March 31, 2021
Availability of Guide for Compliance Attestation Engagements of Proprietary Schools Expending Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund Grants (EA ID: GENERAL-21-21)
The U.S. Department of Education, Office of Inspector General has published the Guide for Compliance Attestation Engagements of Proprietary Schools Expending Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund Grants (Guide). The Guide applies to and provides requirements and guidance for compliance attestation engagements of proprietary schools, as defined in Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations § 600.5, receiving Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) grants through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act; the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021; the American Rescue Plan; or any future acts passed by Congress that include HEERF (collectively, HEERF grant programs).
As a condition of the HEERF grant program awards, a proprietary school must have a compliance audit conducted of its administration of the HEERF grant programs for any fiscal year during which the eligible school expends $500,000 or more in total HEERF grant program funds or is on Federal Student Aid’s Heightened Cash Monitoring 1 or 2 list in a fiscal year in which it expended any HEERF grant program funds. The HEERF compliance audit must be conducted in accordance with Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards, issued by the Comptroller General of the United States, and the Guide. To satisfy the HEERF compliance audit requirement, the Guide requires an examination-level attestation engagement.
