Finding Text
Assistance Listing, Federal Agency, and Program Name 84.268 Federal Direct Student Loans, 84.379 Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education Grants (TEACH Grants), U.S. Department of Education (ED), Student Financial Assistance Cluster Federal Award Identification Number and Year - Various Pass through Entity - N/A Finding Type - Material weakness and material noncompliance with laws and regulations Repeat Finding - No Criteria - When Direct Loans or TEACH funds are being credited to a student’s account, the institution must notify the student, or parent, in writing of (1) the date and amount of the disbursement; (2) the student’s right, or parent’s right, to cancel all or a portion of that loan or loan disbursement and have the loan proceeds returned to the holder of that loan or the TEACH Grant payments returned to ED; and (3) the procedure and time by which the student or parent must notify the institution that he or she wishes to cancel the loan, TEACH Grant, or TEACH Grant disbursement (a minimum of 14 or 30 days depending on confirmation process). The notification requirement for loan funds applies only if the funds are disbursed by EFT payment or master check (34 CFR 668.165). Institutions that implement an affirmative confirmation process (as described in 34 CFR 668.165 (a)(6)(i)) must make this notification to the student or parent no earlier than 30 days before, and no later than 30 days after, crediting the student’s account at the institution with Direct Loan or TEACH Grants. Condition - The College did not notify students receiving loan or TEACH disbursements within 30 days of crediting the students' account. Questioned Costs - None If questioned costs are not determinable, description of why known questioned costs were undetermined or otherwise could not be reported - N/A Identification of How Questioned Costs Were Computed - N/A Context - The College provided notifications for the Fall 2024 semester in November 2024, more than 30 days after crediting the students' accounts. Cause and Effect - A control was lacking to ensure the notifications were provided to students within 30 days. As a result, the notifications were provided late in the Fall 2024 semester. Recommendation We recommend a control be implemented to ensure Direct Loan and TEACH notifications are provided to students timely. Views of Responsible Officials and Corrective Action Plan - The College agrees with the finding. The College will review the internal processes and procedures around student notification to ensure that all required notifications are completed within the designated timeframe. The CFO and Controller will work with the Financial Aid office to ensure the process is documented and complied with.