Finding 384940 (2022-001)

Late Disbursement of PLUS Loan Funds Finding Type: Significant deficiency and reportable noncompliance with laws and regulations. Criteria and Condition: During our testing of disbursements to or on behalf of students, it was determined that for one student, PLUS loan funds were not made available to the parent within 14 days. The error was not identified by the College's procedures for disbursing SFA funds. Context: In the case of the student tested, the student account had a credit balance as a result of a PLUS loan. PLUS loans require parent authorization before funds can be refunded or credited back to the student. Adequate documentation was not obtained to support the funds were made available to the parents with the 14 day requirement. Cause: The College's preparation and review process for disbursements did not timely identify the error. Effect: The College did not timely make the $1,000 credit available to the parent. This amount is not material to the federal program. Recommendation: We recommend the College evaulate its procedures for disbursing SFA funds and implement changes to verify correct documentation is obtained. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions: College will begin to utilize functionality within Colleague ERP to track new PLUS loan applications. New applications will be entered into Colleague by financial aid and visable to the business office. The new applications will be reviewed and credit balances will be issued to the parent or student as outlined in the application. This process will be completed weekly by the business office to ensure that all credit balances are distributed in the required timeframe.