Finding 508387 (2024-002)

-
Requirement
E
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2024
Accepted
2024-11-19

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: A student received federal aid exceeding their cost of attendance, totaling $6,474.
  • Impacted Requirements: This violates 34 CFR 685.203, which governs federal student aid eligibility.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Implement a review step to monitor changes in enrollment status and adjust aid accordingly to prevent future overawards.

Finding Text

Need Analysis DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION ALN #: 84.268, 84.063, 84.007, 84.033 and 84.379 Federal Award Identification #: 2023-2024 Award Year Condition: 1 student was awarded aid over the cost of attendance. Criteria: 34 CFR 685.203 Questioned Costs: $6,474 Context: 1 student out of 60 was awarded aid over the cost of attendance. Cause: The student had originally registered for multiple quads. When the student changed enrollment status, and the cost of attendance was adjusted appropriately, aid was not reduced to equal the cost of attendance, resulting in an overaward of federal direct loans. Effect: The student received federal aid for which they were not eligible. Identification as repeat finding, if applicable: Not applicable Recommendation: We recommend the University add a step to the review process to identify students who have changes in enrollment status and changes in the cost of attendance to ensure any overawards are resolved. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Action: Management agrees with the finding. See corrective action plan.

Corrective Action Plan

Need Analysis Planned Corrective Action: To ensure compliance with Needs Analysis regulations for the limitations of keeping aid within the Cost of Attendance (COA) both during R2T4 calculations and in overall packaging, Point Loma will use system-specific configuration our new Workday Student Financial Aid software: • Disbursement Eligibility criteria that flags “Exceeds COA”, preventing disbursement • Automatic calculations of the COA based on the number of weeks in which the student is enrolled. (Our previous software required all manual review and adjustments to COA when a student was only enrolled in a single module.) Any changes to the number of weeks or to enrollment as a whole, will result in a Need Packaging Reaction, prompting staff to re-run Cost of Attendance calculations and Need Packaging as needed. Furthermore, Point Loma will review and revise procedures for mandatory recalculations of COA, and train staff on these procedures. Person Responsible for Corrective Action Plan: Daniel Reed, Director of Financial Aid Jamie Asche, Director of SFS Business Analysis and Compliance Joanna Castro, Associate Director of Financial Aid, GPS Anticipated Date of Completion: December 31,2024

Categories

Student Financial Aid Matching / Level of Effort / Earmarking

Other Findings in this Audit

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
84.268 Federal Direct Student Loans $44.13M
84.063 Federal Pell Grant Program $3.80M
84.038 Federal Perkins Loan Program $1.19M
84.033 Federal Work-Study Program $589,361
93.264 Nurse Faculty Loan Program (nflp) $311,094
84.379 Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education Grants (teach Grants) $306,017
84.007 Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants $265,140
93.364 Nursing Student Loans $220,730