The Office of Postsecondary Education’s Oversight of Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund Grants

The objective of the audit was to determine whether the Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE) has an adequate process in place to ensure that institutions of higher education (schools) use Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) grant funds appropriately and that performance goals are met. OPE needs to strengthen its oversight processes to ensure that schools use HEERF grant funds appropriately and that performance goals are met. OPE established and implemented several controls to promote transparency and accountability in program administration, including providing guidance and other technical assistance to schools on the appropriate uses of HEERF grant funds, requiring that schools post to their websites or submit to OPE various reports on their uses of funds as well as other information (HEERF reports), and taking steps to expand independent audit coverage for schools. However, OPE did not perform or document several key activities that are essential to effective program oversight.