Finding Text
Student Financial Assistance Cluster
Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, ALN 84.007;
Federal Work-Study Program, ALN 84.033
Federal Pell Grant Program, ALN 84.063
Federal Direct Student Loans, ALN 84.268
Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education Grants, ALN 84.379
U.S. Department of Education
Program Year 2023-2024
Criteria or specific requirement – Eligibility – Students must maintain good standing, or satisfactory academic progress (34 CFRs 668.16, 668.32(f), 668.34, 690.75, 675.9, 676.9, 685.200, 686.11, 20 USC 1070h; 42 CFR 57.306; 42 USC 293a(d)(2)).
Condition – A student was awarded aid who did not meet satisfactory academic progress standards per the University’s policy
Questioned costs - $6,761 – ALN 84.268
Context – Out of a population of 1,724 students who received aid, a sample of 25 students was selected for testing. Our sampling method was not, and was not intended to be, statistically valid. One student received aid who had not met satisfactory academic progress standards per the University’s policy.
Effect – Aid was awarded to one student who was not eligible to receive aid.
Identification as a repeat finding, if applicable – N/A
Recommendation – The University should update their controls to ensure no students receive aid who have not met satisfactory academic progress standards.
Views of responsible officials and planned corrective actions –
The audit noted one student was awarded financial aid despite not meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) standards. The issue stemmed from a lapse in the SAP review process at the end of the Fall 2023 term, which was primarily attributed to staff turnover and insufficient training for remaining personnel.
When the student did not enroll for the Spring term but later registered for the Summer 2024 session, there were no safeguards in place to prevent the system from awarding financial aid. This oversight highlighted a gap in the current process, emphasizing the need for a more robust mechanism to flag students who are not in compliance with SAP prior to awarding financial aid.
In the new organizational structure, the Financial Aid Business Analyst is responsible for executing the SAP process. This individual has approximately 10 years of experience working with SAP processes.
During the 2023-2024 academic year the University worked diligently to respond to a Federal Program Review from the U.S. Department of Education, (ED). As a result of the corrective actions being undertaken by the University new procedures in many areas were being drafted and implemented. A new Director of Financial Aid, with over 30 years of experience in financial aid, was hired to improve the overall student service and compliance with the Federal Title IV program. The new director commenced his duties on February 1, 2024.
Since that time the University has reorganized the financial aid office by creating an Assistant Director and Financial Aid Business Analyst position who have increased the expertise and overall years of financial aid experience. A leadership team including the Director of Financial Aid, Registrar, Director of Student Accounts, Associate Provost, Provost and Vice President for Finance and Administration was created in January 2024 and meet bi-weekly to discuss Title IV compliance topics, process improvement and customer service.
Most of the Financial Aid team’s time in the spring and summer was spent working on the new FAFSA, the team has redirected their efforts in training, standardizing, documenting and improving processes to ensure Title IV compliance and better serve students.