Finding Text
FINDING 2022-004 ? COD Disbursement Dates Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Education; Office of Federal Student Aid Pass through Entity: Not applicable Program Name: TEACH Grant Federal Pell Grant Program ALN and Program Expenditures: 84.379 ($9,410) 84.063 ($684,817) Award Number: P379T223315 P063P213315 Federal Award Year: July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022 Questioned Costs: $-0- Condition Found: The Common Origination and Disbursement System (?COD?) disbursement date did not agree with the disbursement date on accounts for two of the three students receiving TEACH Grants and two of the thirty students receiving Federal Pell Grant funds in our sample. A total of four students were affected by this finding. Criteria: The disbursement date to be reported to the COD is the date that the institution credits funds to a student?s account or pays funds to a student or parent directly. Cause: The University began working with a new third-party servicer in fiscal year 2021. The Student Financial Aid Director was not aware that the third-party servicer was reporting disbursements to COD that differed from the date the University posted the funds to the students? accounts. Possible Asserted Effect: The disbursement date in COD is the date interest begins accruing on the Federal Direct Loans. In order for the interest calculation to be accurate, the disbursement date in COD should be the date the students received the loan funds. Repeat Finding: See Finding 2021-005 for a similar finding in the prior year. Statistical Sampling: The sample was not intended to be, and was not, a statistically valid sample. Recommendation: The Student Financial Aid Director should either correct the disbursement dates on the student accounts or in COD so that the two disbursement dates agree. Management Response: The Student Financial Aid Director created a ticket with the third party administrator to have them correct the disbursement dates for the students in question in COD in November 2022. The corrections were made in December 2022. Going forward, the Student Financial Aid Director will verify the disbursement dates agree when the payments are made.