A day after a critical report from the Illinois Auditor General, indicating that Chicago State University is missing hundreds of computers, the University said Wednesday it has taken great strides to improve its internal controls.
The report charged that Chicago State has lost track of hundreds of thousands of dollars in equipment, including computers and other electronic devices, which may include sensitive or confidential data.
Auditor General William Holland said an audit by his agency revealed that 197 items, worth $248,825 were missing.
"Included in this missing equipment were 132 computers, servers, CPU's, or other electronic storage devices," Holland said. "The University did not perform a detailed assessment, and therefore was unable to determine whether the missing computers contained confidential information."
The report said six additional computers worth over $8000 were reported stolen, and three others were reported lost. As with the other devices, the audit says the University was unable to determine if those computers contained sensitive information.
On Wednesday, the University released a statement, saying the equipment audit and other findings from the Auditor General showed a 45 percent decrease in deficiencies found by the state. "This is the third consecutive year CSU has posted a reduction in audit findings," the statement said.
CSU President Wayne Watson is quoted in the statement saying he's happy with the improvements that have been made on his watch, and while all problems will not be solved overnight, CSU now has a fully staffed "Office of Compliance".
University officials quoted in the auditor's report said they agreed with the findings, and promised to provide better training for employees who have responsibility over CSU's equipment. The school said that since the audit was performed, "the University has located 60 assets previously reported as missing."
