Reports

Department of Education OIG

The Office of Postsecondary Education’s Oversight of Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund Grants

The objective of the audit was to determine whether the Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE) has an adequate process in place to ensure that institutions of higher education (schools) use Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) grant funds appropriately and that performance goals are met. OPE needs to strengthen its oversight processes to ensure that schools use HEERF grant funds appropriately and that performance goals are met. OPE established and implemented several controls to promote transparency and accountability in program administration, including providing guidance and other...

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 6/01/2022

Department of Education OIG

Oklahoma’s Administration of the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund Grant

The objectives of the audit were to determine whether the State of Oklahoma (Oklahoma) designed and implemented awarding processes that ensured that the Governor's Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEER grant) was used to support local educational agencies (LEA) and institutions of higher education (IHE) that were most significantly impacted by the coronavirus or LEAs, IHEs, or other education-related entities within the State that were deemed essential for carrying out emergency educational services; and monitoring processes to ensure that subgrantees used GEER grant funds in accordance with...

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 7/18/2022

1.1 - Open

Provide documentation, or a full and detailed written explanation, of the process Oklahoma used to determine the initiatives it supported with GEER grant funds and the entities it selected to administer the initiatives.

1.2 - Open

Develop and implement a process to ensure that it documents the criteria and decisions made for awarding future GEER grant funds in accordance with applicable requirements.

1.3 - Open

Develop and implement internal controls to ensure that it administers current and future GEER grants in accordance with applicable Federal laws and grant requirements, including ensuring that grant subrecipients are provided the proper award documentation; and that any entity that is awarded Federal funds retains records relating to those awards in accordance with Federal requirements.

1.4 - Open

Perform a 100 percent review, or review a statistical sample, of the Stay in School Fund microgrant recipients to confirm that all students were eligible to receive GEER grant funds.

1.5 - Open

Develop and implement written policies and procedures to describe the specific circumstances under which deviations from procurement rules are warranted, including procedures about required documentation of such decisions for procurements that do not use competitive bidding but use Federal education funds.

1.6 - Open

Take appropriate action if the documentation and other information provided by Oklahoma in response to the above recommendations does not support that the State followed applicable requirements.

2.1 - Open

Return $652,720 to the Department for the unallowable Bridge the Gap expenditures we identified or provide documentation to support that the expenditures were allowable or the items were purchased with personal funds.

2.2 - Open

Perform a 100-percent review, or review a statistical sample, of the $5,473,894 in Bridge the Gap expenditures that we did not review to determine whether the expenditures were allowable, and if applicable, return the funds for any unallowable expenditures to the Department.

2.3 - Open

Develop and implement additional internal controls for the Skills to Rebuild, Learn Anywhere Oklahoma, Bridge the Gap, and Stay in School Fund initiatives that include written monitoring procedures for those processes that are already in place, and for additional procedures that include a review of expenditures and supporting documentation, and a review of documentation that supports the information in initiatives’ weekly status reports.

2.4 - Open

Develop and implement internal controls to ensure that fiscal agents for Federal grant programs obtain an understanding of the rules and regulations surrounding the grant programs they are tasked with overseeing.

3.1 - Open

Develop and implement controls to ensure that Oklahoma’s State agencies that receive Federal funds have written cash management policies and procedures, including policies for the draw down and disbursement of grant funds in accordance with Federal requirements.

3.2 - Open

Return to the Department any unexpended GEER grant funds applicable to our audit scope that are being held by GEER grant subrecipients.

3.3 - Open

3.4 - Open

Require its fiscal agent or State program representative to work closely with the Department to ensure that other GEER grants are administered in compliance with cash management rules and with any actions the Department determines are needed, if warranted.

Department of Education OIG

Michigan’s Administration of the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund

The objectives of the audit were to determine whether the State of Michigan (Michigan) designed and implemented awarding processes that ensured that the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEER grant) was used to support local educational agencies (LEAs) and institutions of higher education (IHEs) that were most significantly impacted by the coronavirus or LEAs, IHEs, or other education-related entities within the State that were deemed essential for carrying out emergency educational services; and monitoring processes to ensure that subgrantees used GEER grant funds in accordance with...

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 9/14/2022

Department of Education OIG

Missouri’s Administration of the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund Grant

The objectives of the audit were to determine whether the State of Missouri (Missouri) designed and implemented awarding processes that ensured that the Governor's Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEER grant) was used to support local educational agencies (LEAs) and institutions of higher education (IHEs) that were most significantly impacted by the coronavirus or LEAs, IHEs, or other education-related entities within the State that were deemed essential for carrying out emergency educational services; and monitoring processes to ensure that subgrantees used GEER grant funds in accordance with...

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 2/10/2022

Massachusetts Office of the State Auditor

Audit of the Department of Higher Education

The audit found that Department of Higher Education (DHE) did not ensure that all employees who were responsible for managing and administering Governor’s Emergency Education Relief funding completed annual cybersecurity awareness training. The audit also found that DHE did not meet with the Commonwealth Commitment Advisory Board (CCAB) to review the MassTransfer Commonwealth Commitment Program and did not provide reports or communications to the Board of Higher Education regarding CCAB’s review of the MassTransfer Commonwealth Commitment Program.

Department of Education OIG

Illinois’ Oversight of Local Educational Agency ARP ESSER Plans and Spending

The objectives of the audit were to determine whether the Illinois State Board of Education (Illinois) had an adequate oversight process in place to ensure that (1) local educational agencies’ (LEA) American Rescue Plan (ARP) Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) plans met applicable requirements and (2) LEAs use ARP ESSER funds in accordance with applicable requirements and their approved LEA ARP ESSER plans.We found that Illinois generally had adequate processes to ensure that LEA ARP ESSER plans met applicable requirements. However, it did not communicate accurate...

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 3/27/2024

California State Auditor

California Department of Education: It Needs to Provide Better Oversight to Ensure That Local Educational Agencies Promptly and Effectively Use Federal COVID‑19 Funds

We conducted a state high‑risk audit of the California Department of Education’s management of the federal funding it received to help local educational agencies respond to the COVID‑19 pandemic. The following report details our conclusion that California Department of Education must improve its oversight of these funds from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund and the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund to ensure that local educational agencies spend the funding before the associated deadlines and comply with relevant requirements.

California State Auditor

California Department of Education:It Needs to Provide Better Oversight to Ensure That Local Educational Agencies Promptly and Effectively Use Federal COVID‑19 Funds

We conducted a state high‑risk audit of the California Department of Education’s (Education) management of the federal funding it received to help local educational agencies (LEAs) respond to the COVID‑19 pandemic. The following report details our conclusion that Education must improve its oversight of these funds from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund and the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund to ensure that LEAs spend the funding before the associated deadlines and comply with relevant requirements.

Department of Education OIG

Tennessee Department of Education’s Administration and Oversight of Emergency Assistance to Nonpublic Schools Grant Funds

Congress provided $5.5 billion for the Emergency Assistance to Nonpublic Schools (EANS) program. The purpose of the EANS programs, authorized under the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSA) and American Rescue Plan (ARP), is to provide services or assistance to eligible nonpublic schools to address educational disruptions caused by the COVID-19 emergency. Our audit sought to determine whether the Tennessee Department of Education (Tennessee) designed and implemented (1) application processes that adequately assessed nonpublic schools’ eligibility for EANS...

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 11/19/2024

2.1 - Open

We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education require Tennessee, in consultation with the Governor of Tennessee, to review its policies and procedures for drawing down Department grant funds to pay for corresponding grant expenditures and determine whether any updates are necessary to ensure funds drawn down from one grant (for example, CRRSA EANS) are not being used to pay for expenditures under another grant (for example, ARP EANS).

2.2 - Open

We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education require Tennessee, in consultation with the Governor of Tennessee, to ensure that Tennessee officials responsible for making, reviewing, and approving G5 drawdowns receive sufficient training on Federal rules and regulations and State policies and procedures related to drawing down funds from G5 and documenting the process correctly.

2.3 - Open

We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education require Tennessee, in consultation with the Governor of Tennessee, to ensure full implementation of procedures that will identify, locate, and track assets purchased with EANS funds at nonpublic schools and verify that those assets were still being used for purposes related to COVID-19 or for allowable purposes under another Federal education program in which the nonpublic school participates. If assets purchased with EANS funds are no longer being used for purposes related to COVID-19 or for allowable purposes under another Federal education program in which the nonpublic school participates, retrieve them for use in other allowable activities or dispose of them in accordance with State laws and procedures. If assets purchased with EANS funds cannot be identified and located, determine any liabilities owed to the Department and return funds if required.

2.4 - Open

We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education require Tennessee, in consultation with the Governor of Tennessee, to retroactively obtain prior written approval from the Department for the three equipment expenditures or return the approximately $123,000 expended for those equipment purchases and perform a review of the remaining equipment expenditures to determine whether there are additional purchases that require prior written approval. Tennessee should also incorporate into its grants management policies and procedures a step to determine for any Department grants whether it is required to obtain prior approval from the Department for certain expenditures, or whether Tennessee can provide prior approval for subrecipients.

Department of Education OIG

Remington College’s Use of Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund Student Aid and Institutional Grants

The objective of our audit was to determine if Remington College used the Student Aid (Assistance Listing Number (ALN) 84.425E) and Institutional (ALN 84.425F) portions of its Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) grant funds for allowable and intended purposes.Remington College generally used the Student Aid portion of its HEERF grant funds for allowable and intended purposes but did not always use the Institutional portion of its funds in accordance with Federal requirements. We found that Remington College spent Institutional funds for several unallowable purposes and did not...

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 9/28/2021

2.1 - Closed

Require Remington College to return to the Department the $80,121 in Institutional grant funds spent beyond the supplemental Institutional grant period or reallocate the funds to other allowable costs.

2.2 - Closed

Clarify whether the costs that Remington College initially charged to its Institutional grant for student computers were allowable under the law and existing guidance, and determine whether Remington College’s subsequent reallocation of costs for other expenses in the amount of $64,985 (corrective actions) was appropriate.

2.3 - Closed

Determine whether the $639,400 that Remington College charged to its Institutional grant for contracts awarded without a competitive procurement process was reasonable when compared to the quality and costs of suitable alternatives, and if not, require appropriate corrective actions.

2.4 - Closed

Require Remington College to incorporate in its policies and procedures for managing HEERF grant funds the Federal requirements related to charging only allowable costs during the grant performance period, using competitive processes for selecting vendors when purchases are over $10,000, obtaining price or rate quotations from an adequate number of qualified vendors for purchases between $10,000 and $250,000, and using formal procurement methods for purchases over $250,000.

2.5 - Closed

Require Remington College to ensure that school officials responsible for making purchasing decisions receive sufficient training on Federal rules and regulations related to grant administration and management.

3.1 - Closed

Require Remington College to incorporate in its policies and procedures for managing Institutional grant funds the Federal cash management requirements related to minimizing the time between drawing down and spending Federal grant funds, including HEERF funds; maintaining the funds in an interest-bearing account; and remitting interest earned in excess of $500 in accordance with 2 C.F.R. § 200.305(b).

3.2 - Closed

Require Remington College to incorporate in its policies and procedures for managing Student Aid grant funds the Federal cash management requirements related to maintaining the funds in an interest-bearing account and remitting interest earned in excess of $500 in accordance with 2 C.F.R. § 200.305(b).

3.3 - Closed

Determine whether Remington College accurately calculated interest and ensure that the correct amount of interest is returned to the Federal government in accordance with 2 C.F.R. § 200.305(b)(9).

Date Range

Report Type

Report Category

Submitting Agency

State (State and Local Reports)

Agency Reviewed

Related Organizations

Management Challenges

Any Recommendations

Any Open Recommendations

Reports

The Office of Postsecondary Education’s Oversight of Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund Grants

Oklahoma’s Administration of the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund Grant

Michigan’s Administration of the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund

Missouri’s Administration of the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund Grant

Audit of the Department of Higher Education

Illinois’ Oversight of Local Educational Agency ARP ESSER Plans and Spending

California Department of Education: It Needs to Provide Better Oversight to Ensure That Local Educational Agencies Promptly and Effectively Use Federal COVID‑19 Funds

California Department of Education:It Needs to Provide Better Oversight to Ensure That Local Educational Agencies Promptly and Effectively Use Federal COVID‑19 Funds

Tennessee Department of Education’s Administration and Oversight of Emergency Assistance to Nonpublic Schools Grant Funds

Remington College’s Use of Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund Student Aid and Institutional Grants

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