Finding Text
Federal Agency: Department of Education
Federal Program: Student Financial Assistance Cluster
Assistance Listing Numbers: 84.063 – Federal Pell Grant Program
84.268 – Federal Direct Student Loans
Award Period: July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024
Type of Finding:
Other Matters Finding Related to Compliance and Significant Deficiency in Internal Control over Compliance.
Criteria or Specific Requirement:
In accordance with 34 CFR 668.22(a)(1), when a recipient of Title IV grant or loan assistance withdraws from an institution during a payment period or period of enrollment in which the recipient began attendance, the institution must determine the amount of Title IV grant or loan assistance that the student earned as of the student’s withdrawal date.
The Code of Federal Regulations, 34 CFR 668.22 defines the last date of attendance for schools that are required to take attendance and those that are not required.
Condition:
During our testing, we noted four instances out of forty students tested, where the R2T4 calculation performed by the Institution utilized incorrect withdrawal dates.
Questioned Costs:
These errors resulted in excess refunds to the Department of Education totaling $197. This amount includes $130 of insufficient refunds of direct loan funds, and $327 of excess refunds of Pell funds.
Context:
Incorrect inputs in the R2T4 calculation resulted in the calculation discrepancies.
Cause:
The University’s policies and procedures did not ensure calculations were properly performed.
Effect:
The University returned excess funds to the Department of Education.
Repeat Finding:
Yes
Recommendation:
We recommend the University review the R2T4 requirements and implement procedures to ensure the R2T4 calculations are using the correct withdrawal dates and are completed accurately.
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions:
See Corrective Action Plan prepared by the University.