Finding 523680 (2024-001)

Significant Deficiency
Requirement
E
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2024
Accepted
2025-02-19

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: The College struggles to retrieve all student financial aid records and lacks proper documentation for reviews and approvals.
  • Impacted Requirements: Compliance with laws and regulations, including Governmental Auditing Standards and Uniform Grant Guidance, is at risk due to inadequate internal controls.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Focus on improving systems and processes to ensure accurate retention of student records and proper documentation of compliance reviews.

Finding Text

Significant Deficiency Finding 2024-001 – Student Financial Aid Cluster, Assistance Listing # 84.007, 84.033, 84.063, 84.268 Criteria: The College’s system of financial aid and internal controls should be designed to accurately retrieve records so that the College can comply with laws and regulations and be audited under Governmental Auditing Standards and Uniform Grant Guidance. The College’s system of internal controls must appropriately document reviews and approvals of all department of education compliance requirements. Condition: The College could not timely retrieve all student records and show documentation of reviews and approvals. Cause: The College changed their system for financial aid and did not appropriately backup historical records. Although they were able to provide all the latest ISIR records, they were not able to provide original ISIR records if a student amended their ISIR. Recommendation: Particular attention should be placed on systems and process improvements necessary to ensure accurate retention of student records and documentation of reviews and approvals. Context: Of our population tested the College had 1 record unable to be retrieved out of 40 and the whole population missing support or review and approvals for various requirements. Effect: The College cannot show appropriate documentation for all records and controls. Management Response: The College concurs with this finding. Corrective Action Plan: See attached management’s corrective action plan.

Corrective Action Plan

Finding 2024-001 Student Financial Aid Cluster, Assistance Listing # 84.007, 84.033, 84.063, 84.268 Condition: The College could not timely retrieve all student records and show documentation of reviews and approvals related to student records. Corrective Action Plan: Objective: To ensure the timely retrieval of all student records and the proper documentation of reviews and approvals to meet regulatory requirements and to improve accountability in the Student Financial Aid Cluster. Corrective Actions: To address the conditions and ensure compliance with regulations, the following corrective actions will be taken: A. Improvement of Student Record Retrieval Process: • Upgrade and/or streamline systems used for storing and retrieving student records. • Conduct an audit of existing data storage systems to identify inefficiencies, technical glitches, or areas for improvement. • Implement an automated system for flagging and retrieving missing or incomplete records in real-time. B. Enhanced Documentation of Reviews and Approvals: • Revise and reinforce the process for documenting reviews and approvals for all student records, ensuring that every step is appropriately tracked and stored. • Implement a centralized digital approval system to reduce paperwork and ensure easier tracking of approvals. C. Staff Training and Awareness: • Provide comprehensive training for all staff involved in financial aid processing on the importance of timely record retrieval and proper documentation of reviews and approvals. • Implement periodic refresher courses for staff, with a focus on improving accuracy in the review and approval process. D. Enhanced Communication and Coordination: • Establish a cross-functional team responsible for monitoring the status of student records, identifying delays, and ensuring approvals are documented. • Create an internal tracking system for ensuring the timely completion of records reviews and approvals. Monitoring and Follow-Up: To ensure that the corrective actions are being implemented effectively, the College will engage in internal reporting (monthly), external audit (annually), and a third-party review (annually) Person(s) Responsible for Corrective Action Plan: Jamieta Hoskins, Director of Financial Aid Anticipated Completion Date for Corrective Action Plan: April 30, 2025

Categories

Reporting Significant Deficiency Internal Control / Segregation of Duties

Other Findings in this Audit

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
84.063 Federal Pell Grant Program $2.84M
84.268 Federal Direct Student Loans $1.10M
84.007 Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants $71,096
84.033 Federal Work-Study Program $11,628