Finding 1175524 (2025-004)

Material Weakness Repeat Finding
Requirement
N
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2025
Accepted
2026-02-26
Audit: 389292
Organization: St. Catherine University (MN)

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: The University failed to report 1 out of 40 Pell disbursements to the COD system within the required 15 days.
  • Impacted Requirements: Compliance with Department of Education regulations for timely reporting of disbursement dates and amounts.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: The University should review and improve its procedures for reporting disbursements to ensure accuracy and timeliness.

Finding Text

Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Education Federal Program Name: Student Financial Assistance Cluster Assistance Listing Number: 84.007 – Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants 84.033 – Federal Work Study Program 84.038 – Federal Perkins Loan Program 84.063 – Federal Pell Grant Program 84.268 – Federal Direct Student Loans 84.379 - Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education Grant Federal Award Identification Number and Year: N/A Pass-Through Agency: N/A Pass-Through Number(s): N/A Award Period: June 1, 2024 to May 31, 2025 Type of Finding: • Significant Deficiency in Internal Control over Compliance • Other Matters Criteria or Specific Requirement: The Department of Education requires the University to report the disbursement dates and amounts to the Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) system within 15 days of disbursing Pell (34 CFR 690.83(b)(2) and Direct Loan (34 CFR 685.309) funds to a student. Condition: During our testing, we noted 1 of the 40 disbursements was not reported within the required 15 days.Questioned Costs: None Context: The University submits disbursement data to COD before the actual disbursement is made and it doesn’t have an effective process in place to identify when a delay in a disbursement occurs to alert them to update the information in COD. Cause: The University does not have a process in place to accurately report Pell disbursements to COD within the required 15 days. Effect: Disbursement dates in the COD system are not accurate. Repeat Finding: No Auditor’s Recommendation: We recommend the University evaluate its procedures and policies around reporting disbursements to COD to ensure that student information is reported accurately and timely. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions: There is no disagreement with the audit finding.

Corrective Action Plan

Student Financial Aid Cluster – Assistance Listing No.: Various Recommendation: We recommend the University evaluate its procedures and policies around reporting disbursements to COD to ensure that student information is reported accurately and timely. Explanation of disagreement with audit finding: There is no disagreement with the audit finding. Action taken in response to finding: Outdated Banner jobs have been updated. After review, the 3PELL disbursement on 08/28/2024 was not caused by human intervention. The early disbursement occurred because Automic ran during that period using the outdated RPEDISB job, which can, in rare cases, trigger a disbursement without a COD Document ID. The Pell grant did not officially originate in COD until 09/12/2024, so the disbursement technically occurred earlier than expected. This was due to the legacy process still running in Automic despite Ellucian phasing out RPEDISB. Name of the contact person responsible for corrective action: This change was made by our former IT Department, prior to contracting with our current IT Managed Services partner, Collegis Education. Going forward, any similar technical issues would fall under the leadership of our new CIO, Debra Lang. Planned completion date for corrective action plan: September 2024 If the United States Department of Education has questions regarding this schedule, please call LaNita Robinson at 651-690-7795.

Categories

Student Financial Aid

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 1175513 2025-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1175514 2025-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1175515 2025-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1175516 2025-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1175517 2025-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1175518 2025-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1175519 2025-004
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1175520 2025-004
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1175521 2025-004
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1175522 2025-004
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1175523 2025-004
    Material Weakness Repeat

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
84.268 FEDERAL DIRECT STUDENT LOANS $29.35M
84.063 FEDERAL PELL GRANT PROGRAM $6.84M
84.038 FEDERAL PERKINS LOAN PROGRAM_FEDERAL CAPITAL CONTRIBUTIONS $1.50M
84.160 TRAINING INTERPRETERS FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE DEAF AND INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE DEAF-BLIND $957,019
93.516 PUBLIC HEALTH TRAINING CENTERS PROGRAM $555,793
84.116 FUND FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION $499,893
84.042 TRIO STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES $408,722
84.033 FEDERAL WORK-STUDY PROGRAM $406,341
84.007 FEDERAL SUPPLEMENTAL EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY GRANTS $393,582
93.866 AGING RESEARCH $373,461
93.264 NURSE FACULTY LOAN PROGRAM (NFLP) $290,384
93.364 NURSING STUDENT LOANS $243,310
84.031 HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONAL AID $217,765
47.075 SOCIAL, BEHAVIORAL, AND ECONOMIC SCIENCES $109,402
47.074 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES $72,388
47.076 STEM EDUCATION (FORMERLY EDUCATION AND HUMAN RESOURCES) $31,933
84.379 TEACHER EDUCATION ASSISTANCE FOR COLLEGE AND HIGHER EDUCATION GRANTS (TEACH GRANTS) $943