Finding Text
Federal Program: Student Financial Assistance Cluster
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Education
Pass-Through Entity: Not Applicable
Assistance Listing Number (ALN): 84.268
Federal Award Number: P268K241780
Federal Award Year: May 31, 2024
Criteria: Prior to making a disbursement, the school must notify students of the amount and type of Title IV funds they are expected to receive, and how and when those disbursements will be made (often referred to as an award letter or college financing plan) (34 CFR 668.165(a)(1)). Additionally, when Direct Loans or TEACH funds are being credited to a student’s account, the institution must notify the student, or parent, in writing of (1) the date and amount of the disbursement; (2) the student’s right, or parent’s right, to cancel all or a portion of that loan or loan disbursement and have the loan proceeds returned to the holder of that loan or the TEACH Grant payments returned to ED; and (3) the procedure and time by which the student or parent must notify the institution that he or she wishes to cancel the loan, TEACH Grant, or TEACH Grant disbursement (a minimum of 14 or 30 days depending on confirmation process). The notification requirement for loan funds applies only if the funds are disbursed by EFT payment or master check (34 CFR 668.165).
Condition/Context: For the 25 disbursements tested, notifications provided to students did not include the amount and type of Title IV funds they should expect to receive or the student's right, or parent's right to cancel any portion of the loans to be distributed.
The sample was not a statistically valid sample.
Cause: The University's controls surrounding notification of Title IV disbursements did not appropriately ensure the communications sent to students and parents contained all of the required information.
Effect: Students were not properly notified of the amount, type and cancellability of the Title IV funds they received.
Questioned Costs: None.
Recommendation: The University should revise its procedures to ensure that notifications of Title IV fund disbursements contain all of the information required by CFR 668.165.
Management's Response: The University agrees with the finding. Processes surrounding Title IV funds disbursement notifications were reviewed and effective revisions were put in place in August 2024.