Worcester Polytechnic Institute

“Board members george oliver and mark russell have a business relationship.”

“The form 990 was prepared by tax advisors from a national tax advisory firm in conjunction with the organization's management. Management reviews the completed form 990 with the tax advisors. The form 990 is reviewed by the audit committee of the board of trustees. After approval by the audit committee, management provides the form 990, with the exception of the name and address of the donors listed on schedule b, to all trustees for review prior to filing with the internal revenue service.”

“As part of the university's conflict of interest policy, all university trustees, officers, and key leaders (including "key employees," as defined under irs rules) are required to submit an annual conflict of interest disclosure statement, in which they affirm that: (a) they have received a copy of the university conflict of interest policy; (b) they have read, understand and agree to comply with the university conflict of interest policy; (c) they understand that the university, as a tax-exempt organization, must restrict its activities primarily to those for which its tax-exempt status was granted; and (d) the information provided in the disclosure statement is true and correct to the best of their knowledge. Additionally, as part of the annual disclosure statement process, trustees, officers and key employees of the university are required to disclose any conflicts of interest, or potential conflicts of interest, based on the questions contained in the disclosure statement. As more fully described in the conflict of interest policy, there is a well-defined process for the collection and review of responses to the annual disclosure statement by the office of general counsel and the audit and risk committee of the board of trustees. If, based on the disclosures, any conflict management plans are warranted, they are drafted by the office of general counsel, reviewed and approved by the audit and risk committee of the board of trustees, and signed by the discloser.”

“The process for determining compensation for the university's president and other top management is modeled after the requirements in federal regulations 53.4958-6(a), rebuttable presumption that a transaction is not an excess benefit transaction, to establish the presumption of reasonable compensation. Compensation is reviewed and approved by the independent members of the leadership development & executive compensation committee (ldec). In reviewing compensation, the ldec utilizes an independent compensation consultant, comparable market data from published surveys and federal form 990s of comparable organizations in evaluating the compensation for each individual. The ldec conducts a review of this comparability data, sets compensation within a range of comparable organizations, and documents its deliberation and discussion in minutes that are retained with the other governance materials of the university. Working with an independent compensation consultant and ldec, wpi conducted a comprehensive review of executive compensation, including the development of a new cohort of peer institutions in fall of 2021. Recommendations from this review were approved by ldec in february 2022. Subsequent reviews throughout 2022, 2023 and 2024 of executive compensation have occurred as there were changes in leadership appointments, including interim appointments of president and provost, appointment of new president, establishment of new position of svp for enrollment and student affairs, appointment of new provost, new vp for marketing & communications, and interim general counsel and vp for advancement.”

“The university maintains copies of its governing documents, conflict of interest policy, and financial statements on its website (www.wpi.edu).”

“The university is filing form 990 based on its consolidated financial statement numbers. The university feels this is more transparent to the public and gives more accurate information on its operations as opposed to carving out its subsidiaries listed below. Both organizations also file form 990 separately. For the fiscal year ended june 30, 2024, washburn park inc had net assets of $0; revenue of $0; and expenses of $269. Additionally, assistments foundation had net assets of $382,175; revenue of $4,475,830; and expenses of $4,147,341.”

“The 7,720 reported on this line includes the following: 1098-t's: 6,889 1099 nec : 424 1099 misc: 402 1099-k's: 5”

“Net unrealized gain on beneficial interest in trusts 959,182. Change in value of split-interest agreements -315,187. Net unrealized gain on swaps 923,927.”