Finding Text
Finding 2024-002: Information on Federal Program: United States Department of Education. Student Financial Assistance Cluster. Federal Assistance Listing Number 84.063 – Federal Pell Grant Program. Compliance Requirements: Eligibility Criteria: (34 CFR 690.62(a)) The amount of a student's Pell Grant for an academic year is based upon the payment and disbursement schedules published by the Secretary for each award year. Condition: For the year ended May 31, 2024, we reviewed general eligibility requirements for students who received Title IV program funds and noted two (2) instances where a student received Federal Pell Grant Program funds during the audit period in excess of the amount published by the Secretary. Cause: No cause could be determined. Effect: Students received more Federal Pell Grant program funds than allowed. Questioned Costs: $1,809 in 23-24 Federal Pell Grant program funds. Context: We tested forty (40) randomly selected student files totaling $75,687 Federal Pell Grant Program funds from a population of $2,323,602 Federal Pell Grant Program funds and found two (2) instances of noncompliance in the amount of $1,809. Student #E1 – The student received $2,658 in 23-24 Federal Pell Grant program funds. The student was eligible for $1,773 in 23-24 Federal Pell Grant program funds, resulting in an $885 overaward in 23-24 Federal Pell Grant program funds. For the Sprint 2024 semester the student was awarded based on a full-time status while only enrolled half-time. Student #E30 - The student received $7,395 in 23-24 Federal Pell Grant program funds. The student was eligible for $6,471 in 23-24 Federal Pell Grant program funds, resulting in a $924 overaward in 23-24 Federal Pell Grant program funds. For the Sprint 2024 semester the student was awarded based on a full-time status while only attending enough classes to be considered enrolled three-quarter time. Repeat Finding: Not a repeat finding. Recommendation: We recommend management review and revise controls over student eligibility to determine students had begun attendance in enough classes to maintain the enrollment status their Federal Pell Grant program funds were awarded on. Responsible Official’s Response and Corrective Action Planned: We agree with the finding and recommendations. Thomas University has upgraded its student information system from CAMS to Jenzabar. The Financial Aid module Jenzabar Financial Aid has been configured by the Director of Financial Aid with a group process to identify enrollment level changes. This process is programmed to adjust the student scheduled Pell to reflect the updated Pell amount based on the Pell table. This process will reduce the Pell amount if the hours adjust down even when the Pell has already disbursed. This process will also increase the Pell when the hours increase. This process is on a scheduler that runs daily. Planned Implementation Date of Corrective Action: This process was created and implemented 10/01/2024. Person Responsible for Corrective Action: Derek Haskins, Director of Financial Aid