FAC Explorer

Finding 977851 (2023-002)

-
Requirement
N
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2023
Accepted
2024-06-21
Audit: 309538
Organization: The University of Alabama in Huntsville (AL)
Auditor: Pricewaterhousecoopers LLP

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: The University failed to obtain voluntary consent from students for electronic disbursements, violating the E-Sign Act.
  • Impacted Requirements: Compliance with the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act is essential for the validity of electronic transactions.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Management should review E-Sign Act requirements and implement processes to ensure consent is captured for future electronic transactions.

Finding Text

E-Sign Act Cluster: Student Financial Assistance Federal Agency: Department of Education Assistance Listing Title and Number: All Award Name: Not applicable Award Identifying Number: Not applicable Award Year: Fiscal year 2023 Pass-through Entity: Not applicable Criteria: The University is subject to compliance requirements pertaining to the disbursement of funds to students under Federal Student Aid (FSA) programs within the Student Financial Assistance cluster. For any students participating in electronic transactions, schools must obtain their voluntary consent to participate pursuant to The Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (or the E-Sign Act). Condition: While reviewing the underlying support for a sample of 25 students, we noted that voluntary consent for electronic disbursement participation was not obtained for any of these students. Questioned Costs: None Cause: The University inadvertently omitted the process where the student would 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. Recommendation: We recommend that management review the requirements of the E-Sign Act with respect to student electronic transaction voluntary consents and put in place processes that will ensure such consent is captured in future transactions. The University should continually assess the operation of the updated policies and procedures in place as it relates to voluntary consent.

Categories

Subrecipient Monitoring

Other Findings in this Audit

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
84.268 Federal Direct Student Loans $24.32M
84.063 Federal Pell Grant Program $8.20M
20.109 Air Transportation Centers of Excellence $1.24M
12.600 Community Investment $1.03M
11.015 Broad Agency Announcement $750,570
47.083 Integrative Activities $729,933
93.264 Nurse Faculty Loan Program (nflp) Outstanding $557,550
43.002 Aeronautics $427,567
84.425 Education Stabilization Fund $422,488
93.846 Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Research $325,499
84.007 Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants $313,209
11.609 Measurement and Engineering Research and Standards $240,669
11.432 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (noaa) Cooperative Institutes $234,713
84.033 Federal Work-Study Program $232,748
84.365 English Language Acquisition State Grants $228,229
11.611 Manufacturing Extension Partnership $207,742
12.U01 Department of Defense $201,540
81.049 Office of Science Financial Assistance Program $194,205
81.RD Department of Energy $131,557
93.847 Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research $122,210
84.411 Investing in Innovation (i3) Fund $120,258
93.853 Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders $117,155
12.617 Economic Adjustment Assistance for State Governments $112,543
47.070 Computer and Information Science and Engineering $108,739
16.560 National Institute of Justice Research, Evaluation, and Development Project Grants $103,878
47.049 Mathematical and Physical Sciences $83,146
12.002 Procurement Technical Assistance for Business Firms $81,462
12.300 Basic and Applied Scientific Research $70,517
12.431 Basic Scientific Research $67,422
93.264 Nurse Faculty Loan Program (nflp) - New Loans Issues Fy 23 $61,341
93.855 Allergy, Immunology and Transplantation Research $60,567
15.820 National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center $56,873
43.RD National Aeronautics & Aeronautics & Space Administration $46,062
12.RD Department of Defense $42,066
93.307 Minority Health and Health Disparities Research $38,962
12.903 Gencyber Grants Program $37,307
43.009 Cross Agency Support $37,137
19.040 Public Diplomacy Programs $37,038
21.015 Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States $35,155
47.074 Biological Sciences $32,131
11.431 Climate and Atmospheric Research $30,000
10.904 Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention $29,425
81.057 University Coal Research $29,161
10.558 Child and Adult Care Food Program $27,307
12.800 Air Force Defense Research Sciences Program $23,291
47.075 Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences $19,747
47.084 Nsf Technology, Innovation and Partnerships $19,381
47.041 Engineering $18,795
15.615 Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund $17,953
47.050 Geosciences $16,860
43.003 Exploration $16,636
12.905 Cybersecurity Core Curriculum $10,954
84.325 Special Education - Personnel Development to Improve Services and Results for Children with Disabilities $9,597
93.113 Environmental Health $6,753
43.008 Education $5,901
12.902 Information Security Grants $4,642
12.630 Basic, Applied, and Advanced Research in Science and Engineering $3,810
43.012 Space Technology $3,077
66.516 P3 Award: National Student Design Competition for Sustainability $2,590
47.076 Education and Human Resources $2,560
10.699 Partnership Agreements $1,958
43.001 Science $1,621
11.RD Department of Commerce $1,529
59.037 Small Business Development Centers $563
11.459 Weather and Air Quality Research $233
20.509 Formula Grants for Rural Areas and Tribal Transit Program $-78
16.RD Department of Justice $-893