University of Scranton

“The president of the university, rev. Kevin p. Quinn, s.j. And the vice president for university ministries, rev. Richard g. Malloy, s.j. Are members of the scranton jesuit community and the maryland province of the society of jesus. Other clergy that are members of the board of trustees may also be members of the maryland province of the society of jesus.”

“The form 990 is prepared in-house based upon the amounts reported in the audited financial statements. The draft form 990 is completed by treasurer's office personnel and is reviewed by independent tax advisors and by the university's senior vice president (svp) for finance and administration before being sent to the audit committee for review. The audit committee has approximately a one-week period prior to the regularly scheduled board meeting to comment on the draft and appropriate revisions are made based upon those comments. The revised draft is then made available to the full board of trustees on a secure university website. At the regular board meeting the board formally adopts the form 990 as final and authorizes the university's svp for finance and administration to file the form 990 with the irs. An identical and simultaneous process is followed to file the university's annual form 990-t.”

“The university's secretary to the board of trustees explains and collects completed conflict of interest statements. The statements are disseminated to members of the board of trustees, officers, those involved in managing facilities and procurement, and individuals managing grant-funded projects. These statements are reviewed by the secretary and the internal auditor. The secretary attends all board meetings where actions are voted upon to ensure that individuals with potential or actual conflicts refrain from 1) participating in discussion, 2) being present during a vote, or 3) voting upon the matter involving the potential or actual conflict of interest.”

“The executive compensation committee of the board of trustees reviews appropriate analyses and studies prepared by the human resources office or external sources to aid in evaluating compensation and benefits and strategies to assure they are appropriate to attract and retain qualified personnel for senior executive administrative positions. The committee annually reviews and approves compensation and benefits for senior administrators and officers of the university. This review includes comparable market data for positions at other higher education institutions. The committee reports to the executive committee the total compensation paid the university's president and vice presidents. The committee reviews the recommendations of, and advises, the president as to individual contracts that are above and beyond the scope of the university's base compensation and benefits structure.”

“The university makes its governing documents, conflicts of interest policy, and financial statements available to the public. Much of this information is also available in the university's annual information return on form 990 filed with the internal revenue service. The form 990 and the other documents noted above are available to the public at the university's treasurer's office. The form 990 is also available to the public online at "www.guidestar.org."”

“Both the university's president and its vice president for university ministries are members of the society of jesus. Members of the society of jesus take a vow of poverty. Compensation for these university officer positions is paid directly to their order which is exempt under section 501(c)(3). Under rev. Rul. 77-290 members of a religious order providing services to a catholic organization will be considered for tax purposes to be an agent of the order provided; 1) the religious order is subject to a vow of poverty, 2) the religious order is providing services for a catholic organization listed in the official catholic directory at the direction of his superior and 3) the full amount of compensation is remitted to the tax exempt order by the organization.”

“The university has entered into joint venture arrangements with two private education companies to provide technical, recruitment, and marketing support for its online mba and online graduate education degree programs. The university evaluates all potential joint ventures to determine whether the activities will generate unrelated business income. The treasurer's office is involved in discussions with potential business partners and advises as to whether or not joint venture relationships could be detrimental to the university's tax-exempt status. The current joint ventures with online education providers constitute activities central to the university's mission.”

“In april 2015, fasb issued asu 2015-03, interest - imputation of interest (topic 835-30): simplifying the presentation of debt issuance costs. The asu requires that debt issuance costs related to a recognized debt liability be presented as a direct deduction from the carrying amount of that debt liability, consistent with debt discounts. The recognition and measurement guidance for debt issuance costs are not affected. While effective for fiscal years beginning after december 15, 2015, early adoption is permitted. The university has elected to early adopt this guidance in 2015 by retroactively reporting deferred bond issuance costs of $1,096,864 (previously reported in 2014 in prepaid expenses and other assets) as a deduction from bonds payable (long-term debt) (see note 12) at may 31, 2014 in the statement of financial position. The adoption had no impact on the university's result of operations.”

“Change in value of split interest liability -439,390.”

“The university values the benefits of diversity. It is committed to creating a community which recognizes the inherent value of dignity of each person. As such, the unversity promotes an awareness of and sensitivity towards differences of race, gender, ethnicity, national origin, culture, sexual orientation, religion, age, and disabilities among students, faculty, staff, and administrators.”

“The audit committee of the university's board of trustees is appointed by the board to assist the board in the discharge of its oversight responsibilities. The audit committee oversees the financial reporting process to ensure the balance, transparency and integrity of published financial information. The audit committee also reviews the independent audit process, including recommending the appointment and assessing the performance of the external auditors.”