Audit Finds Need for Improved Board Oversight of Safety and Security on University of Tennessee Campuses
A new performance audit by the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office has found a number of areas that require increased oversight by the University of Tennessee (UT) Board of Trustees.
The audit includes 12 findings and eight observations focusing on several campus operations including security and safety, mental health services, student and faculty engagement, facilities, strategic plans and performance measures, tuition affordability, and athletics programs.
A broad summary of the results is shown below:
- The UT Board should encourage collaboration, coordination of resources, and communication between UT campuses to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the UT system. (Finding 1 and Observation 3)
- The UT Board should increase its oversight of various academic and nonacademic areas to ensure UT is meeting its strategic and operational goals. The Board has a duty to oversee strategic planning, academics, admissions, tuition, faculty evaluation and retention, student conduct and satisfaction, facility maintenance, and athletic operations. (Findings 2, 9, 11, and 12 and Observations 4, 6, and 8)
- The UT Board must increase its oversight of student safety and campus security and ensure the accurate and complete reporting of safety and crime information. (Findings 3 through 10 and Observation 5)
- The UT Board should ensure the UT System monitors the mental health services offered by each UT campus. (Finding 11)
“The UT Board of Trustees is the governing body for the UT system,” said Comptroller Justin P. Wilson. “Each board member has a personal responsibility to ensure that he or she is fulfilling his or her obligation to act in the best interest of the UT System. I am encouraged that board members are taking these findings seriously and are already working to correct weaknesses.”
The Comptroller’s Office will present these audit results to the Joint Government Operations Subcommittee on Education, Health and General Welfare on December 18, 2019 at 1:00 p.m. in House Hearing Room I.
The full audit report can be found here.
If you suspect fraud, waste or abuse of public money in Tennessee, call the Comptroller’s toll-free hotline at 800.232.5454, or file a report online at: www.comptroller.tn.gov/hotline. Follow us on twitter: @TNCOT
Media contact: John Dunn, Director of Communications, 615.401.7755 or john.dunn@cot.tn.gov
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