Finding Text
Assistance Listing Number, Federal Agency, and Program Name - Student Financial Assistance Cluster Federal Direct Student Loan Program ALN 84.268 and Federal Pell Grants ALN 84.063
Federal Award Identification Number and Year - Various
Pass through Entity - N/A
Finding Type - Significant deficiency
Repeat Finding - No
Criteria - If a recipient of Title IV grant or loan funds withdraws from a school after beginning attendance but before he or she has attended 60 percent of the scheduled length of the semester, the school must perform a return of Title IV funds (R2T4) calculation. If the amount disbursed to the student is greater than the amount the student earned, the unearned funds must be returned. A school must return unearned funds for which it is responsible no later than 45 days from the determination of a student's withdrawal (30 days if never attended) (34 CFR 668.22(j)(1)).
Condition - The University did not return unearned funds timely.
Questioned Costs - None
Identification of How Questioned Costs Were Computed - N/A
Context - Of the 40 students tested, there was 1 student identified for who the University had returned funds untimely (45 days if student attended, 30 days if never attended).
Cause and Effect - The University did not have a control in place to ensure all returns of Title IV refunds are initiated timely. As a result, a certain student Title IV refund calculation was not completed in a timely manner.
Recommendation - The University should implement controls to ensure returns of Title IV refunds are initiated timely.
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions - The University resolved immediately upon identification. The University checked all students and found no other student affected. The error was an isolated incident that led to the University modifiying its controls for accurate reporting going forward.