Finding Text
2023-001 – Cost of Attendance Calculation. Finding Type. Immaterial Noncompliance/Significant Deficiency in Internal Control over Compliance (Eligibility). Programs. Student Financial Assistance Cluster; U.S. Department of Education; Assistance Listing Numbers 84.007, 84.033, 84.063, and 84.268; Award Numbers P007A222049, P033A222049, P063P221644, and P268K231644. Criteria. The Compliance Supplement states that the College must determine each student's Cost of Attendance (COA) which is a factor of the amount of Pell Grant a student receives. Students must be awarded on the basis of a COA comprised of allowable costs assessed for all students carrying the same academic workload. COA must be prorated for students attending less than an academic year or less than full-time in a term-based program. Condition. Two students out of the 40 tested had an incorrect COA recorded in PowerFAIDS. The error was isolated to the population of students enrolled half-time at the College. The College determined that they did not properly update COA for the year. Subsequent to initial testing, the College adjusted the COA for the half-time students whose COA was not updated for the year. This condition did not result in any students being awarded an incorrect amount of Pell. Cause. This condition was caused by insufficient review of the COA data being used by the College. Effect. As a result of this condition, the College was exposed to an increased risk that incorrect information would be used to determine students' Pell Grant award amounts. Questioned Costs. No costs were required to be questioned as a result of this finding inasmuch as our testing did not reveal any unallowed costs. Recommendation. We recommend the College implement procedures to ensure the COA used to calculate each student's Pell Grant is updated for each academic year and reviewed by an independent official. View of Responsible Officials. Management concurs with this finding and has prepared a Corrective Action Plan.