A Performance Audit
A Report on Salary Supplements at Public Higher Education Institutions and State Agencies
April 2020
Summary Analysis
Texas Government Code, Section 659.0201, requires public higher education institutions (including community colleges) and state agencies to collect and report information regarding gifts, grants, donations, or other considerations they receive for the purpose of providing salary supplements. To facilitate that reporting, the State Auditor’s Office distributed a questionnaire to 218 state entities: 137 public higher education institutions and 81 state agencies in the executive branch of state government. All 218 state entities responded to the questionnaire.
It is important to note that the public higher education institutions and state agencies completed the State Auditor’s Office’s questionnaire based on their own interpretations of how the statutory reporting requirements applied to their entities. The public higher education institutions and state agencies self-reported the data presented in this report, and the State Auditor’s Office did not independently verify the reported data.
The State Auditor is required to compile the reported information and submit a report to the Legislature.
Seven public higher education institutions (five universities and two community colleges) reported that they received gifts, grants, donations, or other considerations from a person that the person designated to be used as a salary supplement for a named person, position, or endowment during fiscal years 2017, 2018, and 2019.
Five public higher education institutions (three universities and two community colleges) reported that they received gifts, grants, donations, or other considerations from an entity created solely to provide support for the institution.
No state agencies reported that it received gifts, grants, donations, or other considerations from a person that is designated to be used as a salary supplement for an employee during fiscal years 2017, 2018, and 2019. However, the Higher Education Coordinating Board responded as follows:
No gift, grant, donation or other consideration exceeding $10,000 was received by the Coordinating Board from an entity created solely to provide support to the Coordinating Board, designated as a salary supplement. The Texas Higher Education Foundation (formerly the College for All Texans Foundation), a 501 (c)(3) supporting foundation for the Coordinating Board, did provide an annual stipend directly to… [the] former Commissioner of Higher Education. This stipend was not received by the agency, and therefore our answer is “No” to the question, as phrased.
Of the seven public higher education institutions (three universities and five community colleges) that reported they received gifts, grants, donations, or other considerations from a person that the person designated to be used as a salary supplement:
- One public higher education institutions reported they did not post conflict of interest provisions on their Web sites, as required by Texas Government Code, Section 659.0201(c).
- Three public higher education institutions reported they did not post the amount of each gift, grant, donation, or other consideration provided by the person that was designated to be used as a salary supplement, as required by Texas Government Code, Section 659.0201(b).
Texas Government Code, Section 659.026, requires public higher education institutions and state agencies to make available on their websites certain information.
- Of the 137 public higher education institutions that responded to the questionnaire, 118 (86 percent) reported that they made the required information available on their Web sites.
- Of 81 state agencies that responded to the questionnaire, 70 (86 percent) reported that they made all of the required information available on their websites.
Section 659.0201. GIFTS, GRANTS, AND DONATIONS FOR SALARY SUPPLEMENT; REPORTING.
Table 3 lists all of the public higher education institutions and state agencies subject to Texas Government Code, Section 659.0201 and whether they reported receiving any salary supplements described in Texas Government Code, Section 659.0201.
Graphics, Media, Supporting documents