Reports

Department of Education OIG

The Department’s Implementation of CARES Act Flexibilities to TEACH Grant Service Obligations

The objective of our review was to evaluate the Department of Education’s plans and processes to ensure Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) grantees receive full-time credit toward their service obligations for part-time and temporarily interrupted service due to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). We found weaknesses in FSA’s development and implementation of plans and processes to ensure TEACH grantees receive full-time credit towards their service obligations for part-time or temporarily interrupted service due to COVID-19. Additionally, we found that FSA...

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Inspection / Evaluation | 1/20/2022

Department of Education OIG

Review of State Plans for Use of Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Funds

The objectives of our review were to review States’ initial 45-day GEER Fund reports to determine how States plan to allocate funds to entities within the three authorized categories: local educational agencies (LEA), institutions of higher education (IHE), and education-related entities, and the criteria upon which these decisions were based; and review GEER Fund annual reports to identify changes to and progress made from the initial plans in the 45-day reports. We found that within the three authorized entity categories, 45 States (87 percent) planned to allocate GEER funds to LEAs, 39...

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

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 - Open

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 - Open

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 - Open

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 - Open

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 - Open

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 - Open

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 - Open

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 - Open

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).

Department of Education OIG

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

The objective of our audit was to determine whether Lincoln College of Technology (Lincoln) used the Student Aid (Assistance Listing Number (ALN) 84.425E) and Institutional (ALN 84.425F) portions of its Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) funds for allowable and intended purposes. We also reviewed Lincoln’s cash management practices and the timeliness and quality of the data Lincoln reported on its use of HEERF funds. LESC generally used the Student Aid portion of Lincoln’s HEERF funds for allowable and intended purposes but did not always use the Institutional portion of its funds...

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 9/24/2021

1.1 - Closed

We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Postsecondary Education require LESC to update its written policies and procedures to contain sufficient detail to ensure that (1) all the steps necessary to verify student eligibility and distribute funds to students under the CARES Act and subsequent coronavirus legislations are addressed and completed, (2) funding determinations are adequately documented and supported in accordance with 2 C.F.R. § 200.302, and (3) students with exceptional need are prioritized in accordance with CRRSAA and ARP.

2.1 - Closed

Regarding LESC’s decision to reallocate the amounts we questioned in this finding, we recommend that the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Postsecondary Education review the reallocated funds and determine whether LESC’s use of $710,274 of Lincoln’s Institutional grant funds to write off unpaid accounts receivable for students, who withdrew from the school due to coronavirus, was allowable and for the intended purposes of applicable coronavirus relief legislation.

2.2 - Closed

If LESC’s reallocation of Lincoln’s Institutional grant funds is deemed unallowable, we recommend that the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Postsecondary require LESC to return to the Department the $700,155 of Lincoln’s Institutional grant funds that LESC improperly applied to credit student accounts for rent students paid to third-party landlords and the $9,838 that LESC improperly spent for subscriptions extending beyond the grant performance period and determine if these issues occurred at LESC’s other schools and take corrective action as appropriate.

3.1 - Closed

We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Postsecondary Education require LESC to incorporate in its policies and procedures the cash management requirements for minimizing the time between drawing down and disbursing Federal grant funds, including HEERF funds, maintaining the funds in an interest-bearing account, and remitting interest earned more than $500 in accordance with 2 C.F.R. § 200.305(b).

3.2 - Closed

We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Postsecondary Education determine whether LESC accurately calculated interest and properly remitted the interest returned in January 2021, in accordance with 2 C.F.R. § 200.305(b)(9).

Department of Education OIG

Inconsistent Grantee and Subgrantee Reporting of Education Stabilization Fund Subprograms in the Federal Audit Clearinghouse

The purpose of this flash report is to share with the U.S. Department of Education (Department) observations made by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) concerning grantees and subgrantees inconsistently reporting audit data on Department subprograms, or unique components of a program, to the Federal Audit Clearinghouse (FAC), the designated repository of single audit data. We found that grantees and subgrantees are not consistently reporting expenditures of Education Stabilization Fund (ESF) subprogram awards in the FAC. Specifically, when entering Federal award information into the Data...

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

National Science Foundation OIG

Capstone Report: Observations on the OMB COVID-19 Flexibilities

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

National Science Foundation OIG

Performance Audit of the Implementation of OMB COVID-19 Flexibilities – University of Michigan

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 8/02/2021

Department of Education OIG

Fraud Reporting Requirements for Federal Program Participants and Auditors

This guide summarizes the fraud reporting requirements most relevant to entities receiving pandemic relief funds and auditors of those entities.

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Department of Education OIG

Federal Student Aid’s Suspension of Involuntary Collection in Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic

The objective of our review was to evaluate the results of Federal Student Aid’s (FSA) process for suspending involuntary collection and refunding payments involuntarily collected on defaulted Department-held loans in response to the Coronavirus pandemic. We found that FSA suspended administrative wage garnishments and the U.S. Department of Treasury (Treasury) offsets for over 96 percent of the borrowers that FSA collected payments for within 90 days of March 13, 2020, the start of the suspension period. However, as of October 23, 2020, we found that FSA continued to receive administrative...

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Inspection / Evaluation | 6/15/2021

National Science Foundation OIG

Performance Audit of the Implementation of OMB COVID-19 Flexibilities – University of Central Florida

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 5/27/2021

Finding 1, Rec. 1 - Closed

Direct UCF to provide documentation supporting that it has repaid or otherwise credited the $134 in questioned fringe benefit costs for which it has agreed to reimburse NSF.

Finding 1, Rec. 2 - Closed

Direct UCF to notify its Federal sponsors that its personnel have not yet certified their effort for the Fall 2019, Spring 2020, Summer 2020, and Fall 2020 semesters.

Finding 1, Rec. 3 - Closed

Direct UCF to require its employees to certify their effort for the Fall 2019, Spring 2020, Summer 2020, and Fall 2020 semesters and then process any cost transfers needed to ensure that UCF charged NSF for salary costs that were consistent with the effort certified.

Finding 1, Rec. 4 - Closed

Direct UCF to review all salary earned during June 2020 to verify that its accounting system appropriately applied fringe benefits at the correct rate and, if the accounting system did not apply fringe benefits at the correct rate, process any adjustments necessary.

Finding 2, Rec. 1 - Closed

Direct UCF to provide documentation supporting that it has repaid or otherwise credited the $160 of questioned participant support costs for which it has agreed to reimburse NSF.

Finding 2, Rec. 2 - Closed

Direct UCF to establish policies and procedures to ensure that it obtains and documents proper approval for insurance costs before charging the costs to NSF awards.

Finding 2, Rec. 3 - Closed

Direct UCF to establish policies and procedures to ensure that it does not apply fringe benefit rates to participant support costs that it processes through its payroll subledger.

Date Range

Report Type

Report Category

Submitting Agency

State/Local Agency

State (State and Local Reports)

Fraud Type

Agency Reviewed

Related Organizations

Management Challenges

Any Recommendations

Any Open Recommendations

Reports

The Department’s Implementation of CARES Act Flexibilities to TEACH Grant Service Obligations

Review of State Plans for Use of Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Funds

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

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

Inconsistent Grantee and Subgrantee Reporting of Education Stabilization Fund Subprograms in the Federal Audit Clearinghouse

Capstone Report: Observations on the OMB COVID-19 Flexibilities

Performance Audit of the Implementation of OMB COVID-19 Flexibilities – University of Michigan

Fraud Reporting Requirements for Federal Program Participants and Auditors

Federal Student Aid’s Suspension of Involuntary Collection in Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic

Performance Audit of the Implementation of OMB COVID-19 Flexibilities – University of Central Florida

Glossary

Glossary name will go here