Finding Text
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Education Federal Program Title: Student Financial Aid Assistance Listing Number: Student Financial Aid Cluster Award Period: September 1, 2024 to August 31, 2025 Type of Finding: • Material Weakness in Internal Control Over Compliance • Other Matters Criteria or Specific Requirement: The Department of Education requires the District 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 27 of the 40 disbursements tested were not reported within the required 15 days to the Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) system. In addition, we noted 2 out of the 40 disbursements tested where the disbursement date in COD did not match the student ledger. Questioned Costs: None Context: During our testing, it was noted the District had gone back to update student disbursement dates to match the student ledger; however, this was not done within the 15 days. Cause: The District identified a number of disbursement dates in COD did not match the disbursement dates per the student ledgers. Due to this, they corrected the disbursements in COD but it was not done within the 15-day-requirement. Effect or Potential Effect of Finding: Students’ interest accrues based on disbursement date reported to COD, thus interest calculation could be skewed due to the discrepancy in disbursement dates reported. The District is also not following the regulations for timely reporting. Repeat Finding: No. Recommendation: We recommend the District evaluate its procedures and policies around reporting disbursements to COD to ensure that student information is reported accurately and timely. Views of Responsible Officials: There is no disagreement with the audit finding.