Finding Text
Assistance Listing, Federal Agency, and Program Name - 84.268, U.S. Department of Education, Student Financial Assistance Program - Federal Direct Student Loan Program
Federal Award Identification Number and Year - P268K241647, 2023 2024
Pass-through Entity - N/A
Finding Type - Material weakness and material noncompliance with laws and regulations
Repeat Finding - No
Criteria - For direct loan disbursement, the institution must provide timely notification to the student of the (1) date and amount of the disbursement, (2 student/parent’s right to cancel, and (3) procedure and time by which the student or parent must notify the institution that he or she wishes to cancel (34 CFR 668.165).
Condition - The College did not provide notifications to certain students related to direct loan disbursements.
Questioned Costs - None
Identification of How Questioned Costs Were Computed - N/A
Context - There were 16 students receiving direct loans in a sample of 25 students for disbursements did not receive the notification.
Cause and Effect - A control was lacking to ensure the notifications were sent to all students receiving direct loans.
Recommendation - We recommend a control be implemented to ensure notifications are sent to all students receiving direct loans.
Views of Responsible Officials and Corrective Action Plan - While the College has documented procedures in place for the disbursement of federal funds and required post disbursement notifications to students, the College did not properly send a post disbursement notification to 591 out of 659 students who received federal financial aid loans in Fall 2023. The College will adjust its internal processes to ensure all students who receive federal loans are sent post disbursement email notifications by performing a weekly review of the report that generates a names list of students that are receiving federal loans. If names exist on the report, a verification in the student record will be conducted to be sure the email was sent. After further investigation, all 608 students that received federal loans in spring semester of 2024 and all 56 students in summer of 2024 received a post disbursement notification.