The Aubrey Group was selected to support the University’s internal finance, grants, and operations following a competitive RFP process in early Fall 2024. While the University’s finance team brought a breadth of knowledge in general accounting processes, unfamiliarity with the nuances of grant administration caused undue stress and frustration for leadership and team members alike. 

Jumping into the scope of work quickly, our team conducted in-depth, exploratory meetings with NJCU department leads in finance, development, and operations. We worked to understand current processes while acknowledging the challenges of managing multiple grants with unique funder compliance requirements and deadlines which varied based on the grant level and the external government department overseeing the grant. 

Through a pragmatic, high-level approach, our team outlined an actionable strategy to align departments, clarify deadlines and deliverables, and gather the necessary data and information to solve pervasive and complex challenges compliantly. The roadmap also included a detailed punch list of tasks for the NCJU and The Aubrey Group team members to address. Finally, we established a collaborative process and routine communications cadence to ensure all parties were aligned on deliverables and expectations. 

Since starting our engagement with NJCU, we have developed a large-scale system of tracking the university’s existing grants through our internal project management software. This system catalogs each grant based on the external funding source, the university’s specific project that is carried out with the grant, and specific university personnel who are attached to the grant. In addition, as our team reviewed NJCU’s active grants, we added all relevant grant reporting steps and deadlines. This created a high-level calendar of the university’s active grants and specific steps required to administer each grant. 

An essential part of our engagement with NJCU has been preparing “Grant Reference Reports,” which are documents specifically tailored to NJCU’s internal staff and used to help administer each grant. In preparing these reference reports, our staff reviewed all relevant grant files for each program to capture the most important context for each project and the necessary steps in administering the grant. These reports provide “help at a glance,” creating an easy-to-understand guide to working with each of the university’s active grants. This allows NJCU’s internal staff to confidently track, report, and relay important information for each grant. 

Regular in-person and virtual consultations are ongoing to address immediate questions, challenges, and new developments. While The Aubrey Group team currently handles the majority of NJCU’s grant administration, the University’s team is receiving training on the process to expand their capacity, skillsets, and confidence.

Our robust grant administration scope includes:

• Grant Compliance Monitoring

• Grant Progress Reporting Assistance

• Financial Reporting and Reimbursements

• Budget Tracking

• Audit Preparation

• Grant Award Modifications

• Grant Closeout

• Grant Administration Audit

• Documentation Management

• Monthly Progress Report

• In-Person and Virtual Consultation

• 24/7 Support

About the Client: NJCU is among the most comprehensive universities in the state, nestled within one of the most diverse cities in the nation. NJCU's College of Arts and Sciences, Education, Professional Studies, and School of Business offer 59 undergraduate degree programs and 31 graduate programs, including emerging and interdisciplinary fields. The University receives nearly $30M in annual federal, state, and local grant funding to support operations and special initiatives. With this in mind, NJCU’s external funding supports a wide variety of programming, including campus-wide initiatives to support students in STEM, as well as multi-year training programs that enhance the capacity of local educators in school districts near the university.