For the purpose of this standard, Nicholls State University defines appropriate control as that which complies with the guidelines and/or laws set forth by the State of Louisiana, as outlined in Louisiana's Revised Statutes. In addition, the State of Louisiana's Division of Administration provides numerous rules and memoranda regarding the administration of the State's assets.

Control of Financial Resources

The University has a comprehensive budgeting process that is tied to the goals and objectives of the University's Strategic Plan, and all budgetary decisions are based upon items identified within the Strategic Plan. Core Requirement 2.11 provides a description of this budgetary process [1]. The Budget Officer is charged with preparing a balanced budget each fiscal year once final recommendations are approved by the Budget Committee, which includes the President, all vice presidents, the Associate Provost, the Assistant Vice President for Finance/Controller, and the Budget Officer. In the event of mid-year adjustments required by changes in state appropriations and/or changes in self-generated revenues, the Budget Officer works in concert with the President and the vice presidents in order to keep the budget in balance. Although faced with recent decisions related to a "voluntary" mid-year budget reduction for the current 2004-2005 fiscal year, the University has been fortunate in recent years as it had not previously experienced any mid-year reductions in state appropriations since 1992. Most adjustments made during recent fiscal years have been reallocations of resources in concurrence with the dynamics of operations. Additional resources are allocated in the same manner as are those in the original budget, adhering to strategic goals of the University.

In 1995, Nicholls implemented a Systems and Computer Technology Corporation (SCT) accounting and budgetary control system known as Financial Records System (FRS). Some time later, the integrated Student Information System (SIS) module was implemented to network student billings and receivables with FRS. A short time later, the Human Resource System (HRS) was implemented to network all payroll entries with FRS thus providing appropriate control over the University's financial resources relating to personnel services.

The financial and budgetary control system (FRS) implemented in 1995 incorporates budgeting, requisition encumbrances, purchase order encumbrances, and expenditures. The budget module supplies final approved budgets to FRS. Each expenditure account maintains funds available for expenditures. When a requisition is submitted and entered into the system, a validation check is made to verify that the account code has sufficient funds in order to process the transaction to the next level. If sufficient funds are not available, the department is requested to take corrective action (e.g., budget transfer) before the transaction continues. A budget transfer may be processed among the non-personnel categories after a budget transfer form is submitted to the Budget Officer. Upon approval, the budget transfer is processed in FRS thus allowing the requisition to continue. All account information is available electronically, allowing the department access to real time budgetary/expenditure data involving its accounts.

Since personnel costs constitute the largest portion of the University's budget, additional controls ensure that only approved positions, at appropriate salary levels, are advertised and filled. The University is required to complete a Request for Authorization to Begin Process for Filling Position (R-1) [2] and/or Request for Authorization of Employment (R-2) [3] for each unclassified/professional/faculty position before it is advertised. The Vice President for Finance and Administration, the Provost/Associate Provost, and the President must approve the request, and the University of Louisiana System staff provides an additional approval before advertisement begins. The Budget Officer prepares budgetary projections based on the various payrolls, and these projections are compared to monthly attrition reports prepared by Human Resources in order to provide budgetary control over the personnel section of the budget.

Financial statements (2002 [4], 2003 [5], 2004 [6], 2005 [7]) are prepared annually by the University and are audited by the Legislative Auditor's Office of the State of Louisiana as a major component of the University of Louisiana System. These audits are documented in the State of Louisiana's "Single Audit Report" (2003 [8], 2004 [9]) and the University of Louisiana System's "Basic Financial Statements and Independent Auditor's Report" (2002 [10], 2003 [11], 2004 [12]). As with most audits, the Legislative Auditors do not make positive assurances with respect to internal controls concerning the safeguarding of assets. However, should the auditors identify weaknesses in the internal control system, it is so noted in the Management Letter (2002 [13], 2004 [14], 2005 [15]). For example, in the Legislative Auditor's 2004 University Management Letter, the external auditors reported that the University's financial statements disclosed a weakness in its academic payroll records which has since been corrected.

Nicholls maintains an internal audit function. The Office of Internal Audit has one director [16]. The Director [17] reports directly to the President and works closely with the University of Louisiana System's Internal Auditor. It is the responsibility of this office to conduct routine audits and reviews of campus operations, focusing primarily on internal controls and managerial functions. As required by the University of Louisiana System's Internal Audit Charter [18], the Internal Auditor is responsible for creating an Annual Audit Plan with input provided by the President, vice presidents and the System Internal Auditor (2002-03 [19A], 2003-04 [19B], 2004-05 [19C], 2005-06 [19D]). Documentation of all internal audits may be found in the Office of Internal Audit. The Legislative Auditor, as a part of the Auditor's annual engagement, reviews these documents. Sample audit reports are available in electronic format for review [20, 21].

Nicholls' capitalization level for movable property such as furniture, laboratory equipment, information technology, etc. is $5,000 for financial statement purposes. However, the University maintains control over all non-consumable movable property with an original acquisition cost of $1,000 or more, as required by state regulations [22] which are controlled by the Louisiana Property Assistance Agency (§307) [23]. In addition, all electronic items costing between $250.00 and $999.00 are also inventoried. The Property Control Officer for Nicholls reports to the Vice President for Finance through the Assistant Vice President for Finance and Administration. This department must inventory and record all such property within 60 days of receipt of goods on campus. Nicholls' policies and procedures regarding property management are published in the Purchasing Manual available on the Nicholls Web site [24]. In addition, the Louisiana Property Assistance Agency provides approval of the Certification of Annual Property Inventory regarding moveable property [25].

Control of Physical Resources

Nicholls maintains accountability control over its land and buildings with a State inventory-monitoring system through the Division of Administration's Facility Planning and Control. The University's Department of Physical Plant Operations works in conjunction with the State office to ensure that all land and buildings are accurately and appropriately accounted for within the State system. In addition, in 2004, the Board of Regents contracted the services of VFA Facilities Lifecycle Solutions of Boston, Massachusetts to conduct a review and assessment of all University buildings [26]. This has provided an accurate accounting of all University structures for the Board of Regents and for Facility Planning and Control.

The University maintains a facilities inventory of all buildings. This data is annually reported to the Board of Regents. The building data summary reference provides additional information including building construction and renovation dates, gross square footages, net assignable square footages, building costs, and types of space maintained within each building.

The day-to-day maintenance and repair of University facilities and grounds are the responsibilities of the Maintenance and Grounds Departments respectively. A work order system is utilized to schedule, track, and account for repair and maintenance of facilities; the system is also used to track customer satisfaction. Maintenance and/or repairs needing immediate attention may be phoned in to the Maintenance Department as service calls. The University utilizes preventative maintenance contracts for some equipment and has a departmental preventative maintenance program in place.

The University utilizes its custodial staff to assist in inspecting and reporting problems to the Maintenance Department. Repairs identified as the correction of safety problems, continuity of utility services, and operations requirements are given first priority by Maintenance. Most preventative maintenance work orders are scheduled and completed by Maintenance when resources are available. Other maintenance, repair and minor new construction projects that cannot be facilitated by the Maintenance Department (due to limited resources) may be outsourced and completed by an outside contractor.

The State Department of Facility Planning and Control administers all new construction projects over $350,000. Nicholls' Office of Physical Plant Operations works closely with the State Department to ensure that all new construction activities are in accordance with appropriate plans and contract documents. The University's Office of Physical Plant Operations coordinates construction, planning, and specifications with the University's Maintenance Department, the University of Louisiana System, the State Department of Facility Planning and Control, and the State Fire Marshal [27] to ensure that plans meet fire safety and building code requirements, as well as the University's standards for construction.

The Office of Safety administers a number of safety programs about fire safety, hazardous chemical storage/labeling safety, disposal safety, radiation safety, and other regulations which are outlined by city, state, or federal compliance agencies. This department is also responsible for publishing the University's Safety Manual, conducting periodic inspections of campus buildings and facilities, maintaining a reference library for various safety and environmental regulations, as well as coordinating routine safety training and driver education training, as required by the Office of Risk Management.

The University's Police Department [28] is responsible for ensuring the safety and security of all persons and property on the Nicholls campus. This includes but is not limited to crime prevention, traffic and parking control, criminal investigations, and first response to all emergencies that occur on campus. Nightly, routine building checks are conducted after regular business hours to ensure the safety of all buildings.

Security of buildings is further maintained by the Purchasing Office. This office is responsible for issuing and tracking all building keys for the University, as stated in University's Policy and Procedure Manual, Section 5.9.3.2.1 [29]. The Maintenance Department produces keys under the direction of the Purchasing Department.