Finding 2292 (2023-002)

Material Weakness

Requirement

Questioned Costs

Year

2023

Accepted

2023-11-21

Audit: 3929

Organization: Bellin College, Inc. (WI)

Auditor: Wipfli LLP

AI Summary

Core Issue: Ten Pell eligible students were under awarded funding for the 2022-2023 award year.
Impacted Requirements: Pell funding must align with the appropriate award year's Pell charts provided by the institution.
Recommended Follow-Up: Adjust Pell funding for affected students and ensure future awards use the correct award year guidelines.

Finding Text

Finding 2023-002 Pell Under Awarded Department of Education Student Financial Aid Cluster - grant period July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023 Questioned costs: None How the question costs were computed: N/A Condition: The examination disclosed 10 instances, out of the 10 Pell eligible student files tested, in which the Pell was under awarded. Criteria: Funding for Pell must be based on the appropriate award year's Pell charts provided by the institution. Effect: Pell eligible students were under awarded Pell funding for the 2022-2023 award year. Cause: An oversight was made by the institution. Recommendation: The institution should ensure they are using the appropriate award year when awarding their Pell eligible students. The institution should adjust the 2022-2023 Pell funding for the students above to accurately reflect the funds they were eligible to receive in the award year, as stated in each student. Materiality: Findings encountered with reporting requirements in excess of 10% of the total items tested would be considered a material instance of noncompliance. This finding is considered a material noncompliance with an error rate of 100%. View of Responsible We agree with the finding and are committed to a corrective action. Officials:

Corrective Action Plan

Finding 2023-002 Pell Under Awarded It was discovered during the annual audit that Pell Grant awards for the 2022-2023 academic year were calculated on the original Pell Grant Payment Schedules released by the US Dept of Education. The financial aid office did not see the communication from the US Dept of Education regarding the Revised Pell Grant Payment Schedules which were released later in the spring of 2022. As a result, students were under awarded. Corrective Action The Director of Financial Aid (DFA) contacted the US Dept of Education for guidance on how to rectify the issue. The DFA was instructed to request an extension of the 2022-2023 Pell Grant processing via a link on the COD website. The extension was approved. The DFA then manually processed a Pell Grant disbursement for each Pell Grant recipient to increase the total Pell Grant award for each to the amount entitled. Each of the 80 Pell Grant recipients was issued a check as payment for the balance of the Pell Grant award. The checks were distributed the week of October 16, 2023 to each student along with a written explanation of the oversight. Going forward, the DFA will periodically check the US Dept of Education Knowledge Center website to ensure any schedule revisions are obtained. Person Responsible for Corrective Action: Ginger Krummen Schraven Timing of Corrective Action: October 2023

Other Findings in this Audit

2291 2023-001

Significant Deficiency
578733 2023-001

Significant Deficiency
578734 2023-002

Material Weakness

Programs in Audit

ALN	Program Name	Expenditures
84.268	Federal Direct Student Loans	$939,109
84.063	Federal Pell Grant Program	$309,713
84.007	Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants	$15,493
84.033	Federal Work-Study Program	$10,150