Finding Text
2022-001 Returns of Title IV Funds Cluster: Student Financial Assistance Cluster Grantor: Department of Education Award Name: Federal Direct Student Loans Award Year: July 1, 2021 ? June 30, 2022 Assistance Listing Number: 84.268 Criteria 34 CFR 668.22(j): (1) An institution must return the amount of Title IV funds as soon as possible but no later than 45 days after the date of the institution's determination that the student withdrew (2) For an institution that is not required to take attendance, an institution must determine the withdrawal date for a student who withdraws without providing notification to the institution no later than 30 days after the end of the earlier of the - (i) Payment period or period of enrollment, as appropriate; (ii) Academic year in which the student withdrew; or (iii) Educational program from which the student withdrew. Condition Through our testing of 16 students who were awarded Title IV aid and withdrew from the University, we noted the following: ? 2 instances where the student funds were not returned timely. More specifically, it was 52 days from when the 2 students withdrew from the University that the funds were returned and thus they were 7 days late. ? 6 instances where the Return of Title IV funds calculations were performed, but not subject to a second level of review and approval. Cause The University relies on PowerFaids to process the return of Title IV (R2T4) funds and has policies and procedures in place requiring a review of the calculation to be evidenced within PowerFaids. The University identified an issue in PowerFaids where the system was not identifying disbursements (and change of disbursements) for R2T4 students. Once the system issue was identified by management, they manually uploaded the R2T4 students to PowerFaids for disbursement to the federal government. However, the University did not have sufficient controls in place to ensure that the review of the Title IV return calculations were performed and the Title IV returns were issued timely. Effect The lack of timeliness or accuracy in the return of Title IV aid could result in the University accruing additional interest that will need to be assessed and paid back to the federal government. Questioned Costs None identified. Recommendation We recommend that the University implement a control to monitor the processing and management of Title IV returns to ensure that the refunds are completed timely. Management?s Views and Corrective Action Plan Management?s views and corrective action plan are included at the end of this report after the summary schedule of prior audit findings and status.