Finding 21444 (2022-003)

Significant Deficiency
Requirement
N
Questioned Costs
$1
Year
2022
Accepted
2023-03-05

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: The College incorrectly awarded a Pell Grant amount to one student due to not updating the Estimated Family Contribution (EFC).
  • Impacted Requirements: Compliance with 34 CFR 690.62 and 2 CFR 200.303 regarding accurate financial aid disbursement and internal controls.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Implement a process to ensure all Title IV funds are awarded correctly to prevent future overpayments.

Finding Text

U.S. Department of Education 2022-003: Student Eligibility and Awarding Federal Agency: Department of Education Federal Program Name: Student Financial Assistance Cluster Assistance Listing Number: 84.063 Federal Award Identification Number and Year: P063P211182- 2022 Award Period: July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022 Type of Finding: Significant Deficiency in Internal Control over Compliance and Other Matters Criteria or specific requirement: The Code of Federal Regulations, 34 CFR 690.62 states the Pell grant for an academic year is based upon the payment and disbursement schedules published by the Secretary for each award year. The payment schedules take into account the cost of attendance, the student?s Estimated Family Contribution (EFC) and the enrollment status of the student. In addition, 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: The College awarded an incorrect Pell award amount for this student one out of the 40 students tested, which is a statistically valid sample. Questioned costs: $18,912 Context: The College awarded $6,756,956 in Pell Grant during the year. Cause: The overpayment of Pell Grant was due to the College not using information updating by the student for EFC. Effect: One student was over-awarded Pell Grant funds. Repeat Finding: This is not a repeat finding. Recommendation: We recommend that the College implements a process that will ensure all Title IV funds are awarded at proper amounts. Views of responsible officials: Management concurs with the finding and plans to correct the finding.

Corrective Action Plan

U.S. Department of Education 2022-003: Student Financial Aid Cluster ? Student Eligibility and Awarding ? Assistance Listing Number: Various Recommendation: We recommend that the College implements a process that will ensure all Title IV funds are awarded at proper amounts. Action taken in response to finding: This student was awarded an incorrect amount because a subsequent ISIR transaction was received but the Pell was not recalculated on the basis of the new information. After this discovery, we have taken the following actions in response: ? We examined our ISIR import process to make sure that our means of communicating locked transactions was functioning correctly. We found that our system for monitoring new transactions was deficient; if a set of conditions were aligned, a new transaction could slip by our notice. Implemented by August 2022. ? We added another layer of review wherein the output of both the messages we receive from our third-party verification partner and our internal reports associated with importing ISIRS are examined on a regular basis. New transactions on students with a current locked transaction are reported to staff members for further review. Implemented by August 2022. ? We wrote an ad hoc report that allows us to identify subsequent ISIR transactions and will run it regularly to reduce the likelihood of this issue occurring again. Implemented by August 2022. Name(s) of the contact person(s) responsible for corrective action: Alysa Borelli, Dean of Enrollment and Student Services. Planned completion date for corrective action plan: The corrective action plan was implemented by August of 2022.

Categories

Questioned Costs Student Financial Aid Matching / Level of Effort / Earmarking Internal Control / Segregation of Duties Eligibility Significant Deficiency

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 21441 2022-001
    Significant Deficiency Repeat
  • 21442 2022-004
    Significant Deficiency
  • 21443 2022-001
    Significant Deficiency Repeat
  • 21445 2022-004
    Significant Deficiency
  • 65268 2022-001
    Significant Deficiency Repeat
  • 65269 2022-003
    Significant Deficiency
  • 65270 2022-004
    Significant Deficiency
  • 65271 2022-001
    Significant Deficiency Repeat
  • 65272 2022-004
    Significant Deficiency
  • 65273 2022-001
    Significant Deficiency Repeat
  • 65274 2022-002
    Significant Deficiency
  • 65275 2022-004
    Significant Deficiency
  • 65276 2022-005
    Material Weakness
  • 597883 2022-001
    Significant Deficiency Repeat
  • 597884 2022-004
    Significant Deficiency
  • 597885 2022-001
    Significant Deficiency Repeat
  • 597886 2022-003
    Significant Deficiency
  • 597887 2022-004
    Significant Deficiency
  • 641710 2022-001
    Significant Deficiency Repeat
  • 641711 2022-003
    Significant Deficiency
  • 641712 2022-004
    Significant Deficiency
  • 641713 2022-001
    Significant Deficiency Repeat
  • 641714 2022-004
    Significant Deficiency
  • 641715 2022-001
    Significant Deficiency Repeat
  • 641716 2022-002
    Significant Deficiency
  • 641717 2022-004
    Significant Deficiency
  • 641718 2022-005
    Material Weakness

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
84.063 Pell Grant $6.76M
84.425 Covid-19 Heerf - Student Aid $6.07M
84.425 Covid-19 Heerf - Institutional $5.27M
84.268 William D. Ford Direct Loan Program $751,965
84.048 Perkins Title I-C (basic Grants to States) $405,392
84.007 Supplemental Educational Opportunities Grant (seog) $184,584
84.033 Federal Work Study (fws) $168,340
12.600 California Advanced Defense Ecosystems & National Consortia Effort (cadence) $156,646
93.658 Foster-Kinship Care Education $78,451
12.617 California Advances Supply Chain Analysis & Diversification Effort (cascade) $64,635
93.558 Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (tanf) $62,782
10.558 Child Care Food Program $31,974
84.063 Student Financial Aid Administrative Allowance $8,534
64.028 Veteran Assistance Title 38 $1,650