Finding Text
Federal Program Information: Federal Direct Student Loans (ALN #84.268) Criteria or Specific Requirement (Including Statutory, Regulatory or Other Citation): Special Tests and Provisions ? Loan Disbursement Notification - Federal regulations (34 CFR section 668.165 (a)(2)(i)) require that the institution notify the student, or parent, in writing of (1) the anticipated date and amount of the disbursement; (2) the student?s right, or parent?s right, to cancel all or a portion of that loan or loan disbursement and have the loan proceeds returned to the holder of that loan or the TEACH Grant payments returned to the U.S. Department of Education; and (3) the procedure and time by which the student or parent must notify the institution that he or she wishes to cancel the loan, TEACH Grant, or TEACH Grant disbursement. Institutions that implement an affirmative confirmation process (as described in 34 CFR section 668.165 (a)(6)(i)) must make this notification to the student or parent no earlier than 30 days before, and no later than 30 days after, crediting the student?s account at the institution with Direct Loan or TEACH Grants. The Federal Student Aid Handbook further clarifies that in general, there are two types of notifications a school must provide: (1) a general notification to parent Direct PLUS borrowers and all students receiving Federal Student Aid (?FSA?) funds, and (2) a notice when FSA loan funds or TEACH Grant funds are credited to a student?s account. Condition: Instance was identified where the required loan disbursement notification was not sent to the parent borrower. Cause: Lack of administrative oversight with respect to loan disbursement notification requirements. Effect: Parent was not properly notified of award disbursements and/or their right to cancel/decline loan awards. Questioned Costs: None. Context: For 1 of 40 students, the College did not send the required loan disbursement notification to parent borrower. Identification as a Repeat Finding: This is a repeat finding of prior year finding 2021-006. Recommendation: We recommend the College enhance its policies and procedures over award notifications to ensure that notifications are sent to parent borrowers within the required timeframe. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions: The College recognizes that when Direct Loan funds are being credited to a student?s ledger account (except in the case of loan funds made as part of a post-withdrawal disbursement), the school must notify the borrower in writing (paper or electronically) of the: ? anticipated date and amount of the disbursement; ? student?s or parent?s right to cancel all or a portion of a loan, loan disbursement, disbursement and have the loan proceeds returned to the Department; and ? procedures and deadlines by which the student or parent must notify the school that he or she wishes to cancel the loan or loan disbursement. The timing of a loan notification varies depending on whether a school obtains affirmative confirmation from a student that he or she wants a loan. Affirmative confirmation is a process under which a school obtains written confirmation of the types and amounts of Title IV loans a student wants for the period of enrollment before the institution credits the student?s account with those loan funds (34 CFR 668.165(a)(6)). Presbyterian College requires students to accept Direct Loan awards in BannerWeb so notifications are sent according to requirements when a student actively confirms the loan. Disbursement notifications were sent to students after each disbursement during the 2021-2022 academic year; however, the parent was not directly notified of a PLUS loan disbursement. For the 2023-2024 academic year, a PLUS Loan Form has been created and will be sent to the parent borrower to confirm the amount requesting. As of March 6, 2023, notifications are being created to notify parents with PLUS loans of disbursement and their rights.