Corrective Action Plan (CAP)
Issue Overview:
An error was identified in the application of the Cost of Attendance (COA) for a small group of students in the 24/25 award year. Due to changes in the FAFSA, which eliminated the housing question, certain students were incorrectly assigned a "dependent l...
Corrective Action Plan (CAP)
Issue Overview:
An error was identified in the application of the Cost of Attendance (COA) for a small group of students in the 24/25 award year. Due to changes in the FAFSA, which eliminated the housing question, certain students were incorrectly assigned a "dependent living with parent" budget. This error led to an inadvertent addition of $3,778 to the COA for 130 students, who should have been assigned a "dependent living off-campus" budget.
Key Point: While the error affected the COA for these students, no students were over-awarded financial aid as a result of this mistake.
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Corrective Actions Taken:
1. Immediate Correction:
o Upon discovering the error, The College immediately updated the 24/25 award year budget rules in the financial aid system. This change ensures that the correct COA budget is assigned based on each student’s housing status.
o The affected students’ COA amounts have been promptly corrected and updated in the system. This adjustment did not result in any over-award of financial aid.
2. System Update and Prevention:
o We implemented a year-specific rule for the 24/25 award year to account for changes in the FAFSA, specifically the removal of the housing question.
o This rule ensures that students are automatically assigned the correct COA budget based on their housing situation (i.e., dependent living on-campus, off-campus, or with parents), preventing the recurrence of this error in future award years.
3. Secondary Review Process:
o We will implement a secondary review process of cost of attendance adjustments. This process will verify that the correct COA budget is applied to all students during award processing.
4. Communication with Auditors:
o We have informed the auditors of the corrective actions taken, confirming that no questioned costs arose from this error.
o We have assured the auditors that the necessary system adjustments have been implemented and that additional safeguards are now in place to prevent similar errors from occurring in the future.
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Long-Term Preventative Measures:
1. Periodic Reviews:
o We will conduct periodic reviews of the COA rules and the financial aid processing system to ensure ongoing accuracy. These reviews will take place at least once per award year and will assess whether the system is correctly applying the appropriate COA categories based on student housing data.
2. Ongoing Staff Training:
o We will provide additional training for financial aid staff, focusing on:
New FAFSA regulations and changes to COA rules.
The importance of accurate budget assignments and potential consequences of errors.
o Training will be conducted annually to ensure staff remains up-to-date on federal regulations and internal procedures.
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Conclusion:
The College has taken immediate corrective actions to address the error in the COA assignment for the affected students. By updating system rules, implementing a secondary review process, and taking proactive steps to ensure long-term accuracy, we are confident that similar errors will not occur in the future. Additionally, we will continue to communicate with auditors and provide them with any necessary documentation to demonstrate the effectiveness of our corrective actions.
We appreciate your understanding and look forward to a continued commitment to maintaining the highest standards in financial aid processing. Should you have any further questions or need additional information, please feel free to contact me directly at Thomas Panas, Director of Financial Aid, Triton College, 2000 Fifth Ave, River Grove, IL 60171, or by phone at 708.456.0300 x3738.