A government funded career college operates over 300 courses leading to undergraduate, graduate, post graduate degrees and continuing education courses. Domestic and international student enrolment at the college exceed 25,000. Annual revenues exceed $400 million, including government funding, private donations, tuition and non-tuition fees. The College provides both funded and non-funded courses. Funded course fees are capped, and the College provides quarterly and annual returns to the government to be eligible for funding based on domestic student enrolment. Non-funded courses are for-profit courses and there is no tuition cap.
The College uses the Banner software to track tuition and non-tuition revenues, student enrolment, tuition refunds, and financial aid. As a career college, the mandate provides for the availability of options for the students. Students can take one course per year or as many as they choose. Non-degree students are allowed to enrol in a single degree course should they choose to do so. International students are allowed to apply directly or through agents in their home country. Agents are responsible for marketing the college and course and recruiting students. Agents are paid commissions based on the number of students and the course type.
Issue:
Tuition fees, revenue collection, accounts receivable, and refund process had not been optimized and was prone to errors, misappropriation, and loss. Mechanisms to identify domestic and international student enrolment had not been identified and implemented. Any student could register for funded and non-funded courses leading to non-compliance with government regulations. Compliance with government regulations and the Income Tax Act had not been implemented which could impact the ability of the college to receive government funding, penalties, and loss of reputation.
Solution:
Our priority was to chart out the process flows. We discussed the processes end-to-end with management. These were documented in a flow chart and narrative format. We analyzed the processes and discovered internal control deficiencies. The internal controls and deficiencies were mapped to the strategic objectives, government regulations, control objectives, and risk. Appropriate suggestions were made to remedy the internal control deficiencies. A risk register was created and the internal controls were assigned to appropriate staff. Quarterly and annual reporting of internal controls were implemented along with management review.
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