Finding Text
Finding 2024-001
Federal Program:
U.S. Department of Education
Federal Pell Grant Program, Federal Assistance Listing 84.063
Criteria: The University must comply with 34 CFR 690.61(a)(1).
Condition: During our testing of 40 students for eligibility, we noted one student who was eligible for a Pell grant, but was not awarded nor disbursed a Pell grant. Upon further analysis, there were four additional students that were eligible for a Pell grant and were not awarded nor disbursed a Pell grant.
Cause: The University's Information Technology (IT) system did not properly identify students that were eligible for a Pell grant in order to be able to award and disburse a Pell grant accordingly.
Effect: The provisions of 34 CFR 690.61(a)(1) were not followed and thus a total of five students who were eligible were not awarded a Pell grant.
Questioned Costs: We identified one student in our eligibility testing that should have been disbursed $7,395 of Pell grants. Upon further analysis, the four additional students identified should have been disbursed a total of $12,752. The total questioned costs were $20,147.
Recommendation: We recommend that the University review all undergraduate students to verify students who are eligible for a Pell grant are awarded a Pell grant accordingly.
Views of responsible officials and planned corrective actions: For the year ended June 30, 2024, it was found that some students were not awarded eligible Pell grants. After the initial students were discovered, the University reviewed all students that were active for the 2023-2024 award year and reviewed their most current Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR) to determine which students may not have been awarded Pell grants correctly. Affected students were then awarded as needed and funds applied to their account.
Going forward, the University will review subsequent student ISIRs and run additional reports to ensure students are awarded the correct amount of Pell grants. This additional review will capture those who would have previously been missed.