Finding 1240820 (2026-001)

Significant deficiency in internal controls over compliance with verification requirements. Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Education Program Title: Federal Pell Grant Programs Assistance Listing Number: 84.063 Award Period: 2025-26 Criteria Per 34 CFR 668 Subpart E, for Federal Pell Grant (Pell Grant) awards that the school disbursed to a student selected for verification, the school must report the student’s verification status to the Department of Education (ED) via the Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) System. Condition/Context for Evaluation We selected a sample of five students who were selected for verification during the 2025-2026 fiscal year. We noted that two of the sampled students were Pell recipients, and we found that verification status had not been reported in the COD system. The University determined that this was due to an error in their financial aid management software in which the Verification Status Code was not flowing through to COD reporting for school- selected verifications (though it was for FAFSA Processing System-selected students). A manual review was not performed to ensure that verification status was appropriately reported in the COD for all Pell recipients. Effect or Potential Effect The University did not correctly report the verification status of Pell recipients who were selected for verification by the school. An internal audit was performed over 2025-2026 verifications, and management determined that error was isolated to the two students selected for audit as these were the only Pell recipients selected by the school for verification. Questioned Costs None noted. Repeat Finding Not applicable. Recommendation We recommend that the University work with financial aid management software administrator to ensure that verification status flows through to COD reporting whether students are school or FAFSA Processing System- selected. In addition, we recommend that the University implement a manual review of COD reporting for Pell recipients to ensure correct reporting. Views of Responsible Officials Management concurs with the finding and has provided the accompanying corrective action plan.