Reports
Search for reports and investigative results.
Showing 1 - 10 of 44 results
Department of Education OIG
Federal Student Aid’s Use of Pandemic Assistance Student Aid Administration Funds
We found that as of November 30, 2022, FSA obligated nearly 100 percent of the $161.1 million in appropriations it received for pandemic assistance student aid administration funds. Nine FSA business units obligated approximately $157.8 million (98 percent) of the total pandemic assistance student aid administration funds, with one business unit, the Next Gen FSA Program Office, accounting for 78 percent of the obligations. The pandemic assistance student aid administration funds were used for personnel compensation and benefits, information technology systems and services contracts, and...
Department of Education OIG
The Department’s Use of Pandemic Assistance Program Administration Funds
The objective of our review was to determine the Department’s progress on spending program administration funds authorized by coronavirus response and relief laws, including how those funds have been used to date, and the Department’s plans for using remaining funds.We found that the Department has allocated nearly 100 percent2 of its pandemic assistance program administration funds and that the Department is on track to obligate all of its program administration funds prior to the dates the funds are set to expire. The Department allocated the funds to 11 principal offices and as of February...
Department of Education OIG
U.S. Department of Education’s Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund Audit Resolution Activities
The report presents information on independent audits with findings pertaining to the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) and audit resolution activities conducted by the U.S. Department of Education. Our review focused on independent audits of HEERF recipients from April 2020 through June 2023. We found that the number of independent audits with findings pertaining to HEERF and requiring resolution by the Office of Finance and Operations (OFO) increased significantly over the past few years, as did the number of audits with complex findings as determined by OFO staff. However, the...
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...
Department of Education OIG
State and Local Educational Agencies’ Use of Digital Wallet-Related Technologies and Services
We performed this review to determine the extent to which State Education Agencies (SEAs) and local educational agencies (LEAs) use digital wallets to facilitate the administration of U.S. Department of Education (Department) grant funds. Our review covered the period from October 1, 2022, through December 31, 2024. Forty-five SEAs responded to our survey regarding the use of digital wallets to facilitate the administration of Department grant funds. Twelve of those SEAs reported using digital wallets to help administer some of their Department grants during our review period, and three of...
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee
A Review of Pandemic Relief Funding and How It Was Used In Six U.S. Communities: Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
To learn how communities across the nation responded to the pandemic during the first 18 months, we initiated a multi-part review of six communities—two cities, two rural counties, and two Tribal reservations. This report is the second community-specific report and focuses on our work in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, where we previously identified that recipients, including city government, small businesses, and individuals, received almost $314 million from 45 pandemic relief programs and subprograms. This report provides a closer look at eight pandemic programs and subprograms provided to Coeur d...
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee
A Review of Pandemic Relief Funding and How It Was Used In Six U.S. Communities: Marion County, Georgia
To learn how communities across the nation responded to the pandemic, we initiated a multi-part review of six communities—two cities, two rural counties, and two Tribal reservations. This report is the fourth community-specific report and focuses on our work in Marion County, Georgia, where we previously identified that recipients, including city government, small businesses, and individuals, received almost $39 million from 27 pandemic relief programs and subprograms. This report provides a closer look at six pandemic programs and subprograms provided to Marion County by six federal...
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee
A Review of Pandemic Relief Funding and How It Was Used In Six U.S. Communities: Sheridan County, Nebraska
To learn how communities across the nation responded to the pandemic, we initiated a multi-part review of six communities—two cities, two rural counties, and two Tribal reservations. This report is the third community-specific report and focuses on our work in Sheridan County, Nebraska, where we previously identified that recipients, including city government, small businesses, and individuals, received almost $61 million from 31 pandemic relief programs and subprograms. This report provides a closer look at six pandemic programs and subprograms provided to Sheridan County by six federal...
Department of Education OIG
Federal Student Aid’s Processes for Waiving Return of Title IV Requirements, Cancelling Borrowers’ Obligation to Repay Direct Loans, and Excluding Pell Grants from Federal Pell Lifetime Usage
FSA had adequate processes for waiving R2T4 requirements, cancelling borrowers’ obligation to repay Direct Loans, and excluding Pell disbursements from Pell lifetime usage for impacted students. FSA also designed adequate processes for schools to report the number and amounts of R2T4 waivers applied.
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee
A Review of Pandemic Relief Funding and How It Was Used In Six U.S. Communities: Springfield, Massachusetts
To learn how communities across the nation responded to the pandemic, we initiated a multi-part review of six communities—two cities, two rural counties, and two Tribal reservations. This report is the first community-specific report and focuses on our work in Springfield, Massachusetts, where we previously identified that recipients, including city government, small businesses, and individuals, received almost $1.88 billion from 52 pandemic relief programs and subprograms. This report provides a closer look at nine pandemic programs and subprograms provided to Springfield by eight federal...