Finding Text
Identification of Federal Program – 84.063 Federal Pell Grant; Department of Education; P063P211643
Criteria – The College is to accurately calculate return of Title IV funds for withdrawn students who began attendance, allocate the return of Title IV funds as required, return Title IV funds timely, and notify borrowers of returned loans. (34 CFR section 668)
Condition – During the audit, we selected eight students that withdrew after the completion of greater than 60% of the semester to determine that a return of funds was not required in the 2022-2023 fiscal year. Of that sample, two students withdrew more than 60% of the way through the semester but a return of funds was applied to the student’s account.
Cause – This condition is a result of a review not being performed to ensure that all students that withdraw after more than 60% of the semester is completed do not have return of funds applied to their account.
Effect – The return of funds amounts were applied to the student’s account even though they had completed more than 60% of the semester.
Context – During our audit procedures where we verified that the return of funds was not applied to the students’ account if they had completed more than 60% of the semester, we noted that there was a return of funds charge for the two students identified above. College management was not able to provide an explanation why the return of funds were applied.
Recommendation – We recommend the College establish a review process to ensure that when return of funds are not required, they are not applied to the student’s account.
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions – The Financial Aid Office is currently working on updating the Return of Funds procedures, that includes steps to ensure calculations are being processed properly.