Finding Text
Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) Dates Not Reflecting Actual Disbursement Dates DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION ALN #: 84.268 and 84.063 Federal Award Identification #: 2021-22 Financial Aid Year Condition: The anticipated disbursement dates in COD were not updated with the actual dates of disbursement when reporting disbursement records for Pell and Federal Direct Loans (FDL) to COD. Criteria: 34 CFR 668.164(a) Questioned Costs: $-0- Context: 35 of 51 students tested had COD loan disbursement date errors or Pell COD date errors ranging primarily from 5-55 days. The majority of the errors were in the spring 2022 term and were noticed in March 2022. There were no errors in the amounts reported, just the date of disbursement. Cause: The anticipated disbursement dates in COD were not updated to the actual dates that Pell and FDL were disbursed to the students? accounts. This was due to a synch issue between the student information system and COD, and it occurred during staffing storages for the University. Effect: Inaccurate FDL reporting can impact a student?s interest accumulating period based on the dates of the loan disbursement dates. Inaccurate Pell reporting could allow a student to exceed their lifetime limit. Identification as repeat finding, if applicable: Not applicable Recommendation: We recommend procedures be implemented to ensure that disbursement reporting to COD be reflective of the actual disbursement dates and that the monthly review be retained to show any unsynched transactions. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Action: Management agrees with the finding. See corrective action plan.