Finding Text
Criteria: Per 34 CFR 668.54, “an institution must require an applicant whose Free Application Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) information is selected for verification by the Secretary, to verify the information specified by the Secretary.”
Per 34 CFR 668.57, “if an applicant is selected to verify any of the following information, an institution must obtain the following specified documentation (a) Adjusted Gross Income (AGI), income earned from work, or U.S. income tax paid, (b) Number of family members in household, and (c) Number of family household members enrolled in eligible postsecondary institutions.”
Additionally, for students who received Pell grants the student's verification status code must be entered in the Common Origination and Disbursements (COD) system.
Condition: Through testing a sample of 10 students selected for verification, we identified 1 student whose verification status was not appropriately coded in the COD system and 2 students who did not have the correct number of family members enrolled in eligible postsecondary institutions in the FAFSA compared to the verification worksheet.
Cause: The College performs a manual review process over verification and these items were missed in the manual review.
Effect or Potential Effect: Incorrect information included in the FAFSA could impact the amount of federal aid provided to the student. None of the exceptions noted affected the amount of aid provided to the sampled students.
Questioned Costs (if applicable): Not applicable.
Recommendation: We recommend the College provide additional training and ensure those performing the manual reviews over verification understand the importance of accurate reporting.
Views of Responsible Officials: See Management’s View and Corrective Action Plan included in this report.