Finding Text
Finding 2025-002 Federal Program Information: Federal Direct Student Loan Program (ALN#: 84.268) Criteria or Specific Requirement: Special Tests and Provisions – Disbursements to or on Behalf of Students – Federal Student Aid (“FSA”) Credit Balances - Where disbursements created a credit balance in the student account and the student or parent did not provide an authorization for the institution to retain funds, the institution must provide the credit balance amount to the student within 14 days of the date the balance was created (34 CFR 668.164(h)). Condition: Instance was identified where the University did not return a credit balance within the required timeframe. Cause: Administrative oversight with respect to disbursement to or on behalf of students. Effect or Possible Effect: The University was not in compliance with disbursement to or on behalf of students. Questioned Costs: None. Context: For 1 of 40 students selected for testing, the University did not return a credit balance within the required 14 days. Identification of Repeat Finding: There was a similar finding, 2024-003, identified during the prior year. Recommendation: We recommend the University complete a timely review of credit balances in order to return all credit balances with respect to FSA credit balances within the required timeframe. Views of Responsible Officials: The current refund report used to monitor Title IV refunds has limitations that affected the completeness of data reviewed. Reports rely on manual batch postings, which can delay or omit certain transactions at the time of report generation. This created gaps in monitoring and potential human error. The institution is transitioning to a new system. The new program is expected to improve the accuracy and completeness of refund monitoring. System implementation and staff training are currently underway, with full adoption beginning with the 2026-2027 academic year.