Finding Text
Assistance Listing Number. Federal Agency, and Program Name - 84.033, U.S. Department of Education, Federal Work Study and 84.268, U.S. Department of Education, Federal Direct Student Loan
Finding Type - Significant deficiency
Repeat Finding - No
Criteria - An institution is required to establish written policies and procedures that incorporate the provisions of 34 CFR 688.34 for applying and monitoring satisfactory academic progress for determining eligibility of students receiving Title IV aid. Institutions are also required to have a policy that provides notification of the results of an evaluation that impacts the students eligibility for Title IV funds.
Condition - The Seminary did not identify or provide the appropriate notification to a student that was not meeting the Seminary's policy on satisfactory academic progress (SAP).
Questioned Costs - None
Identification of How Questioned Costs Were Computed - N/A
Context - Of the 19 students tested, 1 student was identified who did not meet all of the Seminary's requirements under its satisfactory academic progress policy and who should have been placed on financial aid warning prior to the disbursement of aid; however, this did not result in an ineligible disbursement, as this was the initial semester that the student fell below the requirements included in the Seminary's policy.
Cause and Effect - The Seminary's processes and controls did not identity that a student was not meeting the satisfactory academic progress policy, which could lead to the disbursement of funds to ineligible students.
Recommendation - We recommend the Seminary review its procedures and controls to ensure that students who are not in compliance with the Seminar's satisfactory academic progress policies are identified, notified, and further monitored.
Views of Responsible Officials and Corrective Action Plan - Satisfactory academic progress is now being monitored more carefully. The satisfactory academic progress report is run out of the student financial aid system. The internally generated report is reviewed by the registrar and financial aid director to confirm that student satisfactory academic progress statuses are correct. Once the appropriate status is confirmed, the financial aid director will document students who are not in compliance with the institution’s policy and provide notifications to each student through email. The emails are recorded in the students' Jenzabar Financial Aid account.