Finding Text
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Education
Federal Program Title: Student Financial Aid
ALN Number: Student Financial Aid Cluster
Award Period: July 01, 2022 through June 30, 2023
Type of Finding:
• Significant Deficiency in Internal Control over Compliance
• Other Matters
Criteria or specific requirement: The Code of Federal Regulations, 34 CFR 685.203(a) outline the maximum subsidized loan amounts for students based on their dependency status, year of education, and other factors.
Condition: During our testing, we noted 1 instance out of 40 students tested where the subsidized Stafford loan awarded to the student was less than the maximum amount they were eligible for.
Questioned Costs: $42 was under-awarded.
Context: One student was awarded less Title IV aid than the maximum they were eligible for.
Cause: The University did not appropriately determine the student's level of education when awarding the Subsidized Stafford Loan.
Effect: The student was not awarded up to their maximum amount of calculated need.
Repeat finding: No
Recommendation: We recommend the University evaluate its procedures and a policy around how level of education is determined and verified when packaging and awarding students.
Views of responsible officials: There is no disagreement with the audit finding.