Finding 1203038 (2025-003)

Material Weakness Repeat Finding
Requirement
L
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2025
Accepted
2026-03-30
Audit: 396281
Organization: Connors State College (OK)

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: The College failed to report one Pell disbursement to the COD system within the required 15 days.
  • Impacted Requirements: Compliance with federal regulations (34 CFR 690.83(b)(2) and 34 CFR 685.309) and internal controls as per Uniform Guidance 2 CFR 200.303.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: The College should review and improve its procedures for timely reporting of disbursements to ensure accurate student information.

Finding Text

Federal Agency: US Department of Education Federal Program Name: Student Financial Assistance Cluster Assistance Listing Number: 84.063, 84.268, 84.033, 84.007 Federal Award Identification Number and Year: P063P24032 - 2025, P268K252032 - 2025, P033A243410 - 2025, P007A243410 - 2025 Award Period: July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025 Type of Finding:  Compliance, Other Matter  Significant Deficiency in Internal Control over Compliance Criteria or specific requirement: The Department of Education requires institutions 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. Per Uniform Guidance 2 CFR 200.303, nonfederal entities receiving federal awards are required to establish and maintain internal controls designed to reasonably ensure compliance with federal laws, regulations, and program compliance requirements. Condition: During testing of Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) reporting, we noted one instance of noncompliance. Questioned costs: None. Context: During our testing of 40 COD disbursements we noted, one Pell disbursement was not reported within the required 15 days. Cause: The College did not have proper control or procedures in place to verify disbursements were reported to COD within the required 15 days after disbursement. Effect: A lack of timely reporting may prevent the College and other schools from having the most accurate student information which may lead to over awards. Repeat Finding: No Recommendation: We recommend the College evaluate its procedures and policies around reporting disbursements to COD to ensure that student information is reported accurately and timely. Views of responsible officials: Management agrees with the finding and has developed a plan to correct the finding.

Corrective Action Plan

Student Financial Assistance Cluster– Assistance Listing No. 84.007, 84.033, 84.063, 84.268 Recommendation: We recommend the College 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: The late reporting was the result of a known FAFSA issue that began occurring with the 24/25 FAFSA Simplification and continues with the 25/26 FAFSA. The exception occurred when the student was not presented with the HS Completion Status question on the application. Students must self-certify they have a HS Diploma or Equivalent to be eligible for Federal Student Aid. CSC exported the origination to COD. COD approved the award, but CSC was unable to post the award to the student’s account because the HS Completion Status was blank. As soon as the student corrected her FAFSA, CSC posted the award and reported it to COD. The CSC FA office now receives a report with missing HS Completion Status each day and deletes federal awards until the issue is resolved preventing late COD Reporting. Name(s) of the contact person(s) responsible for corrective action: Current Financial Aid Director: Tara Torres OR Current Assistant Financial Aid Director: Tina Ballinger Planned completion date for corrective action plan: Completed

Categories

Matching / Level of Effort / Earmarking Student Financial Aid Reporting Significant Deficiency

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 1203029 2025-001
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1203030 2025-001
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1203031 2025-002
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1203032 2025-002
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1203033 2025-002
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1203034 2025-002
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1203035 2025-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1203036 2025-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1203037 2025-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1203039 2025-004
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1203040 2025-004
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1203041 2025-004
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1203042 2025-004
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1203043 2025-005
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1203044 2025-005
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1203045 2025-005
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1203046 2025-005
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1203047 2025-006
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1203048 2025-006
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1203049 2025-006
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1203050 2025-006
    Material Weakness Repeat

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
84.063 FEDERAL PELL GRANT PROGRAM $6.54M
84.268 FEDERAL DIRECT STUDENT LOANS $3.06M
84.031 HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONAL AID $588,953
84.042 TRIO STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES $312,852
84.007 FEDERAL SUPPLEMENTAL EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY GRANTS $175,228
93.558 TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES $101,093
93.575 CHILD CARE AND DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT $82,081
84.033 FEDERAL WORK-STUDY PROGRAM $63,639
21.027 CORONAVIRUS STATE AND LOCAL FISCAL RECOVERY FUNDS $23,277
84.048 CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION -- BASIC GRANTS TO STATES $14,212