Finding Text
Federal Agency: US Department of Education
Federal Program Title: Student Financial Assistance Cluster
Assistance Listing Number: 84.007, 84.033, 84.063, 84.268
Federal Award Identification Number: P007A213424 - 2022, P033A123424 - 2022, P063P210352 - 2022, P268K220352 - 2022
Award Period: July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022
Type of Finding:
• Material Weakness in Internal Control over Compliance; Compliance, Material Noncompliance
Criteria or specific requirement: 34 CFR 668.22(j)(1), states that an institution must return the amount of title IV funds for which it is responsible as soon as possible but no later than 45 days after the date of the institution's determination that the student withdrew. Additionally, per 2 CFR 200.303, nonfederal entities receiving federal awards are required to establish and maintain internal controls designed to reasonably ensure compliance with federal laws, regulations, and program compliance requirements.
Condition: The University did not return Title IV funds within 45-days or have adequate documentation of review.
Context: During our testing of 8 student's Return of Title IV (R2T4) calculations, we noted 4 with refunds that were not returned within the 45-day requirement. Additionally, 7 of the R2T4 calculations did not have documentation of review.
Questioned costs: N/A
Cause: The University did not establish precise controls to ensure timely return of funds related to withdrawals and the documentation of the review of calculation.
Effect: The lack of documented review of the Return of Title IV calculations being performed by the student financial aid staff could result in errors going undetected by the University.
Repeat finding: No
Recommendation: We recommend the University review its current procedures for Title IV funds and implement additional procedures to ensure refunds are returned timely. We also recommend the University implement formal review procedures to document the Return of Title IV calculations are being performed to minimize the likelihood that errors may go undetected and not be corrected in a timely manner.
Views of responsible officials: Management agrees with the finding and has developed a plan to correct the finding.