Finding Text
Federal Program Information: Federal Direct Student Loans (ALN 84.268)
Criteria or Specific Requirement: N. Special Test and Provisions – Disbursements To or On Behalf of Students - Loan Disbursement Notifications: Federal regulations (34 CFR section 668.165 (a)(6)(i)) require that the institution notify the student, or parent, in writing of (1) the date and amount of the disbursement; (2) the student’s right, or parent’s right, to cancel all or a portion of that loan or loan disbursement and have the loan proceeds returned to the holder of that loan or the TEACH Grant payments returned to the U.S. Department of Education; and (3) the procedure and time by which the student or parent must notify the institution that he or she wishes to cancel the loan, TEACH Grant, or TEACH Grant disbursement. Institutions that implement an affirmative confirmation process (as described in 34 CFR section 668.165 (a)(6)(i)) must make this notification to the student or parent no earlier than 30 days before, and no later than 30 days after, crediting the student’s account at the institution with Direct Loan or TEACH Grants. The Federal Student Aid Handbook further clarifies that in general, there are two types of notifications a school must provide: (1) a general notification to parent Direct PLUS borrowers and all students receiving Federal Student Aid (“FSA”) funds, and (2) a notice when FSA loan funds or TEACH Grant funds are credited to a student’s account.
Condition: Certain loan notifications were not sent timely.
Cause: Administrative oversight and insufficient internal control.
Effect or Potential Effect: The University was not in compliance with loan notification requirements.
Questioned Costs: None.
Context: For 11 of 25 loan disbursements tested, the University did not notify the borrower within the required timeframe.
Identification as a Repeat Finding: There was no similar finding identified during the prior year.
Recommendation: We recommend that the University enhance its procedures and internal controls over loan notifications to ensure timely and accurate notification to borrowers.
Views of Responsible Officials: An automated batch email process has been updated to ensure that all loan disbursement notifications will be sent the same day as the loans are disbursed. In addition to the automation, calendar reminders have been set for all scheduled disbursement days. It will be the duty of the Director to ensure the process is successful and would only fall to the Assistant Director in times that the Director is unavailable.