Press Release  Audit Shows Springfield Technical Community College’s Spending of CARES Act Funding has been Consistent with Federal Guidelines

Boston — In an audit released today, the Office of State Auditor Suzanne M. Bump found Springfield Technical Community College’s (STCC) spending of federal assistance under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act has been consistent with federal guidelines. During the audit, which examined March 1, 2020 through September 30, 2020, STCC received $4,586,795 in CARES Act funding and spent $1,157,621. The majority of STCC’s spending (97 percent) was allocated to students for emergency financial aid to help cover expenses related to the “disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus” and the remaining funds covered institutional costs.

“There is no doubt that the CARES Act has provided a much needed lifeline to support higher education institutions, like Springfield Technical Community College. I commend STCC’s appropriate use of these federal funds,” Bump said of the audit. “As we move forward, my office will continue this work to ensure federal COVID-19 relief money is used as intended and effectively by state government entities.”

The CARES Act was enacted by Congress on March 27, 2020 and provided $30.75 billion for a national Education Stabilization Fund (ESF) to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Massachusetts Department of Education received $50.8 million in Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) funds from the CARES Act which it then distributed to elementary, secondary, and higher education recipients. Today’s audit is the second in a series of upcoming reports that will review state spending of COVID-19 federal funding.

In addition, unrelated to the examination of CARES Act spending, the audit notes STCC had not established a campus-wide program to ensure that employees receive cyber security training. In its response, STCC stated that it is working towards providing mandatory IT training for all staff.

STCC 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. Founded in 1967, STCC is a federally designated Hispanic-serving institution and is the Commonwealth’s only technical community college. In fiscal year 2019, 6,800 students were enrolled at STCC, and as of December 2020, STCC offered 76 degree and certificate programs to students.

The full audit report is available here.

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