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Legislative Post Audit: Kansas universities reported about $45M in DEI spending and $116M from foreign sources (2023 data)
Summary
A Legislative Post Audit briefing to the Committee on Education reported that six state universities recorded roughly $45 million in DEI-related spending (about $9 million from state funds) for the 2023 school year and about $116 million in contributions from foreign sources, with India and China accounting for roughly half. Auditors warned definitions and reporting varied across institutions.
Heidi Zimmerman, a principal auditor at Legislative Post Audit, told the Committee on Education the office reviewed financial data the six state universities provided for the 2023 school year and found wide variation in how institutions classified DEI-related activities.
Zimmerman said the universities reported roughly $45,000,000 in DEI-related expenditures in 2023 and that, of that total, about $9,000,000 came from state funds. "There is not a consistent definition," Zimmerman said, cautioning the committee that auditors asked each university to report amounts the university believed met a working definition of DEI. She added the audit was done two years ago and the figures are therefore three school years out of date.
Zimmerman described how salary and benefits dominated state-funded DEI expenditures: "Salary and benefits accounted for 97% of that $9,000,000," and the remaining amounts covered outreach, transportation services and accessibility software; training accounted for about 0.6% of the state-funded DEI expenditures.
On foreign funding, Zimmerman said the six universities reported about $116,000,000 in receipts from foreign sources for the 2023 school year. "Nearly all of the money universities reported receiving from foreign sources were for tuition and fees — 96% —" she said. She told the committee the rest included contracts (about 4%) and a small share listed as gifts (about 0.1%). Zimmerman said universities reported receipts from 170 different foreign countries and that roughly half of the total foreign receipts were from India and China.
Zimmerman noted limitations: auditors relied on institution-supplied reports, institutions used different definitions of DEI, and the audit did not evaluate program outcomes or whether programs achieved stated objectives. "We did not get a way to connect those activities to any sort of metrics," she said in response to committee questions. She also noted the audit made no formal recommendations.
Committee members asked clarifying questions about the inclusion of items such as food pantries in DEI totals and whether auditors examined program effectiveness. Zimmerman's repeated response was that auditors collected financial data and left program evaluation and accreditation questions to other processes. She encouraged members to request updated audit proposals if they wanted newer data; Legislative Post Audit opens audit proposals in April.
The audit briefing concluded and the committee proceeded to take testimony on HB 24-28.
