Finding 50630 (2022-002)

Material Weakness
Requirement
L
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2022
Accepted
2023-06-23

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: Disbursement dates for Federal Pell Grant and Direct Loan funds were reported incorrectly to COD.
  • Impacted Requirements: Schools must submit accurate disbursement records within 7 to 15 days of the actual disbursement date as per federal regulations.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Ensure training on updating disbursement dates in EDExpress is effective to prevent future discrepancies.

Finding Text

Finding 2022-002 Disbursement Reporting Requirements for the Title IV Programs - Material Weakness Criteria: In accordance with the requirements at 34 C.F.R. ?685.301(a)(2), a school must submit Direct Loan disbursement records, including the disbursement amount and disbursement date, as defined in 34 C.F.R.1649a), to COD. The most recent Federal Register notice specifies that a school must submit disbursement records no earlier than 7 days prior to the disbursement date and no later than 15 days after making the disbursement. The actual disbursement date is the date that the Direct Loan funds are made available to the borrower (i.e.: posting or crediting the funds to the student?s account). Because several terms and conditions of Direct Loans are tied to the actual disbursement date, this date must be accurately reported. Statement of Condition: The actual disbursement dates of Federal Pell Grant and Direct Loan funds were not reported to COD correctly. Cause: The institution did not update disbursement dates in EDExpress and therefore shows a discrepancy between the date of disbursement on the student?s ledger and the COD disbursement date. Per the institution, not changing the disbursement date in EDExpress was a training discrepancy that has been corrected. Effect: In eighty-two (82) of two hundred fifteen (215) disbursements to students including Federal Pell Grant and Direct Loan funds, the disbursement dates were not updated in COD. Description of nature and extent of the issues reported: The disbursement dates were incorrectly reported to COD for Federal Pell Grant and Direct Loan disbursements.

Corrective Action Plan

2022-002 - Material Weakness Specific steps to be taken to correct the situation (including a timetable for performance of the CAP) or reason why corrective action is not necessary (including disagreement with the finding): As noted in the findings under ?Cause?, not going back into the EdExpress system to update the disbursement dates in COD was a training error/oversight that has been corrected. Jenzabar Financial Aid, NTMA Training Center?s new SMS, enacts group processing and direct data imports from the DoE, manages funds to and from the COD system. Flexibility to award using federal and institutional methodologies, automates COA calculations etc.. Jenzabar is a Financial Aid System built by financial aid people. It was set up in manner that is meant to be more compliant and more robust streamline process. It has automated the entire financial aid process.

Categories

Student Financial Aid Material Weakness Reporting Matching / Level of Effort / Earmarking

Other Findings in this Audit

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
84.268 Federal Direct Student Loans $809,879
84.063 Federal Pell Grant Program $594,264