Audit 394339

Eligibility Type of Finding - Noncompliance with Eligibility compliance requirement and significant deficiency in internal control over compliance Program: Student Financial Assistance Cluster Assistance Listing Number: Federal Pell Grant 84.063 Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Education Criteria – 34 CFR 668.32 provides regulations to institutions for eligibility requirements for students to receive Title IV aid. 34 CFR 668.32 states that the student must be a regular student enrolled, or accepted for enrollment, in an eligible program at an eligible institution. Condition – One student was awarded a Pell grant for the Spring 2025 semester when the student did not attend the College during the Spring 2025 semester. This resulted in an over-award of $3,697. Cause – The internal controls over the review of awarded assistance was not effective at preventing or detecting and correcting noncompliance with the requirements. Effect – Incorrect award amounts could go undetected resulting in an under or over-award of student financial aid. Questioned Costs – $3,697 for a Federal Pell recipient that was not eligible. Context – One student out of a sample of 40 students was over-awarded aid. Identification as a Repeat Finding – Not Applicable. Recommendation – It is recommended the College refine the review of financial assistance prior to packaging control to identify those students who did not ultimately attend prior to disbursing aid. Views of Responsible Official – Management concurs with the finding and is providing those responsible for compliance with appropriate education on the compliance requirements. The College is reviewing the processes and controls and will make changes as necessary to prevent and/or detect and correct noncompliance on a timely basis.

Disbursements to or on Behalf of Students Type of Finding - Noncompliance with Disbursements to or on Behalf of Students compliance requirement and significant deficiency in internal control over compliance Program: Student Financial Assistance Cluster Assistance Listing Number: Federal Direct Loans 84.268 Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Education Criteria – 34 CFR 690.83 states that institutions are required to submit accurate direct loan, Pell grant, and TEACH grant disbursement records to the Common Origination and Disbursement system (COD). Condition – One student had a disbursement date on the COD of October 3, 2024 while the students account had a disbursement date of September 11, 2024. The College’s records did not match what was reported to the COD. Cause – The College’s software pulled an inaccurate date for the identified student and the date was not verified by College personnel. Internal controls over compliance should be sufficient to prevent and/or detect and correct inaccurate information on a timely basis. Effect – The disbursement date reported to the COD was inaccurate. Questioned Costs – Not Applicable. Context – Out of a sample of 40 students, one student was found to have an inaccurate date submitted to the COD. Identification as a Repeat Finding - Not Applicable. Recommendation – It is recommended that the controls surrounding information submitted to the COD be refined to include a more in depth review of information submitted for accuracy. Views of Responsible Official – Management concurs with the finding and is providing those responsible for compliance with appropriate education on the compliance requirements. The College is reviewing the processes and controls and will make changes as necessary to prevent and/or detect and correct noncompliance on a timely basis.

Enrollment Reporting Type of Finding - Material noncompliance with Enrollment Reporting compliance requirement and material weakness in internal control over compliance Program: Student Financial Assistance Cluster Assistance Listing Number: Federal Pell Grants 84.063, Federal Direct Loans 84.268 Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Education Criteria – 34 CFR 690.83(b)(2) and 34 CFR 685.309 provide regulations to institutions for the accurate and timely reporting of student enrollment information. Institutions must review, update, and verify student enrollment statuses, program information, and effective dates to the Department of Education. The institution should have sufficient internal controls over program compliance to report information accurately and timely. Condition – Seven students were found to have a status change not reported within the 60-day requirement per enrollment reporting guidelines. One student was found to have a status that did not match the College’s records. Cause – During the year ended June 30, 2025, the College switched financial assistance software. After implementation, the College discovered that the new system was not accurately reporting the student’s status so when the information was submitted into the NSLDS Clearinghouse the status was not updated. The internal controls over the review of student status changes was not effective at preventing and/or detecting and correcting noncompliance with compliance requirements. Effect – The status changes were reported incorrectly and/or untimely to the Department of Education. Questioned Costs – Not applicable. Context – Out of a sample of 40 students with status changes, eight students were found to have status changes reported that were not compliant with the enrollment reporting requirements. Identification as a Repeat Finding - A similar finding was identified in the audit for the year ending June 30, 2024 as finding 2024-001. Recommendation – The individual responsible for submitting effective status change dates needs to be educated on the requirements and the internal controls should include a comparison of the College’s records to what is ultimately certified by the NSLDS in order to ensure accurate data is transmitted by the College’s system. Views of Responsible Official – Management concurs with the finding and is providing those responsible for compliance with appropriate education on the compliance requirements. The College is reviewing the processes and controls and will make changes as necessary to prevent and/or detect and correct noncompliance on a timely basis.

Return of Title IV Funds Type of Finding - Material noncompliance with Return of Title IV Funds compliance requirement and material weakness in internal control over compliance Program: Student Financial Assistance Cluster Assistance Listing Number: Federal Pell 84.063 and Federal Direct Student Loans 84.268 Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Education Criteria – 34 CFR 668.22(a)(1) through (a)(5) provides regulations to institutions for returning federal funds. 34 CFR 668(3)(ii) states that the institution must return federal funds no later than 45 calendar days after the student withdrawals. Internal controls over compliance should be sufficient to prevent and/or detect and correct noncompliance on a timely basis. Condition – Two students who withdrew from College did not have their federal funds returned within 45 days of the withdraw date. One student had an inaccurate withdraw date utilized in the return of title IV funds calculation resulting in the amount returned to the Federal government being $103 dollars less than what should have been returned. Cause – During 2025, the College switched financial assistance software. During the implementation period for the new software, the software was inaccessible for a period of time. The College did not have procedures in place to ensure compliance with the Federal guidelines during the software implementation period. Due to turnover at the College, there was no review of the return of title IV calculations during the year ended June 30, 2025. The software implementation period and the lack of review led to noncompliance with the requirements. Effect – Return of title IV funds occurring after the 45-day time frame and an incorrect amount of funds being sent back to Federal the government. Questioned Costs – $103 as identified in the condition above. Context – Out of a sample of five students requiring a return of title IV funds calculation, two students federal funds were not returned within the 45-day time frame and one student had the incorrect amount returned to the Federal government. Identification as a Repeat Finding – Not Applicable. Recommendation – It is recommended that the College have someone who does not complete the R2T4 calculation to review it for accuracy and timeliness and for the College to consider back-up procedures to ensure compliance when systems are unavailable.