Report 2021-611 Recommendation 9 Responses

Report 2021-611: Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund: Some University Campuses Did Not Maximize Available Federal Pandemic Funds, and They Prioritized Students Differently When Awarding Relief Funds (Release Date: November 2021)

Recommendation #9 To: University, California State

To encourage campuses to obtain additional federal funds that allow them to maximize student services and aid, the CSU Chancellor's Office should monitor its campuses' FEMA claims to ensure that eligible expenses are submitted to FEMA and, for any expenses not submitted, obtain the campuses' explanation for why it is not feasible to submit them.

Each campus has the responsibility and authority to identify expenses eligible for reimbursement from HEERF and FEMA. In addition, the business and finance team at the Chancellor's Office provides administrative leadership, updates, and advice to campuses who have questions about these funds. Finally, to ensure transparency regarding the California State University's (CSU's) use of federal funds, the CSU publishes the status of HEERF and FEMA reimbursement claims on its transparency site at https://stories.opengov.com/csu/published/Hcw9zYmBD. The status of these reimbursement requests is updated weekly.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Will Not Implement

The Chancellor's Office notes that it provides administrative leadership and advice to the campuses. Thus, it is unclear why it objects to steps intended to encourage campuses to obtain additional funds and maximize student services. Further, the Chancellor's Office's reference to the status of HEERF and FEMA claims is not relevant. Our concern lies with those expenses that have not been submitted for FEMA reimbursement. Therefore, we stand by our recommendation.

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All Recommendations in 2021-611

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.