Finding Text
2022-002 Department of Education Student Financial Aid Cluster CFDA # 84.268 ? Federal Direct Student Loans CFDA # 84.038 ? Federal Perkins Loan Program CFDA # 84.063 ? Federal Pell Grant Program 2021-2022 Award Year Eligibility ? Calculation of the Amount of Pell, Subsidized and Unsubsidized Direct Loan Assistance Awarded Material Weakness in Internal Controls over Compliance and Noncompliance Criteria: 34 CFR section 690 provides the applicable criteria and guidance on awards under the Federal Pell Grant Program. 34 CFR section 685 provides the applicable criteria and guidance on awards under the Federal Direct Student Loans Program. Condition: During testing over the eligibility requirements, the following deficiencies were noted: ?2 of 60 students were not awarded the correct amount of Pell. Both students were under awarded for the Summer 2022 semester. ?6 of 60 students were not awarded the correct amount of subsidized loans. 4 students were under awarded subsidized loans based on being packaged as the wrong year in school; 1 student was not given full amount of loan agreed to on packaging; and 1 student was over awarded subsidized loans as the student did not have financial need. ?4 of 60 students were not awarded the correct amount of unsubsidized loans. 3 of the students were under awarded unsubsidized loans based on being packaged as the wrong year in school. 1 student was awarded an unsubsidized loan which was not credited to student account but was reported in the COD system. ?1 of 60 students received subsidized/unsubsidized loans exceeding the aggregate limit. Student was over awarded subsidized loans in the 2021 fiscal year, and this was not properly corrected before 2022 aid was reported. Cause: Presentation College experienced a staffing shortage along with turnover in the financial aid department and errors occurred as part of packaging the student aid throughout the year. Effect: Students were not awarded the proper amount of aid. Questioned Costs: Pell error: $1,769 under awarded; Direct subsidized Loans: $3,485 under awarded and $3,464 over awarded; Direct unsubsidized Loans: $5,939 under awarded. Context/Sampling: A nonstatistical sample of 60 students who received Title IV disbursements out of 485 students who received aid. The total aid tested in sample was Pell grants of $151,658 and Direct loans of $349,576. Repeat Finding from Prior Year(s): Yes. Recommendation: We recommend that new staff attend training on awarding financial to gain an understanding of the process to package the aid correctly. We also recommend that a sample number of students be reviewed by someone outside of the person completing the packaging to ensure that errors are not occurring. Views of Responsible Officials: Management agrees with the finding.