Audit of Massasoit Community College (MCC)

This is a state performance audit of Massasoit Community College focused on how the college administered Massachusetts transfer programs for students.

“In this performance audit, we examined MCC’s administration of the Commonwealth’s MassTransfer Program.”

The State Auditor audited certain Massasoit Community College activities because state law authorizes the office to conduct these performance audits.

“In accordance with Section 12 of Chapter 11 of the Massachusetts General Laws, the Office of the State Auditor has conducted a performance audit of certain activities of Massasoit Community College (MCC) for the period July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2019.”

The audit matters because MassTransfer is meant to make it easier for public college students to move credits toward associate and bachelor’s degrees.

“MassTransfer seeks to provide a broad population of students with straightforward and understandable options toward the completion of associate and baccalaureate degrees, clearing the way for student access and student success in Massachusetts’ public higher education system.”

If you are a student using these transfer pathways, the audit found that Massasoit was properly handling credits, transcript certification, eligibility, and rebates for the items tested.

“Did MCC provide eligible Commonwealth Commitment Program students with a 10% per semester rebate on tuition and fees in accordance with DHE’s “Commonwealth Commitment Implementation Guidelines”?”

The auditor answered yes to all four audit objectives and reported no significant noncompliance.

“Our audit revealed no significant instances of noncompliance that must be reported under generally accepted government auditing standards.”

The report does not list corrective actions or recommendations, because the audit did not identify significant reportable noncompliance.

“Below is a list of our audit objectives, indicating each question we intended our audit to answer and the conclusion we reached regarding each objective.”

The finding is significant because Massasoit is a large public community college serving many students, and the audit found its tested transfer-program practices complied with the applicable rules.

“MCC is an accredited public two-year institution and the largest of the 15 Massachusetts public community colleges, with three locations (Brockton, Canton, and Middleborough) in Plymouth and Norfolk Counties.”

MassTransfer is the state’s public-college transfer system; the MassTransfer Block is a set of general education credits meant to transfer across public institutions, and Commonwealth Commitment adds financial incentives for eligible students who stay on schedule.

“The Commonwealth’s public institutions of higher education have partnered with the Department of Higher Education (DHE) to develop the MassTransfer Program, which includes the MassTransfer Block, the A2B Degree Program, and the Commonwealth Commitment Program.”