Finding Text
Federal Programs: Student Financial Assistance Cluster
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Education
Pass-Through Entity: Not applicable
ALN Number: 84.007, 84.063, 84.268
Federal Award Identification Number: P007A223541, P063P222079, P268K232079
Federal Award Year: May 31, 2023
Criteria: 34 CFR 668.22 requires that when a recipient of Title IV grant or loan assistance withdraws from an institution during a payment period or period of enrollment in which the recipient began attendance, the institution must determine the amount of Title IV grant or loan assistance that the student earned as of the student's withdrawal date in accordance with Federal regulations and return the unearned portion of the grant or loan funds to the Title IV programs as soon as possible but no later than 45 days after the withdrawal date.
Condition/Context: The University had 20 students receiving federal student financial aid withdraw, of those students 12 withdrew before 60% complete and would require a return of Title IV funds. In the population of 12 students withdrawn before 60% complete, the calculation of the return of Title IV was completed correctly, however for 3 students the incorrect amount was refunded to the Department of Education. For the 3 students with the incorrect amount refunded, 1 refund was not returned within 45 days. The sample was not considered statistically valid.
Cause: The amounts refunded to the Department of Education were made based on the incorrect fields in the return of Title IV calculation. These errors were not identified and corrected in the University personnel's review of the refunds made to the Department of Education.
Effect: The amounts refunded to the Department of Education were incorrect.
Questioned Costs: Questioned costs of $5,718 were noted during testing.
Recommendation: It is recommended that University personnel review the Return of Title IV calculations and agree final amounts for refund to the refunds made to the Department of Education. A manual review should also be performed by someone other than the person who enters the information into the software in order to verify the accuracy of the calculations and the amounts refunded.
Management’s Response: The University agrees with the finding and has returned the funds for the student tested. In addition, the University reviewed every Return of Title IV Aid calculation performed and the amounts refunded for the award year ended May 31, 2023 and has corrected any additional errors discovered. The University has provided additional training on this topic to financial aid staff, has increased the number of staff members who will monitor the accuracy of the work and has modified its procedures by developing a tracking system to add another level of review and accountability. This will enable the team to be sure the refund calculations are performed correctly for all students and consistently applied.