A State Auditor General's report shows there are some missing computers at Southern Illinois University.
The audit says SIU needs to improve its accounting and inventory practices, as 257 computers were unaccounted for during the university's most recent audit. A majority of those computers, 192, are on the Carbondale campus. SIU-C spokesman Rod Sievers says its important to note that there are more than 15-thousand computers on the SIU-C campus of various age. Sievers says the missing computers represent a small percentage of the campus' overall computer inventory. Sievers says many of the computers in question are old or outdated and not in use by departments. Sievers says the university has been able to locate several of the missing computers.
The Auditor General's report says the value of the missing computers the university reported as lost or stolen during Fiscal Year 2012 totals $416,183. The report also raises concerns about SIU's ability to determine if any of the missing computers contained confidential or sensitive student information. The Auditor General's report says SIU has no procedure in place to assess whether those computers contained confidential information. The Auditor General's report indicates SIU officials will implement controls over computer inventory and data.
The auditor general's report also shows that not enough at risk children were enrolled in SIU-E's head start program to meet federal guidelines. SIU-E officials say it was an oversight. They says they missed a deadline to submit a waiver to address the issue.
A summary of the Auditor General's report is available on line at www.auditor.illinois.gov
