The institution has a sound financial base and demonstrated financial stability and adequate physical resources to support the mission of the institution and the scope of its programs and services.
The member institution provides the following financial statements: (a) an institutional audit (or Standard Review Report issued in accordance with Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services issued by the AICPA for those institutions audited as part of a systemwide or statewide audit) and a written institutional management letter for the most recent fiscal year prepared by an independent certified public accountant and/or an appropriate governmental auditing agency employing the appropriate audit (or Standard Review Report) guide; (b) a statement of financial position of unrestricted net assets, exclusive of plant assets and plant-related debt, which represents the change in unrestricted net assets attributable to operations for the most recent year; and, (c) an annual budget that is preceded by sound planning, is subject to sound fiscal procedures, and is approved by the governing board.
Audit requirements for applicant institutions may be found in the Commission policy entitled “Accreditation Procedures for Applicant Institutions". (Financial Stability and Resources)
X Compliance Partial Compliance Non-Compliance
Narrative:
Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College (OCtech) can readily demonstrate that it operates from a sound financial base and that it has the financial stability and adequate physical resources to support the mission of the College and the scope of programs and services.
The College receives funds from three major sources: the state of South Carolina, Orangeburg and Calhoun counties’ appropriations, and student tuition. While state support has eroded more than 20% in the last three funding years, revenue from the two counties that make up the College’s service area has increased 26%, and student tuition has increased 61%. The significant increase in tuition income has been a function of both increased enrollment (40% in three years) and higher rates. The net of these three factors has allowed the College to maintain its positive revenue stream and to end each fiscal year with a surplus of revenue over expenses in excess of the 30-day operating requirement. Additionally, the College has maintained its strong financial base without incurring debt or participating in layoffs or significant changes in operation.
The recent introduction of the South Carolina Education Lottery has affected the College in two areas. First, the Lottery now pays over half of the tuition for in-state students who enroll in six or more credit hours. This assistance has helped drive the College’s significant increase in enrollment in recent years. The Lottery also has provided a source of funds for technology purchases. While this source is not as large as the annual needs of the College, it has helped defray the cost of providing the current technology necessary to fulfill the College’s mission (Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College:Institutional Mission). Coupled with a recently implemented student technology fee, the College has been able to provide all academic and administrative programs with most of their requests and all of their immediate needs. To supplement the College’s technology program, the OCtech Foundation has provided additional funds to assist the College in furnishing and providing current technology for the newly constructed Student and Community Life Building, as well as for newly renovated spaces in the Learning Resource Center and the Williams Administration Building.
(a) The College has an annual institutional audit, conducted and prepared by independent certified public accountants. OCtech seeks, proposals and bids from auditing firms every five years, and the State Auditors Office approves the selection of all audit firms. The audit is conducted in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States and the standards applicable to financial audits contained in Government Auditing Standards issued by the Comptroller of the United States. The auditors prepare a separate management letter each year. The College has always received an unqualified opinion on its annual audit. The auditors have reported no concerns regarding internal controls. Management letter comments are few, generally operational in nature, and have not indicated any serious problems.
As discussed in Compliance Certification Report Narrative 3.10.7, the College’s facilities are more than adequate to support all of the needs of OCtech’s educational programs, support services, and mission-related activities. The campus is attractive, clean, well-equipped and well-maintained. The following documents provide a quick OCtech campus tour:
(b) The College’s audited financial statements combine restricted and unrestricted net assets. OCtech has prepared a statement of unrestricted net assets for the year ended June 30, 2004. The components of this statement are derived from the audited financial statements; however, the statement itself is not audited.
(c) The annual budget is preceded by and based upon sound planning supported by campus-wide participation. The planning process is on-going, comprehensive, and tied to the College’s strategic planning process. Each year, the formal process culminates with a two-day planning retreat attended by a wide selection of faculty, staff, the student governing body, governing board members, and College Foundation members. Major goals and objectives are defined in this meeting and later relayed to the entire campus. Implementation of prioritized goals is assigned to various employees, and applicable funds are then requested in the upcoming budget. Budget requests are prepared by the individual budget managers and are approved by the applicable supervisor and Executive Staff member. Revenue projections are prepared by the Business Office. The budget request process is described in OCtech Procedure 7.003.01: Annual Operating Budget.
When budget negotiations are complete and a balanced budget is achieved, it is presented to the President and then to the Area Commission, OCtech’s governing board, for review and approval. A detailed budget is also presented to the State Board for Technical and Comprehensive Education (SBTCE). If significant budget revisions are required throughout the year, they are presented to the College’s governing board for approval. Minor adjustments within budget areas are considered part of the responsibility of the College staff. Interim budget reports are presented to the Area Commission at each meeting (Orangeburg-Calhoun Area Technical Education Commission Minutes, 2004). The governing board reviews and discusses the budget report in terms of broad policy.
An effective system of budget control is maintained in two ways. First, all budget managers are informed of their budget for the upcoming year. Deviations from their requests are discussed with their supervisors. The daily status of individual budgets is available to the appropriate budget manager via the Datatel enterprise software system. Budget managers can view their expenses, encumbrances, and remaining balances on a daily basis. If there are questions as to the appropriateness of an expense, managers can use the software to view purchase orders and journal entries to determine the course of transactions charged to their budgets. Questions that cannot be answered in this manner may be verbally directed to the Business Office.
The second method of budget control is the review performed by the Business Office. Periodically, budgets are reviewed and perceived discrepancies are researched and changes made if necessary. Budget managers are notified of significant changes. Monthly college-wide budget reports are submitted to the Vice President of Business Affairs for overall review. The Vice President presents interim reports to the President and the governing board at each Area Commission meeting.
Evidence of Support: |
