Finding Text
2022-003 Significant Deficiency: Return to Title IV Funds (U.S. Department of Education, William D. Ford Direct Loan Program, ALN #84.268; Federal Pell Grant Program, ALN #84.063; Federal Supplemental Opportunity Grant Program, ALN #84.007; and TEACH Grant Program, ALN #84.379) Criteria: In accordance with 34 CFR 668.22(f), in the calculation of the percentage of payment period and/or period of enrollment completed, the total number of calendar days in a payment and/or enrollment period includes all days within the period, except that institutionally scheduled breaks of at least 5 consecutive calendar days and days in which the student was on an approved leave of absence are excluded from the total number of calendar days in a payment period and/or period of enrollment. Statement of Condition: During the audit, it was noted that the University used the incorrect number of total days in the payment period or period of enrollment in calculating the percentage of payment period and/or period of enrollment completed. Questioned Costs: The known monetary error is $74 over-awarded. Extrapolation of the error was not necessary because all withdrawals were tested during the audit. Therefore, the monetary impact of this deficiency does not exceed the reporting threshold of $25,000. Perspective Information: The audit included a detailed testing of 40 student files, of which this significant deficiency applies to 4, indicating an error rate of 10.00%. Cause and Effect: For all withdrawal calculations, the total day count was not performed per the instructions describe in the handbook. This results in a miscalculation of percentage of Title IV aid earned and could result in monetary error. Recommendation: The University should ensure that the total number of calendar days in the payment period or period of enrollment is counted correctly utilizing the guidance provided by the Compliance Supplement and the Student Financial Aid Handbook. View of Responsible Officials: The University acknowledges this finding and has created additional checks to make sure this does not happen in the future. The University identified the quantity of days completed based on the start and end date of the semester. One of the campus wide breaks was counted in the quantity of days when it did not meet the minimum amount to be counted as a break for Return to Title IV purposes. This caused a miscalculation in the percentage of Title IV earned aid.