2008-2009 Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury Report Community College Hours by Arrangement Money for Nothing?

Conclusions 6

• CL1 Page 5
  As of the date of this report, Mission College has eliminated all unscheduled HBAs. West Valley Community College has continued offering supplemental hours of instruction utilizing procedures in compliance with Title 5 of the California Education Code. The West Valley-Mission Community College District now utilizes a multi-page form all faculty must complete before making supplemental instructional hours part of their courses. The Grand Jury believes that the District is now providing adequate documentation of supplemental hours, and careful accounting of FTES.
• CL2 Page 3
  Prior to October 2008, there did not exist a statewide standardized procedure for the accurate accounting and verification of HBAs.
• CL3 Page 4
  At Mission College, there had not been consistent review of HBAs over time to ensure all faculty and staff were clear as to their implementation. West Valley conducted a comprehensive review of HBA practices and accounting in 2005, which resulted in its documentation of courses that carry HBAs. There were several different terms employed within the District to refer to HBAs, making it difficult to decipher the number of hours offered. .
• CL4 Page 4
  The required yearly financial audits did not include an adequate inspection and evaluation of the district's system of internal control over its financial reporting with regard to reported enrollment in HBAs per class. The audit did not employ a sufficiently rigorous examination of FTES accounting used to calculate apportionment. The level of depth in the audit was insufficient to uncover the long-term and ongoing deficiencies in the method of determining HBAs and the FTES that were claimed on the basis of that determination.
• CL5 Page 4
  As a result of incomplete HBA documentation, the District is required to repay the state $5,644,227.
• CL6 Page 3
  Awareness of the HBA issue was raised in 2005. Administrators should have made the HBA question a top investigative priority. Such an investigation would have revealed a lack of procedure surrounding the teaching and documentation of HBAs. Instead, top administration appeared unaware of attendance procedure for HBA sessions, and unaware of the actual definition of HBAs versus supplemental hours. It was reported to the Grand Jury that the lack of documentation was an innocent oversight on the part of faculty. Teachers were unaware of their requirement to provide HBAs and the need to document the teaching of HBAs. In addition, students were not aware of their own obligation to participate in HBAs. Nonetheless, faculty should have questioned the confusing and ill-defined nomenclature in the class schedule to clarify at least to themselves the hours for which they were being held responsible. No one was held accountable for accurate definition or documentation, but neither did anyone question the issue until a student raised the alarm. Findings and Recommendations Findings have been reviewed with the subject agency. Finding 1 Prior to October 2008, there did not exist a statewide standardized procedure for the accurate accounting and verification of HBAs. Recommendation 1 The West Valley-Mission Community College District should adhere to the terms outlined in the Resolution Agreement of December 5, 2008. 3 Finding 2 At Mission College, there had not been consistent review of HBAs over time to ensure all faculty and staff were clear as to their implementation. West Valley conducted a comprehensive review of HBA practices and accounting in 2005, which resulted in its documentation of courses that carry HBAs. There were several different terms employed within the District to refer to HBAs, making it difficult to decipher the number of hours offered. . Recommendation 2 The District should conduct a yearly review of its catalog, course outline, and syllabi to ensure information on supplemental hours of instruction is identical. Finding 3 The required yearly financial audits did not include an adequate inspection and evaluation of the district's system of internal control over its financial reporting with regard to reported enrollment in HBAs per class. The audit did not employ a sufficiently rigorous examination of FTES accounting used to calculate apportionment. The level of depth in the audit was insufficient to uncover the long-term and ongoing deficiencies in the method of determining HBAs and the FTES that were claimed on the basis of that determination. Recommendation 3 The yearly financial audit should focus in particular on the treatment of supplemental instructional hours and the FTES claimed, beyond the time frame stated in the Resolution Agreement. Those charged with the audit should be thoroughly trained as to what their investigation should cover, what their findings should include, and the response they are required by Code to demand from the District. Finding 4 As a result of incomplete HBA documentation, the District is required to repay the state $5,644,227. Recommendation 4 No recommendation. 4 Finding 5 As of the date of this report, Mission College has eliminated all unscheduled HBAs. West Valley Community College has continued offering supplemental hours of instruction utilizing procedures in compliance with Title 5 of the California Education Code. The West Valley-Mission Community College District now utilizes a multi-page form all faculty must complete before making supplemental instructional hours part of their courses. The Grand Jury believes that the District is now providing adequate documentation of supplemental hours, and careful accounting of FTES. Recommendation 5 No recommendation. PASSED and ADOPTED by the Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury on this 26th day of March, 2009. Don Kawashima Foreperson Mary Nassau Secretary 5

No Responses Found 1

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