Finding Text
Student Financial Aid Cluster
Finding 2024-001: Disbursement of Title IV Credit Balance
Criteria and Condition: According to federal regulations, student refunds of credit balances caused by disbursement of a Title IV award (Title IV credit balance) must be returned to the borrower within 14 days. One (sample of 53) of the credit balances selected was not disbursed within the 14 day requirement.
Context: The student was owed a refund for the Fall 2023 term, but the disbursement was delayed beyond the required timeframe by one day. The delay was due to a bank holiday, which pushed disbursement to the 15th day from the date of creation of the credit.
Cause: The University’s procedures for administering credit balance refunds did not account for the bank holiday causing a delay in disbursing the funds.
Effect: The University did not comply with the requirement to disburse funds for Title IV credit balances within 14 days, resulting in a delayed refund to the student.
Recommendation: We recommend the University review its refund procedures and implement controls to ensure Title IV credit balances are disbursed timely.
Views of Responsible Officials: The University will review and update its internal procedures and controls for handling credit balances to ensure that future Title IV credit balances are disbursed to students within the 14 day window.
Questioned Costs: $0