Finding 1160316 (2025-001)

Material Weakness Repeat Finding
Requirement
N
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2025
Accepted
2025-10-10

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: Students did not receive their credit balance refunds within the required 14-day timeframe.
  • Impacted Requirements: Noncompliance with federal regulations under 34 CFR Section 668.164(h)(2) regarding timely disbursement of refunds.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Implement a control to flag late refunds for review, establish a weekly monitoring report for refund timeliness, and retrain staff on proper refund processing procedures.

Finding Text

Student Financial Assistance Cluster Assistance Listing Number 84.268 Federal Direct Student Loans and 84.063 Federal Pell Grant Program U.S. Department of Education Program Year 2024-2025 Criteria or Specific Requirement - Disbursements to or on behalf of students, 34 CFR Section 668.164(h)(2) Condition - Students did not receive refunds within the required timeframe. Questioned Costs - N/A Context - Seven out of 25 students tested received their credit balance refund more than 14 days after the credit balance was generated. All but one of these students received their refund within 16 days of the generation of the credit balance. Our sample was not, and was not intended to be, statistically valid. Effect - Noncompliance with federal regulations requiring timely disbursement of credit balance refunds Cause - Due to the high volume of credit balance refunds being processed, the University encountered operational constraints that prevented all refunds from being generated within the designated 14-day timeframe. Indication as a Repeat Finding - N/A Recommendation – To ensure timely refunds of student credit balances, the University should implement a control that flags any refund not processed before the end of the 14-day timeframe for immediate review and escalation. Additionally, establish a monitoring report to track refund timeliness weekly and reinforce accountability for processing within the required timeframe. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions – Management agrees with the finding and the Director of Student Financial Services and the Assistant Director of Student Financial Services will oversee the corrective action plan. As part of this process, they will review the daily Student Refund Report to identify and assist the personal financial counselor in expediting student refunds. The Student Financial Services team will also review and retrain on the proper procedures for processing refunds within the required time frame.

Corrective Action Plan

Student Financial Assistance Cluster Assistance Listing Number 84.268 Federal Direct Student Loans, and 84.063 Federal Pell Grant Program U.S. Department of Education Program Year 2024-2025 Criteria or Specific Requirement – Disbursements to or on behalf of students, 34 CFR Section 668.164(h)(2) Condition – Students did not receive refunds within the required timeframe Questioned Costs – N/A Context – 7 out of 25 students tested received their credit balance refund more than 14 days after the credit balance was generated. All but 1 of these students received their refund within 16 days of the generation of the credit balance. Our sample was not, and was not intended to be, statistically valid. Effect – Noncompliance with federal regulations requiring timely disbursement of credit balance refunds Cause – Due to the high volume of credit balance refunds being processed, the University encountered operational constraints that prevented all refunds from being generated within the designated 14-day timeframe. Indication as a Repeat Finding – N/A Recommendation – To ensure timely refund of student credit balances, implement a control that flags any refund not processed before the end of the 14-day timeframe for immediate review and escalation. Additionally, establish a monitoring report to track refund timeliness weekly and reinforce accountability for processing within the required timeframe. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions – Amy Schlup, Director of Student Financial Services, and Carrie Hamilton, Assistant Director of Financial Aid, will oversee the corrective action plan. As part of this process, they will review the daily Student Refund Report to identify and assist the personal financial counselor in expediting student refunds. The Student Financial Services team will also review and retrain on the proper procedures for processing refunds within the required timeframe. The corrective action plan is already in progress and will be fully implemented by October 1, 2025. Office of Financial Services PO Box 11000 Oklahoma City, OK 73136 405.425.5190 financialservices@oc.edu

Categories

Student Financial Aid Subrecipient Monitoring Matching / Level of Effort / Earmarking

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 1160314 2025-001
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1160315 2025-002
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1160317 2025-002
    Material Weakness Repeat

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
84.268 Federal Direct Student Loans $9.16M
84.063 Federal Pell Grant Program $4.45M
84.038 Federal Perkins Loan Program $484,876
84.007 Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants $294,606
84.033 Federal Work-Study Program $227,956