ALEX HOBEN
Lupe Garcia, an auditor with Whittley Penn, addresses the board about his firm’s review of the TCC website, handbooks and other documents during the March board meeting.
An external auditing firm hired by TCC found old content on its website that was not in compliance with the law that bans Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in higher education.
The Collegian obtained a copy of the audit through an open records request.
Whittley Penn, a Texas-based accounting and auditing firm, gave a presentation during the March 13 monthly board meeting on the areas where the college was compliant and areas that still had DEI material that predated the SB-17 ban. The audit focused on DEI terminology in several areas on the website and internal and external hiring pages.
“We reviewed several areas of the college, including the chart of accounts, job positions, the organizational chart, department services and activities. and did not find that there was any inclusion of DEI verbiage or activities in those items said Public Sector Audit Partner Lupe Garcia.
According to the audit, DEI terminology or activities were not found in job descriptions, the faculty handbook, student enrollment and registration applications or the college’s annual report to the Texas State Legislature and the coordinating board. However, the auditors found verbiage and activities in some areas and made recommendations.
These areas included new hires and contract renewals. The study found that some employees didn’t sign the required SB-17 acknowledgment form. In both cases, Whittley Penn recommended that the college obtain and maintain the signed SB-17 forms.
DEI verbiage was also used in announcements, board policy and the college website on the announcements, procurement, and strategic planning pages. Both the board policy and procurement procedure manual referenced Minority Women-Owned Business Enterprises.
The announcements mentioned an invitation to a public forum and the welcoming of the chief DEI officer. Both references were from before the ban. The strategic plan mentioned an initiative called “Learning Commons: Diversity Equity and Inclusion” dated January 25, 2023.
The college administration said that during early discussions about SB-17 implementation, they determined that they didn’t need to remove anything considered historical.
“The internal audit department will perform remediation testing later this year, just to verify that the implementation has been performed,” Director of Internal Audit Tracey.
Shockley said. “The audit showcases the college’s effort to comply with SB-17, staff has promptly addressed low-risk findings and are committed to stronger controls.”
These included timestamped news and magazine articles, announcements and press releases that the college has archived. On the procurement page, the college officials said they missed the page in the audit when they reviewed the content, and now it has been corrected.
“We have taken the Senate Bill 17 seriously, and we appreciate all the work that went into reviewing everything that we do,” Chancellor Elva LeBlanc said at the meeting. “As we find things that are not in compliance, we address them immediately, and even these recommendations have been addressed.”