Finding Text
Finding 2024-003: Eligibility – Significant Deficiency Student Financial Assistance Cluster U.S. Department of Education Award Period: June 1, 2023 – May 31, 2024 Criteria: Per 34 CFR 690.62, the amount of a student’s Pell Grant for an academic year is based upon the payment and disbursement schedules published by the Secretary for each award year. Condition: The University did not ensure the accuracy of the amount of Pell Grants granted to students who participated in the Summer 2023 semester. Cause: Counselors within the Financial Aid department calculate the yearly Pell amounts per student, as students need to be reviewed on an individual basis to ensure they had enough credits for eligibility purposes. A report is run out of Banner on an annual basis to ensure the accuracy of the Pell funds awarded. The University changed the header semester to Summer for the academic year ended 2024. The University did not change the review procedure to account for the change in the header semester and did not run an annual report to confirm the accuracy of the Pell amounts rewarded. Effect: For 2 out of 40 students sampled for eligibility testing, students received less aid than eligible for due to the summer semester being incorrectly counted. University personnel revisited all students (146 students) that received Pell Grants during Summer 2023 noting an additional 11 students with incorrect awards. This sample was not a statistical sample. Questioned Costs: Students received $26,405 less Pell grants than eligible to receive for the year ended May 31, 2024. The University awarded these funds subsequent to year end on September 4, 2024. Context: The University changed the header semester to Summer for the academic year ended May 31, 2024 Repeat Finding: No. Recommendation: The University should implement a control within the Financial Aid department that requires another individual within the department to review the Pell funds awarded by student for accuracy. For the 13 students with inaccurate Pell awards, these were corrected immediately when brought to management’s attention. Views of Responsible Officials: See management’s corrective action plan on page 51.