Finding 43561 (2022-003)

Significant Deficiency
Requirement
E
Questioned Costs
$1
Year
2022
Accepted
2023-02-23
Audit: 44632
Organization: Montreat College (NC)
Auditor: Sikich LLP

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: Four students received incorrect Direct Loans, resulting in an over award of $2,993 due to inadequate internal controls.
  • Impacted Requirements: This finding violates eligibility compliance as outlined in 34 CFR 685.203 regarding loan disbursement limits for students.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: The College should enhance monitoring of student enrollment status to ensure accurate financial aid disbursements.

Finding Text

2022-003 Incorrect Direct Loans Disbursement Amount - Student Financial Aid Cluster Assistance Listing Number 84.007, 84.033, 84.063, 84.268, 84.038 Grant Period - Year Ended June 30, 2022 Criteria: According to 34 CFR 685.203 an eligible dependent student in their first year of school can borrow up to $3,500 in Subsidized Direct Loans and $2,000 in Unsubsidized Direct Loans. As the student receives more credit hours and advances to the next year of school the student can borrow additional Subsidized Direct Loans. Condition: During our student file testing we noted four students out of forty were not disbursed the correct Direct Loans award. Based on the student?s enrollment status and need, the College over awarded Direct Loans to the students by $2,993. We consider this to be a significant deficiency relating to the Eligibility Compliance Requirement. See Schedule of Findings and Questioned Costs for chart/table. Statistical sampling was not used when making sample selections. Questioned Costs: $2,993 Effect: Four students received an incorrect amount of Direct Loans and was over awarded an amount of $2,993. Cause: The College?s internal controls did not identify that the incorrect amount of Direct Loans was awarded to the students and students were over awarded amount of $2,993. Recommendation: We recommend the College closely monitor all student?s enrollment status to ensure all students receiving financial aid are disbursed the correct amount. Views of Responsible Officials: Management agrees with the Single Audit finding and a response is included in the Corrective Action Plan.

Corrective Action Plan

2022-003 Incorrect Direct Loans Disbursement Amount - Student Financial Aid Cluster Assistance Listing Number 84.007, 84.033, 84.063, 84.268, 84.038 Grant Period - Year Ended June 30, 2022 Condition Found During our student file testing we noted four students out of forty were not disbursed the correct Direct Loans award. Based on the student?s enrollment status and need, the College over awarded Direct Loans to the students by $2,993. We consider this to be a significant deficiency relating to the Eligibility Compliance Requirement. Corrective Action Plan Due to the institutional policy, we have updated our process to check and recalculate all loans for the current semester in the following semester by the census date. Responsible Person for Corrective Action Plan Jeremy Hurse ? Director of Student Financial Services Deborah Beck ? Associate Director of Student Financial Services Implementation Date of Corrective Action Plan 01/16/2023

Categories

Questioned Costs Student Financial Aid Eligibility Significant Deficiency Matching / Level of Effort / Earmarking Internal Control / Segregation of Duties

Other Findings in this Audit

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
84.268 Direct Loan Program $7.49M
84.063 Federal Pell Grant Program $1.61M
84.038 Federal Perkins Loan Program $602,241
84.425 Covid-19 Education Stabilization Fund $129,117
84.033 Federal Work-Study Program $85,898
84.007 Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant Program $65,401
21.019 Covid-19 Coronavirus Relief Fund $38,822