ATLANTA --- A state audit released Monday linked the misuse of state purchasing cards to a lack of oversight in the higher education system, and recommended schools tighten standards and require training courses to prevent further abuse.

The report said a flawed oversight system contributed to 22 cases of possible fraud involving the p-cards, but suggested some of the problems could be from a lack of training by managers and employees.

It comes on the heels of a separate audit of more than 600,000 p-card transactions last year at the state's 35 public colleges and universities that showed the $350 million program was routinely abused.

At least 17 university employees have so far resigned, been fired or retired because of p-card misuse, and disciplinary action in other cases are pending.

Auditors reported that "an overwhelming majority of the transactions we reviewed were legitimate," but listed 22 cases of possible fraud out of the more than 8,400 p-cards issued to university employees.

The report didn't include names, but said a dozen of the cases were found during the review.

Among them is an Armstrong Atlantic State University employee who allegedly racked up $11,472 in charges for items including cell phone bills, two computers, two digital cameras and an Xbox wireless controller. The employee has since retired.

Another involved a Georgia Tech employee who is accused of submitting fraudulent invoices to conceal more than $318,000 worth of personal invoices. The employee has since resigned.

The report recommends for the first time that cardholders and their supervisors take initial and refresher training courses, noting that 15 of the system's 36 institutions do not require them.

It also encourages schools to review who holds the cards to make certain that only "appropriate personnel" are issued the cards.

And it recommends the schools maintain a log of each transaction, as 6 percent of all transactions involving the cards lacked some sort of receipt.

The cases of abuse have prompted lawmakers to push for tightened standards.

The Georgia House voted last month to require supervisors at each state agency and department to review and approve each purchase quarterly.

The proposal, now pending in the Senate, also would require the agencies to maintain a log of receipts and purchases and mandates that the cards' users sign an ethics statement.