Finding 1174993 (2025-001)

Material Weakness Repeat Finding
Requirement
N
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2025
Accepted
2026-02-23
Audit: 388609
Organization: Bellevue University (NE)

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: Students did not receive required notifications about Title IV fund disbursements in June 2025.
  • Impacted Requirements: Notifications must inform students of the amount, type, and timing of Title IV funds before disbursement (34 CFR 668.165(a)(1)).
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Management should ensure the new aid packaging system is configured to send timely notifications, and implement a QA review process to verify compliance.

Finding Text

Student Financial Assistance Cluster - ALN 84.268 - Federal Direct Student Loans (Direct Loan) & ALN 84.063 – Federal Pell Grant Program, U.S. Department of Education Award Year July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025 Criteria or specific requirement – Prior to making a disbursement, the school must notify students of the amount and type of Title IV funds they are expected to receive, and how and when those disbursements will be made (34 CFR 668.165(a)(1)). Condition – Students receiving Title IV funds in June 2025 were not notified by the University of the amount and type of Title IV funds they were expected to receive, and how and when those disbursements were made. Cause – The University began transitioning to a new aid packaging system in June 2025, which resulted in the lack of Title IV fund disbursement notifications being made. Effect or potential effect – Students were not notified of Title IV fund disbursements and related information for disbursements made in June 2025. Questioned costs – None Context – Out of a population of 9,294 disbursements, a sample of 25 disbursements were selected for testing. Out of these 25 disbursements, 11 students did not receive notification of the amount and type of Title IV funds they were expected to receive and how and when those disbursements were made. The 11 disbursements occurred in June 2025. The sample of disbursements was not, and was not intended to be, a statistically valid sample. Recommendation – Management should review the system configuration to ensure all Title IV fund disbursement notifications are being made timely with the required proper information included on each notification. View of responsible officials and planned corrective action – A system transition impacted the automated notification process, resulting in notifications not being generated or delivered as expected. The issue has been resolved through system changes and the Financial Aid Department has added verification of disbursement notifications to its Quality Assurance (QA) review process. This additional control ensures confirmation that notifications are generated and sent following each federal aid disbursement cycle.

Corrective Action Plan

Audit Finding Response – Disbursement Notifications Not Sent (Award Period 2024–2025) Effect / Impact Students did not receive timely notification of their federal aid disbursements for the 24-25 summer term. While the funds were disbursed accurately and timely, the absence of notifications created a compliance gap with federal notification requirements. Cause The failure to send disbursement notifications occurred as a result of a system implementation during the month of June. The system transition impacted the automated notification process, resulting in notifications not being generated or delivered as expected during one disbursement cycle. Corrective Action The issue was quickly identified and resolved. Notifications are currently being sent to students following disbursement of funds. Additionally, the Financial Aid Department has added verification of disbursement notifications to its Quality Assurance (QA) review process. This additional control ensures confirmation that notifications are generated and sent following each federal aid disbursement cycle. The enhanced QA review is currently in place and will be applied to all future disbursement cycles to prevent recurrence. After each major disbursement day, a Financial Aid Specialist will randomly select disbursement records for review. If an error is identified, the specialist will report the issue to the Financial Aid Functional Analyst and the Director of Financial Aid. Conclusion The issue was isolated to the system implementation period and has been addressed through strengthened QA controls. The Financial Aid Department is committed to ongoing monitoring to ensure continued compliance with federal notification requirements. Samantha Freeman Interim Financial Aid Director Ken Birdsong CFO

Categories

Student Financial Aid

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 1174992 2025-001
    Material Weakness Repeat

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
84.268 FEDERAL DIRECT STUDENT LOANS $74.56M
84.063 FEDERAL PELL GRANT PROGRAM $22.73M
84.007 FEDERAL SUPPLEMENTAL EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY GRANTS $1.14M
84.033 FEDERAL WORK-STUDY PROGRAM $137,672
84.379 TEACHER EDUCATION ASSISTANCE FOR COLLEGE AND HIGHER EDUCATION GRANTS (TEACH GRANTS) $11,629