Finding 369491 (2023-001)

Federal Programs: U.S Department of Education TEACH Grant Criteria: The University must comply with 36 CFR Section 686.31(e). Condition: We tested five TEACH Grant recipients for eligibility and noted that five sampled were not notified of their right to cancel their TEACH Grant, or the procedure and time by which the student or parent must notify the institution that he or she wishes to cancel the TEACH Grant or TEACH Grant disbursement. Cause: The University did not have a procedure in place to properly notify students or parents of their right to cancel their TEACH Grant or procedures and time by which the student or parent must notify the institution that he or she wishes to cancel their TEACH Grant or TEACH Grant disbursement. Effect: The provisions of 36 CFR Section 686.31(e) was not followed and thus five students were not notified of their right to cancel their TEACH Grant, or the procedures and time by which the student or parent must notify the institution that he or she wishes to cancel the TEACH Grant or TEACH Grant disbursement. Recommendation: We recommend that the University update their notification to students or parents to include wording about the right to cancel their TEACH Grant and the procedures and time by which the student or parent must notify the institution that he or she wishes to cancel the TEACH Grant or TEACH Grant disbursement. Views of responsible officials and planned corrective actions: We agree with this finding and recommendation. The University implemented a procedure during fiscal year ending June 30, 2024, which provided notifications to students about the right to cancel their TEACH Grant and about the procedures and time by which the student must notify the institution that he or she wishes to cancel the TEACH Grant or TEACH Grant disbursement. The procedure was implemented to fully comply with 36 CFR Section 686.31(e) on January 30, 2024. See corrective action plan.