Overview
Quinsigamond Community College (QCC) is authorized by Section 5 of Chapter 15A of the Massachusetts General Laws and operates under the direction of a board of trustees, which consists of one undergraduate student member, one alum, and nine members appointed by the Governor. The president of QCC is the administrative head of the university and reports to the board of trustees.
QCC is a member of the Massachusetts public higher education system, which consists of 15 community colleges, nine state universities, and five University of Massachusetts campuses. Quinsigamond Community College is located at 670 West Boylston Street in Worcester.
As of the fall 2023 semester, 13,000 students were enrolled at QCC, and it offered 115 programs.
QCC Appropriations
As shown in the table below, QCC’s budget appropriations were as follows:
| Fiscal Year | Appropriation |
|---|---|
| 2020 | $22,307,269 |
| 2021 | $23,835,425 |
| 2022 | $24,375,528 |
| 2023 | $25,350,405 |
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, enacted by Congress on March 27, 2020, provided $30.75 billion for the Education Stabilization Fund to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The United States Department of Education’s (US DOE’s) Education Stabilization Fund included the Governor's Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund, the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, and Education Stabilization Fund grants to state educational agencies and the Governors’ offices. The Education Stabilization Fund also allocated money for the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF)1 Program.
Section 18002 of the CARES Act awarded grants to states under the GEER Fund to provide emergency assistance funding to local educational agencies, institutions of higher education (IHEs), and other education-related entities. States could use GEER funding to provide emergency support through allocations to IHEs that served the students who were most significantly affected by COVID-19. The Massachusetts Executive Office of Education received $50.8 million in GEER funding to distribute to schools in the state to support operations affected by COVID-19. The Massachusetts Department of Higher Education received approximately $20.5 million in GEER funding to support state IHEs.
According to the Frequently Asked Questions about the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEER Fund) document distributed by US DOE, IHEs may use GEER funds to provide the following:
- Staff, infrastructure and technology to support distance education, or remote learning;
- Academic support for libraries, laboratories, and other academic facilities;
- Institutional support for activities related to personnel, payroll, security, environmental health and safety, and administrative offices;
- Student services that promote a student’s emotional and physical well-being outside the context of the formal instructional program; and
- Student financial aid, such as IHE-sponsored grants and scholarships.
Section 18004 of the CARES Act required recipients to use no less than 50% of the funds received (referred to as the student portion) to provide emergency financial aid grants to students for expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to the coronavirus (including tuition, course materials, food, housing, technology, healthcare, and childcare). This section also allowed IHEs to use up to 50% of the funds received (referred to as the institutional portion) to cover any costs associated with significant changes to the delivery of instruction because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Students could receive funding under the CARES Act if they filed a Free Application for Federal Student Aid2 or if they applied for funding using an application developed by the institution disbursing the funds. At institutions that provided both online and on-campus education, students were not eligible if they were enrolled in an online-only program on March 13, 2020, the date the President declared the national emergency.
According to Section E(19) of US DOE’s Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Rollup Document,
Institutions may provide emergency financial aid grants to students using checks, electronic transfer payments, debit cards, and payment apps that adhere to [US DOE’s] requirements for paying credit balances [i.e., money paid directly] to students.
Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act
The Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSAA) was signed into law on December 27, 2020 to provide approximately $23 billion of additional funding to support IHEs affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Like the CARES Act, Section 314(a)(1) of the CRRSAA allocated funding to IHEs by providing both student and institutional funding through HEERF II grants. US DOE modified its guidance to allow more students to be eligible to receive funding. Under the modified guidance, students were no longer required to be enrolled in on-campus classes to receive emergency financial aid grants.
US DOE also modified its guidance for the institutional portion, allowing IHEs to use funding to defray expenses associated with lost revenue. This updated guidance could also be applied to any CARES Act funding that was not expended by the time an IHE received CRRSAA funding.
American Rescue Plan Act
On March 11, 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) was signed into law, providing an additional $40 billion for the HEERF Program. The ARPA required that at least half of each institution’s award be used to make emergency financial aid grants to students and the rest for institutional purposes.
US DOE’s guidance document for ARPA funding, Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund III Frequently Asked Questions, defines funding used for institutional purposes as follows:
[Funding used to] (a) implement evidence-based practices to monitor and suppress coronavirus in accordance with public health guidelines; and (b) conduct direct outreach to financial aid applicants about the opportunity to receive a financial aid adjustment due to the recent unemployment of a family member or independent student, or other circumstances.
Below is a summary of QCC’s financial activity related to COVID-19 funding during the audit period.
| Grant Type | Award | Disbursements |
|---|---|---|
| CARES Act 18004(a)(1) Student | $ 2,414,181 | $ 2,414,181 |
| CARES Act 18004(a)(1) Institutional | 2,414,180 | 2,414,180 |
| CARES Act 18004(a)(1) Strengthening Institutions | 237,992 | 237,992 |
| GEER Student | 198,269 | 198,269 |
| GEER Institutional | 595,175 | 595,175 |
| CRRSAA 314(a)(1) Student | 2,414,181 | 2,414,181 |
| CRRSAA 314(a)(1) Institutional | 8,055,157 | 8,055,157 |
| CRRSAA 314(a)(1) Strengthening Institutions | 432,941 | 432,941 |
| ARPA Student | 9,337,795 | 9,337,795 |
| ARPA Institutional | 9,030,142 | 9,030,142 |
| ARPA Strengthening Institutions | 790,898 | 790,898 |
| Totals | $ 35,920,911 | $ 35,920,911 |
Office of the Comptroller of the Commonwealth’s Pandemic Response Guidance
On September 30, 2020, the Office of the Comptroller of the Commonwealth provided guidance to state agencies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The guidance helped state agencies that were experiencing significant changes identify their goals, objectives, and risks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Objectives included telework, return-to-office plans, a risk assessment of the impact of COVID-19 on department operations, changes to the business process, safety protocols for employees and visitors, and tracking of COVID-19–related awards and expenditures, which are tracked separately from other federal, state, and local expenditures.
Cybersecurity Awareness Training
The Executive Office of Technology Services and Security has established policies and procedures that apply to all Commonwealth agencies within the executive branch. The Executive Office of Technology Services and Security recommends, but does not require, non-executive branch state agencies to follow these policies and procedures. Section 6.2 of the Executive Office of Technology Services and Security’s Information Security Risk Management Standard IS.010, effective October 15, 2018, stated,
The objective of the Commonwealth information security training is to educate users on their responsibility to help protect the confidentiality, availability and integrity of the Commonwealth’s information assets. Commonwealth Offices and Agencies must ensure that all personnel are trained on all relevant rules and regulations for cybersecurity.
To ensure that employees are clear on their responsibilities, all employees in executive branch state agencies with access to a Commonwealth-provided email address are required to complete a cybersecurity awareness course every year. All newly hired employees are required to complete an initial cybersecurity awareness training course within 30 days after their orientation.
While QCC is not required to follow this standard because it is a non–executive branch state agency, we consider it a best practice. QCC used the KnowBe4 training platform during fiscal year 2023 to administer required initial and annual cybersecurity awareness training.
Settlements and Judgments
The Office of the Comptroller of the Commonwealth (CTR) has established policies and procedures for Commonwealth agencies processing settlements and judgments.
CTR’s Settlements and Judgments Policy states,
A settlement or judgment results from a formal claim (grievance, complaint or lawsuit) against the Commonwealth that results in either a Settlement Agreement, or a court or administrative award, order or Judgment. . . .
A “claim” is considered any demand by any person for damages to compensate a wrong allegedly suffered, including but not limited to violation of civil rights, breach of contract, failure to comply with contract bidding laws, incorrect or improper personnel determinations regarding pay, promotion or discipline, failure to comply with statutory or constitutional provisions applicable to employment, an eminent domain taking, and attorney’s fees, interest and litigation costs associated with these claims.
For the purposes of our audit, we focused on settlement agreements resulting from claims brought by current or former state employees against QCC.
Section 5.00 of Title 815 of the Code of Massachusetts Regulations describes the procedures for agencies to determine availability of funds for the payment of settlements and judgments against the Commonwealth, as well as reporting requirements. The regulation requires agencies to prepare and submit a report to the CTR’s general counsel before making the payment to ensure proper tax reporting. When reporting employee settlement agreements to CTR, state agencies use a Non-Tort Settlement/Judgment Payment Authorization Form (referred to in this report as the SJ Authorization Form) to document whether the claim will be paid by the agency or through the Settlement and Judgment Reserve Fund, type of claim, agency information, the employee’s information, the type and amount of damages detailed in the settlement agreement, the amount of any attorney’s fees awarded, and the amount of any interest awarded or accrued. Additionally, agencies must include a copy of the employee settlement agreement signed by authorized representatives of both parties when they submit the SJ Authorization Form.
| Date published: | April 4, 2025 |
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