Finding 1175705 (2025-002)

Material Weakness Repeat Finding
Requirement
N
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2025
Accepted
2026-02-27
Audit: 389607
Organization: Marymount University (VA)

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: The University failed to correctly calculate and return Title IV funds for one student, violating federal compliance requirements.
  • Impacted Requirements: Compliance with 34 CFR 668.22 regarding the return of Title IV funds when a student withdraws.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Review and improve procedures for calculating Title IV fund returns to ensure accuracy and compliance.

Finding Text

2025-002: Return of Title IV Funds Federal agency: U.S. Department of Education Federal program title: Student Financial Assistance Cluster Assistance Listing Numbers: 84.007, 84.268, 84.033, 84.038, 84.063 Award Period: July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025 Type of Finding: -Significant Deficiency in Internal Control over Compliance -Other Matters Criteria or Specific Requirement: In accordance with 34 CFR 668.22(a)(1) through (a)(5), when a recipient of Title IV grant or loan assistance withdraws from an institution during a payment period or period of enrollment in which the recipient began attendance, the institution must determine the amount of Title IV aid earned by the student as of the student’s withdrawal date. If the total amount of Title IV assistance earned by the student is less than the amount that was disbursed to the student or on his or her behalf as of the date of the institution’s determination that the student withdrew, the difference must be returned to the Title IV programs as outlined in this section and no additional disbursements may be made to the student for the payment period or period of enrollment. Condition/Context: During our testing of 26 students, which is a statistically valid sample, we noted 1 instance where the student's return of Title IV funds was not calculated and returned to the Title IV program correctly. Questioned Costs: $1,053.49 Cause: The University’s internal controls did not identify the errors for compliance with the criteria mentioned above. Effect: The University is not compliant with federal requirements and their internal procedures. Repeat Finding: No. Recommendation: We recommend the University review its return of Title IV fund procedures to ensure that calculations are performed with correct inputs as required by regulations. Views of Responsible Officials: Please refer to the attached corrective action plan.

Corrective Action Plan

Student Financial Aid Cluster – Assistance Listing Numbers 84.007, 84.033, 84.038, 84.063, and 84.268 Recommendation: We recommend the University review its return of Title IV fund procedures to ensure that calculations are performed with correct inputs as required by regulations. Explanation of disagreement with audit finding: There is no disagreement with the audit finding. Action taken in response to finding: This finding was driven by incorrect MSMS program start and end dates configured in the University’s new Student Information System (Workday). When processing Return of Title IV (R2T4) calculations, Workday relies on the program start and end dates stored in the system. Due to these dates being incorrect, the R2T4 process calculated an inaccurate number of days enrolled, which resulted in an incorrect earned percentage of Title IV aid and, consequently, an incorrect amount of aid the student was eligible to retain. To address this issue, the University has implemented internal controls to review and verify the start and end dates of each academic year in Workday prior to the start of each semester. In addition, an internal control has been added to ensure the start and end dates of each academic year are reviewed and validated as part of the Return of Title IV processing. Name(s) of the contact person(s) responsible for corrective action: Jacob Witt, AVP of Financial Aid, 703-284-1532 Courtney Carey, University Registrar, 703-284-1523 Planned completion date for corrective action plan: Completed December 2025.

Categories

Student Financial Aid Significant Deficiency Matching / Level of Effort / Earmarking Internal Control / Segregation of Duties

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 1175696 2025-001
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1175697 2025-001
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1175698 2025-001
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1175699 2025-001
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1175700 2025-001
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1175701 2025-002
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1175702 2025-002
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1175703 2025-002
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1175704 2025-002
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1175706 2025-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1175707 2025-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1175708 2025-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1175709 2025-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1175710 2025-003
    Material Weakness Repeat

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
84.268 FEDERAL DIRECT STUDENT LOANS $36.01M
84.063 FEDERAL PELL GRANT PROGRAM $3.87M
47.076 STEM EDUCATION (FORMERLY EDUCATION AND HUMAN RESOURCES) $942,916
84.031 HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONAL AID $423,133
84.038 FEDERAL PERKINS LOAN PROGRAM_FEDERAL CAPITAL CONTRIBUTIONS $344,042
12.905 CYBERSECURITY CORE CURRICULUM $318,881
93.732 MENTAL AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH EDUCATION AND TRAINING GRANTS $311,380
17.289 COMMUNITY PROJECT FUNDING/CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING $298,636
84.007 FEDERAL SUPPLEMENTAL EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY GRANTS $193,574
47.084 NSF TECHNOLOGY, INNOVATION, AND PARTNERSHIPS $169,522
93.761 EVIDENCE-BASED FALLS PREVENTION PROGRAMS FINANCED SOLELY BY PREVENTION AND PUBLIC HEALTH FUNDS (PPHF) $121,984
84.033 FEDERAL WORK-STUDY PROGRAM $69,614
93.846 ARTHRITIS, MUSCULOSKELETAL AND SKIN DISEASES RESEARCH $65,123
12.903 GENCYBER GRANTS PROGRAM $46,177
47.070 COMPUTER AND INFORMATION SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING $41,564
93.213 RESEARCH AND TRAINING IN COMPLEMENTARY AND INTEGRATIVE HEALTH $20,000