Summary of Report 98-031

February 1998

Report Number 98-031

Overall Conclusion

Opportunities exist for Sul Ross State University (University) to improve its management of student financial assistance, policy development, human resources, and construction. The area of student financial assistance is the most critical area for improvement. The University's Internal Audit Department effectively aids University management by identifying risks and providing assurance that the University's mission will be accomplished.

Key Facts and Findings

• Significant progress needs to be made to resolve long-standing critical problems with student financial assistance. While some student financial assistance problems identified by the Internal Audit Department and the State Auditor's Office have been corrected, others remain unresolved. Inadequate monitoring and oversight by the University and the Texas State University System have contributed to the lack of progress on financial assistance problems.

Over 65 percent of the students at the university receive an aggregate of over $8 million in financial assistance. The failure to resolve financial assistance problems puts the federal financial assistance programs of the University at risk.

• The University needs to improve its University- and department-level policies and procedures, as well as human resource controls over performance appraisals, hiring practices, job descriptions, and training.
• The University needs to adhere to Texas State University System-level policies and procedures for project completion inspections for its construction projects.
• Effectiveness in the Internal Audit Department and Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) compliance are strengths of the University.

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