Finding number: 2025-001 Federal agency: U.S. Department of Education Programs: Student Financial Assistance Cluster Assistance Listing #: 84.063 Award year: 2025 Corrective Action Plan Contact Person: Sabina Yesman, Director of Financial Aid A PELL Grant was awarded and disbursed for one ineligible...
Finding number: 2025-001 Federal agency: U.S. Department of Education Programs: Student Financial Assistance Cluster Assistance Listing #: 84.063 Award year: 2025 Corrective Action Plan Contact Person: Sabina Yesman, Director of Financial Aid A PELL Grant was awarded and disbursed for one ineligible student during the 2024-2025 Academic Year at Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology (FC Tech). The error resulted from incomplete synchronization between enrollment and financial aid systems during the system transition period. Specifically, enrollment status and census-date verification were not fully integrated into the automated disbursement workflow, allowing aid to disburse before final eligibility confirmation. FC Tech has taken corrective measures and implemented monitoring and system controls to prevent future errors from occurring. Corrective Action Taken FC Tech reviewed the student’s record and confirmed the ineligibility. The PELL Grant award was adjusted to $0, and the disbursement was reversed. The student account was corrected, and all required accounting and G5 drawdown adjustments were completed. The amount of $3,697 was returned on 12/18/2025 The case was documented internally for training purposes. Preventive Measures Implemented (February 2026) To prevent recurrence, FC Tech has implemented the following controls: Enrollment Verification Prior to Disbursement All PELL-eligible students must be actively enrolled and confirmed in the Student Information System (Jenzabar) prior to disbursement. Census-Date Verification Through Multiple Systems Enrollment status at census date is now validated through an integrated, multi-system verification process involving the Jenzabar, our Financial Aid System (PowerFAIDS), and Registrarconfirmed Enrollment Reports. Delayed Disbursement Timeline Federal Aid disbursements are scheduled to occur no earlier than one week after census date to allow sufficient time for enrollment stabilization, drops, corrections and reconciliation System Edit/Control Automated system edits have been implemented to prevent a PELL disbursement if census-date enrollment status is missing, unconfirmed, or inconsistent across systems.