Finding Text
Information on the federal program - Student Financial Assistance Cluster; Departments of Education; Program Year 2022-2023; ALN No. 84.268, Federal Direct Loans Program; ALN No. 84.063, Federal Pell Grant Program; ALN No. 84.007, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants; ALN No. 84.379, Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education Grants; ALN No. 84.033, Federal Work-Study Program
Criteria or specific requirement – Special Tests and Provisions – Institutions are required to verify the information submitted by applicants for student financial assistance if the student is selected by the Central Processing System (CPS) and is eligible for subsidized student financial assistance programs. Selected recipients will be assigned a verification tracking group (“V1” through “V6”) which indicates what information must be verified by the institution. (34 CFR Sections 668.51-61).
Condition - The University verified students using criteria for a verification tracking group other than what was assigned by CPS.
Questioned costs – N/A, nonmonetary finding.
Context – Out of a population of 23 students who were selected for V4 verification during our examination period, the University failed to perform the V4 verification for all 23 students. Instead, the University completed V1 verification on all students.
Effect - The University did not verify the students in full compliance with 34 CFR 668.51-61.
Cause - The University incorrectly verified students as V1 instead of using their CPS assigned values of V4.
Recommendation - We recommend the University review verification tracking groups assigned by CPS prior to starting the verification process to ensure students have the correct information verified..
Views of responsible officials and planned corrective actions – Due to turnover in the financial aid office, verification was performed incorrectly prior to the employment of the current Director of Financial Aid. Since a new Director of Financial Aid has been employed, the verification tracking group of each student selected is reviewed prior to completing the verification process to ensure each student is verified in accordance with the CPS assigned tracking group.