Finding 524888 (2024-002)

Assistance Listing Number, Federal Agency, and Program Name - Student Financial Aid Cluster (Federal Pell Grant Program - 84.063, Federal Direct Student Loans - 84.268) Federal Award Identification Number and Year - P063P191630, P268K211630, 2024 Pass through Entity - N/A Finding Type - Significant deficiency Repeat Finding - No Criteria - When a recipient of Title IV grant or loan assistance withdraws from an institution during a payment period or period of enrollment in which the recipient began attendance, the institution must determine the amount of Title IV aid earned by the student as of the student’s withdrawal date. If the total amount of Title IV assistance earned by the student is less than the amount that was disbursed to the student or on his or her behalf as of the date of the institution’s determination that the student withdrew, the difference must be returned to the Title IV programs, and no additional disbursements may be made to the student for the payment period or period of enrollment. Condition - Of the 40 students selected for Return of Title IV (R2T4) testing, 1 student did not have the appropriate amount returned to the federal agency. Questioned Costs - The University returned $887 less than the University's calculation and the required return to the federal agency. Identification of How Questioned Costs Were Computed - The questioned costs were computed as the difference between the calculated return amount and the amount returned by the University. Context - Of the 40 students selected for R2T4 testing, 1 student had the appropriate amount of return calculated correctly, but the appropriate amount was not returned to the federal agency. Upon discovery, the office of financial aid reviewed all required returns completed in the year. The returned amount for the remaining students in the semester matched the University's calculated return. Cause and Effect - A control was lacking to ensure R2T4 amounts returned match the amount calculated. Recommendation - The University should establish a control to review the amounts calculated compared to the amounts returned to the federal agency. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions - Management agrees with this finding. To prevent human error from occurring in the future, the office of financial aid has immediately implemented the following process: When a recipient of Title IV grant or loan assistance withdraws from Eastern Michigan University and a Return of Title IV calculation is performed, a senior financial aid advisor or member of the financial aid management staff will review all required returns completed to ensure accuracy. This review will occur on a weekly basis.