Corrective Action Plan – The Chicago School
Identifying Number: 2023-001
Finding: Special Tests and Provisions- Lack of Maintaining Verification Documents
Applicable Regulation:
Per 34 CFR 668.57, if an applicant is selected to verify information, an institution must obtain the specified documentation.
Finding:
During testing of students selected for verification, for 1 out of 14 students selected for testing, the College could not provide the supporting verification documents.
Summary:
According to our records, after this student was selected by the Department of Education for verification, the student submitted the required verification worksheet (V4) on 8/22/22. The financial aid advisor that performed the verification left the College shortly after performing the verification and did not properly save and maintain the documents. On 8/25/23, staff reached out to the student via phone and email to retrieve a copy of the previously submitted V4 worksheet but did not receive a response. The advisor that originally verified the file is no longer employed by The Community Solution.
Corrective Action Taken or Planned:
On 7/1/23, the Financial Aid Training Department assumed the role and responsibilities of reviewing all financial aid files for accuracy. The department conducts reviews on a weekly basis with oversight provided by the Financial Aid Training Manager. As the result of each weekly audit, a report is compiled and provided to both financial aid leadership and staff. If there are any missing documents or errors found, these are tracked through to completion by the training department. Additionally, the Financial Aid team provides 1:1 training to staff if errors are uncovered during the weekly review.
The error in question did not create any financial liabilities for the student or institution as the aid received was not need based.
The institution informed RSM of this error and the corrective actions taken.
Contact Person
Lawrence McGhee, Associate Vice President of Financial Aid
lawrencemcghee@tcsedsystem.edu
Anticipated Completion Date
July 1, 2023