Finding Text
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Education
Pass-through Entity: None
Federal Program: Student Financial Assistance Cluster (Federal Assistance Listing No.’s 84.007, 84.033,
84.038, 84.063, 84.268, 84.379)
Requirement: Special Tests and Provisions
Criteria:
In accordance with 34 CFR 685.304(b) and as stated in Volume 2 of the Federal Student Aid Handbook, schools are
required to provide exit counseling for student borrowers in the Direct Loan programs that have graduated, leave
school or drop below half-time enrollment within 30 days of learning that the borrower has withdrawn or failed to participate in an exit counseling session.
Condition:
During the course of our audit, we sampled 60 students that received Title IV funds and within that sample, 15
students should have received notification regarding exit counseling. We found four students were not promptly
notified of the need to complete exit counseling.
Cause of Condition:
Exit counseling notification was not sent within the required 30 day timeframe due to an oversight.
Effect:
Exit counseling provides students with essential information to prepare students for loan repayment. Additionally, information is collected from the exit counseling that is given to the student’s loan servicer which affects the grace period associated with loan repayment.
Questioned Costs:
No questioned costs.
Perspective Information:
N/A
Recommendation:
We recommend the College employ stronger oversight in this area by implementing procedures to ensure the proper notification can be sent to students who graduate or withdraw in a timely manner of when the College has learned the student is no longer enrolled.
Views of Responsible Official(s):
The College implemented the following policies in the attached Corrective Action Plan effective September 2023. The responsible college officer is Tina Wiseman, Director of Financial Aid.