Finding 2025-002: Eligibility Student Financial Assistance Cluster U.S. Department of Education Award Period: July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025 Responsible Person: Wilbert Casaine, Executive Director of Student Financial Aid, 609-771-2211 Corrective Action Plan: During the compliance audit for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, the College had one student out of a sample of 40 who was selected for the eligibility compliance and control testing that had an incorrect Pell grant award for the Spring 2025 semester. The student was identified as having received the incorrect amount of Pell based on changes in enrollment intensity during the College’s Add/Drop period. The result of this error was that the student was under-awarded the Pell grant. Once the error was discovered, the student’s Pell grant was increased to the correct amount and reported to COD. The College recognizes the importance of reviewing student enrollment intensity changes throughout the disbursement process to ensure it does not result in errors in the calculation and disbursement of aid in accordance with 34 CFR 668.42, 34 CFR 673.5, 34 CFR 673.6, and 34 CFR 685.301. The College has a robust process for confirming enrollment intensity, which includes automated system reviews of student records, as well as manual/in-person award confirmations. In this student’s case, there were multiple course changes in a short span of time during the Spring semester’s Add/Drop period, which required multiple reviews and revisions to the student’s financial aid package. During one of the reviews, a staff member did not accurately increase the student’s Pell grant award when it was flagged by the system as being incorrect. As part of our corrective action, we have implemented additional reporting enhancements to review and confirm accurate awards. The reports are listed below: • The Office of Records and Registration will provide a comprehensive roster of student registration actions immediately following the Add/Drop period, and continuing weekly, until mid-semester, for review. • The Senior Business Analyst in the Financial Aid Office created an enhanced part-time user edit report of Pell students only who are not full-time at the end of the Add/Drop period for review. • The Analyst in the Financial Aid office developed a report to compare student enrollment intensity changes weekly, after the Add/Drop period is over, to identify and correct discrepancies in real time. The aforementioned corrective actions in the Financial Aid Office were fully operational for the Fall 2025 semester. Internal control reviews confirmed that no award errors occurred during the Fall 2025 term, validating the effectiveness of the new reporting and review structure. The College implemented the corrective action on 08/26/2025. Anticipated Completion Date: Completed in August 2025