#2024-002 – Material Weakness – Eligibility
Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, ALN #21.027
Recommendation
We recommend verifying each applicant’s enrollment status with all universities prior to
disbursement of scholarship funding.
View of responsible officials and planned corrective...
#2024-002 – Material Weakness – Eligibility
Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, ALN #21.027
Recommendation
We recommend verifying each applicant’s enrollment status with all universities prior to
disbursement of scholarship funding.
View of responsible officials and planned corrective action
The Foundation receives information directly from PASSHE universities to verify enrollment status of
applicants. Universities submit information to the Foundation on an electronic form, which includes
Student Name, Student ID, Scholarship Amount, Student Enrollment Status, etc. Authorized officials
enter their approval by changing “Pending Review” to either “Scholarship Eligible” or “Not Eligible”
on the form and keying in the scholarship amount the student is eligible for based on their verified
enrollment status, for example: $1,000 for a part time student or $2,000 for a full-time student. For
4 of the 40 applicants sampled during the audit, a PASSHE university created an inconsistency on the
form, having not completed or updated the enrollment status column to be consistent with the final
amount they verified approved for payment. The key control, i.e. the University’s entry and approval
of the eligible amount, prevented any errors from occurring.
The Foundation verified the enrollment status for the four applicants identified in the audit, noting
that the scholarships were properly disbursed. Going forward the Foundation has updated its
verification process with the universities to ensure proper classification of the applicant’s enrollment
status is verified in accordance with the eligibility requirements of the grant.