Finding 2023-002 - U.S. Department of Education (USD), Title IV Student Financial Aid Programs
(material weakness):
We observed the following conditions in connection with our testing of the various U.S. Department
of Education, Title IV, Student Financial Assistance Programs:
(a) The College did no...
Finding 2023-002 - U.S. Department of Education (USD), Title IV Student Financial Aid Programs
(material weakness):
We observed the following conditions in connection with our testing of the various U.S. Department
of Education, Title IV, Student Financial Assistance Programs:
(a) The College did not reconcile the following programs between the Office of Financial Aid and the
Business Office. Per 34 CFR 685.300(b)(5).
i. Federal Pell Grant Program
ii. Federal Direct Student Loans
iii. Federal SEOG
(b) The Office of Financial Aid submitted unreconciled expenditures within the Fiscal Operations
Report and Application to Participate (FISAP) for the programs below:
i. Federal Pell Grant Program
ii. Federal Work Study (FWS) Program
(c) One (1) out of 6 students tested for withdrawals and the return of Title IV funds did not have their
Title IV program funds returned within the 45-day requirement. HEA, Section 484B & 34 CFR
668.22.
(d) One (1) out of 60 students had a credit balance on their account created by Title IV program funds
longer than 14 days. 34 CFR 668.164(h)(1).
(e) One (1) out of 60 students tested did not make satisfactory academic progress (SAP) for the
academic year. The College did not provide supporting documentation for successful appeals and
allowed the students to receive Title IV funding. 34 CFR 668.34. Questioned cost for this finding
is: $6,198.
(f) Five (5) out of 60 students tested did not have high school/GED to prove eligibility for the program
they were enrolled within the College. HEA Section 484(d) and 34 CFR 668.32. Questioned cost
for this finding is $41,443.
(g) Four (4) out of 60 students tested were accepted as transfer students but did not have official
(transfer) transcripts to prove eligibility for the program they were enrolled within the College.
HEA Section 484(d) and 34 CFR 668.32. Questioned cost for this finding is $40,383.
The College should implement corrective actions to ensure that the above findings are resolved and do
not recur in future periods. Moreover, internal controls over compliance with federal program
regulations should be revisited to ensure adequate supervisory controls, quality assurance reviews of
processes, and policies and procedures are being updated and adhered to for compliance purposes.
Corrective Actions – Philander Smith College concurs with this finding, and the following action has
been taken.
Philander Smith College improved the efficiency of reconciling between the Financial Aid Office and
COD by standardizing procedures. Staff-wide calendar events have been set to standardize routine
processing of reconciliation data. Direct Loan SAS files are imported into the COD "DL SAS Disb On
Demand Reader" tool and converted to Microsoft Excel files. Pell SAS/ Reconciliation files are
imported into the COD "Pell Recon Reader" tool and converted to Microsoft Excel files. The SAS files
and financial aid management system (FAMS) files are imported into Microsoft Access tables and
Microsoft Access queries are run to determine discrepancies between SAS file data and FAMS data.
This standardization provides an efficient procedure for staff members to follow. Staff have been
cross trained to reduce processing delays. This system, incorporating efficient technology, calendar
reminders, and cross training has improved the efficiency of reconciliation activities. Financial Aid
staff coordinate with Business Office staff for notification after the Financial Aid to COD
reconciliation is complete.
Financial Aid staff are updating the policies for SAP supporting documentation submission that
require students to submit documents via the student financial aid portal where documents will be
securely stored and backed up within the College servers.
Financial Aid staff are updating processes among Financial Aid, the Registrar's Office, and Academic
Affairs to strengthen timely identification of both official and unofficial withdrawals for timely
Return to Title IV Funds processing.
Finally, during the pandemic, the College experienced some difficulties obtaining official high school
transcripts due to school closings. The College is continuing to work to review files to ensure this is
fully addressed.