Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Higher Education Governance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Legislative auditors find governance and procurement gaps at Utah State University; legislature refers audit for follow-up
Summary
A Utah Legislative Audit Committee performance audit found weaknesses in governance, procurement and leadership culture at Utah State University, citing a $12 million procurement bypass and other contract-control failures; USU officials said they accept 27 recommendations and the legislature referred the audit to relevant committees.
The Legislative Audit Committee on the audit of Utah State University on (the date of the meeting) found “cracks” in the university’s governance and leadership that contributed to financial-control lapses and cultural problems, auditors told lawmakers.
The audit team said one contract extension procured outside required procedures "ended up costing the university $12,000,000," and described a separate instance in which an arrangement that began as roughly $30,000 escalated to more than $100,000 after the vendor was paid before procurement policies were followed. Those findings illustrated, the auditors said, that financial controls had at times been bypassed.
The audit also criticized the university’s budget model, which auditors said does not reliably allocate resources to programs that attract students. The presentation noted the aviation program increased enrollment by 435 students since 2015 and that some lower-level chemistry courses had wait lists of about 204 students, creating constraints on students’ ability to progress toward degrees. Auditors recommended the university adopt a timeline to implement a budget model that ties resources more closely to student demand.
Auditors tied many operational problems to leadership and governance. They recommended that the Board of Higher Education expand coaching for new presidents, strengthen presidential evaluations and integrate performance compensation tied to key performance indicators into presidential contracts. The audit team also recommended codifying institutional internal-audit reporting relationships to preserve independence and transparency.
Utah State University President Mortensen told the committee the university "concurs with the audit findings of the 27 recommendations" and described steps the university has already taken and timelines for 18 recommendations the institution will address directly. Chair White of the university’s Board of Trustees said the board takes the audit seriously, has delegated implementation work to the commissioner’s office, and will report progress.
The committee voted unanimously to refer the audit to the Higher Education Appropriation Subcommittee as the lead and to the Education Interim Committee for review. The referral will require follow-up reports and gives those committees responsibility to oversee implementation progress.
What happens next: referral to the designated subcommittee and interim committee for review, and follow-up reporting from USU and the Board of Higher Education on implementation of the audit recommendations.
