Finding Text
Information on the federal program: Student Financial Assistance Cluster; United States Department of Education; Award Year 2021-22; Internal Control Deficiency; Type of Finding: Significant Deficiency in Internal Control over Compliance. Criteria: Institutions should maintain student financial aid files containing all required eligibility documentation and other supporting information. Condition: For many of the student financial aid awards we tested, several items requested were not in the student?s financial aid folders, such as most current award letters, updated student budgets, master promissory notes, loan histories, and entrance/exit counseling. The University was able to provide the requested documentation by other means, in some cases after multiple requests. Cause: The University began initial steps to implement a comprehensive system software change during the current year. The additional time required for this effort, coupled with financial aid office staffing shortages, led to the lack of appropriate review of student aid files to ensure they contained all required documentation. Effect: This issue could have led to students being over-awarded federal financial aid. Questioned Costs: n/a for this finding. Context: Our testing included 64 students. Items not available for review in student aid files, that had to be requested, included: 43 initial or updated award letters, 5 financial aid summaries, 19 entrance/exit counselings, 17 updated student budgets, 17 promissory notes, and 8 loan histories. Recommendations: Management should take steps to ensure that student files contain adequate documentation to support the federal aid amounts awarded. Responsible Official?s Response and Corrective Action Planned: see corrective action plan.