Finding Text
Assistance Listing, Federal Agency, and Program Name - Student Financial Assistance Cluster - Federal Pell Grant Program ALN 84.06 Federal Award Identification Number and Year - Various Pass through Entity - N/A Finding Type - Material weakness Repeat Finding - No Criteria - Per 34 CFR 668.16, School Districts must verify student eligibility and ensure accurate review of ISIR data before disbursing Title IV aid. Failure to do so constitutes noncompliance with federal regulations. Condition - The School District does not properly review students' institutional Student Information Records (ISIR) to determine that the student is eligible for federal student financial aid. If questioned costs are not determinable, description of why known questioned costs were undetermined or otherwise could not be reported - None Identification of How Questioned Costs Were Computed - N/A Context - The School District relies on their third party service provider to evaluate ISIRs and does not have internal control processes in place to verify eligibility prior to disbursing Title IV aid. Cause and Effect - The School District has not implemented a formal policy or procedure requiring the review and documentation of ISIR data prior to determining student eligibility for federal financial aid. Failure to review ISIRs may result in the disbursement of Title IV funds to ineligible students, leading to potential noncompliance with federal regulations and a risk of financial liability to the School District. Recommendation - We recommend that the School District enhance its internal controls over ISIR review and verification procedures. This should include staff training, implementation of standardized review checklists, and system level safeguards to prevent disbursement prior to eligibility confirmation. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions - The School District agrees with the finding. The School District is strengthening its ISIR review process by implementing standardized checklists and updating procedures to support consistent eligibility review. Staff are receiving additional training on these steps, and the District is working to put system safeguards in place to ensure eligibility is confirmed before aid is disbursed.