National Science Foundation $17,742
81.RD Fermi National Accelerator Lab $15,780
43.003 Exploration $15,428
84.022 Overseas Programs - Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad $14,092
12.300 Basic and Applied Scientific Research $12,834
93.859 Biomedical Research and Research Training $11,880
12.800 Air Force Defense Research Sciences Program $10,683
47.041 Engineering $10,220
47.041 Covid-19 Engineering $8,605
93.310 Trans-Nih Research Support $8,237
81.RD University of California Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory $7,679
93.853 Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders $7,094
43.001 Science $7,020
15.506 Water Desalination Research and Development Program $4,865
93.393 Cancer Cause and Prevention Research $4,700
93.113 Environmental Health $4,304
98.001 Usaid Foreign Assistance for Programs Overseas $3,871
10.310 Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (afri) $2,658
93.395 Cancer Treatment Research $2,205
93.855 Allergy, Immunology and Transplantation Research $2,037
47.084 Nsf Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships $1,745
12.RD US Army $1,657
10.664 Cooperative Forestry Assistance $1,652
43.RD National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Goddard $1,570
11.482 Coral Reef Conservation Program $1,552
45.025 Promotion of the Arts Partnership Agreements $1,400
12.RD US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command-Armament $1,078
47.049 Mathematical and Physical Sciences $1,000
93.173 Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders $732
81.RD Brookhaven National Laboratory $504
45.161 Promotion of the Humanities Research $477
47.079 Office of International Science and Engineering $289
45.129 Promotion of the Humanities Federal/state Partnership $16
84.038 Federal Perkins Loan Program_new Loans Issued During 2022 $0
93.394 Cancer Detection and Diagnosis Research $-34
93.307 Minority Health and Health Disparities Research $-547
84.425C Covid-19 Governors Emergency Education Relief (geer) Fund $-52,517