OIG Auditors Recommend UVM Repay NSF $30,717
Auditors for the Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the National Science Foundation (NSF) are recommending the agency require that the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College (UVM) repay $30,717 in costs UVM charged to four NSF awards from Oct. 1, 2019, to Sept. 20, 2022. Overall, UVM claimed $27.7 million in expenses on 101 awards during the audit period, according to the Oct. 24 audit. Specifically, the auditors found “$19,422 of inadequately supported internal service expenses, $7,596 of inappropriately allocated equipment expenses, and $3,699 of unallowable participant support costs.” The questioned service expenses consisted primarily of “$18,720 for internal microscope services. The UVM lab managing the microscope charged the award using estimated and unsupported rates,” auditors wrote. “Additionally, UVM did not maintain a log or other documentation to support the number of days and hours the microscope was in use, and UVM noted the costs represented a reasonable usage fee, rather than the actual hours and number of days the microscope was used. Further, the microscope was not a shared instrument at the time of use and did not have a standard usage fee; therefore, UVM calculated the expense using a daily rate that was established for a different microscope in a different lab, rather than an established rate specific to the microscope used for the services.”
The $7,596 represented the partial cost of unspecified equipment that was inappropriately shared between several awards, according to OIG. The $3,699 was for “costs incurred to cover the cost of a participant’s computer that UVM noted was incorrectly charged as the computer was not used to benefit the award.” UVM officials said they would make repayment and mostly agreed with auditors’ recommendations, which included strengthening oversight. They did not address auditors’ nonfinancial finding that UVM lacks a policy for determining indirect cost rates, which OIG said could result in overcharging. However, data included in the audit showed UVM used rates that were lower than what OIG termed “appropriate.”
