Overview
During the audit period, DHE did not provide any reports or communications to BHE regarding CCAB’s review of the MassTransfer Commonwealth Commitment Program. Therefore, BHE may not be aware of the program’s performance or the feedback from participating institutions of higher education about their experiences, suggestions, or complaints. This could result in BHE being unaware of program changes that DHE deems necessary for the program’s continued success.
Authoritative Guidance
The “Commonwealth Commitment to College Access, Affordability, and Completion” memorandum of understanding states,
Based on feedback received from the working group . . . DHE staff will report back to the [Massachusetts] Board of Higher Education and will make any necessary recommendations to help further the goals of this initiative.
DHE’s MassTransfer Procedures Manual states,
Based on feedback received from the Advisory Board and from the institutional experience during the program, Department staff will report back to the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education and will make any necessary recommendations to help further the goals of [the MassTransfer Commonwealth Commitment Program].
Reasons for Issue
According to DHE officials, CCAB has been dissolved (see Finding 3). Therefore, CCAB did not meet and DHE could not provide reports or communications of CCAB’s reviews of the MassTransfer Commonwealth Commitment Program.
Recommendation
DHE should provide BHE, at least annually, with reports or communications about the review of the MassTransfer Commonwealth Commitment Program by CCAB or the group appointed to assume its responsibilities.
Auditee’s Response
According to the BHE By-Laws, agenda setting related to Board meetings is a collaborative process which occurs between the Chair and the Commissioner. The Commissioner keeps the Board Chair up to date on procedures, processes, and priorities in implementing Board policies. During the audit period, which paralleled the beginning and height of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the Board met six times and agendas were predominantly focused on matters related to responding to the pandemic, such as supporting institutions and keeping students, faculty and staff safe. With the transition to a remote environment and competing priorities all Committee meetings were suspended and not resumed until February 2021.
Prior to the initiation of the [audit review period], MassTransfer was an agenda item at the two Academic Affairs Committee meetings that took place prior to the audit period, which is illustrative [of] a more “normal” time period during which the Board of Higher Education and its Committees would receive regular updates on several programs and policies and would have the opportunity to identify programmatic or policy issues for further review or development. During its January 28, 2020 meeting, the Academic Affairs Committee endorsed a series of transfer principles that seek to ease and clarify the process of transferring earned credit from one college to another, whether among themselves or from other public or private institutions; to provide standards for the evaluation of alternative sources of credit; to reduce the time and cost of completing a college education; and to increase the opportunities for graduation of their students. The principles were presented at the December 10, 2019 full Board meeting, and there was a robust discussion at that meeting about the MassTransfer policy and programs more broadly.
Auditor’s Reply
In its response, DHE states, “With the transition to a remote environment and competing priorities all Committee meetings were suspended and not resumed until February 2021.” This suggests that committees were not expected to fulfill their responsibilities from the onset of the pandemic until February 2021. No evidence was provided to us during or after the audit to support this claim. The claim is also contradicted by the fact that DHE submitted agendas and minutes for two MassTransfer Statewide Committee meetings that were conducted in June and December 2020.
Further, no evidence was provided to us during the audit to support DHE’s claim that MassTransfer was “an agenda item at the two Academic Affairs Committee meetings that took place prior to the audit period.” We believe that a meeting of the Academic Affairs Committee to discuss the entire MassTransfer Program would not constitute an annual review by CCAB that was specific to the MassTransfer Commonwealth Commitment Program. Finally, MassTransfer being an agenda item or discussed by any internal DHE committee or board does not indicate that DHE reported to BHE about the MassTransfer Commonwealth Commitment Program.
We reiterate our recommendation that DHE provide BHE, at least annually, with reports or communications about the review of the MassTransfer Commonwealth Commitment Program by CCAB or the group appointed to assume its responsibilities.
| Date published: | June 27, 2022 |
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