Corrective Action Plan: The University did not appropriately review eligibility documentation resulting in over awards. The error arose due to the manual processing of student loans by a single financial counselor without adequate checks, leading to non-compliance with specific fund restrictions rel...
Corrective Action Plan: The University did not appropriately review eligibility documentation resulting in over awards. The error arose due to the manual processing of student loans by a single financial counselor without adequate checks, leading to non-compliance with specific fund restrictions related to the student’s year in school and dependency status. A significant contributing factor was the absence of structured, periodic quality assurance reviews.
The University partnered with Financial Aid Services (“FAS”) in February 2025 to review the current systems and process, and devise appropriate systems, checks, and balances to address each deficiency in our financial aid processes and personnel.
In addition, as part of the University’s transition of its ERP system from Jenzabar to Colleague, Financial Aid will transition from the use of PowerFaids to Ellucian Colleague for financial aid management, which was driven by the need for more robust, systematic controls that can accurately adjust and calculate Cost of Attendance (COA) on a per-student basis. This system change is expected to automate many of the processes that were previously prone to human error, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements. The University’s Financial Aid counselors will continue to monitor students' credit hours and make necessary adjustments to aid awards, thereby maintaining compliance and addressing any discrepancies proactively. This plan reflects our commitment to upholding the highest standards of financial aid management and ensuring that our processes are transparent, compliant, and responsive to the needs of our students.
The University will integrate automated processes in our financial aid packaging to reduce human error. The adoption of the Ellucian Colleague system by JCSU will allow for automatic enforcement of packaging and transmittal rules, tailored to specific funds. Additionally, we will utilize exception reports from Ellucian Colleague to identify and correct discrepancies in real-time. We will establish a routine monitoring system to regularly check the accuracy of financial aid awards against eligibility criteria.
Anticipated Completion Date: September 30, 2025