2023-002 – Federal Work Study (FWS) Over Award – Federal Assistance Listing No. 84.033
Recommendation: We recommend the College review its policies and procedures when packaging students for FWS.
Explanation of disagreement with audit finding: There is no disagreement with the audit finding.
Action taken in response to the finding:
The Financial Aid Office acknowledges that three students on the preliminary list of Title IV recipients provided to the auditors reflected an over-award based on the inclusion of FWS funds in their packages.
All students are initially packaged through automated packaging, with the College’s software preventing over-awards. However, many awards are adjusted during the course of an academic year, and when this happens, the software’s checks no longer operate. To ensure compliance, the Financial Aid Office conducts ongoing audits throughout the year and a final audit at the end of each year, which also incorporates a final reconciliation of the FWS program. This year, the FWS/final audit was not completed before the preliminary list was submitted to the auditors. Had the audit been completed on time, the three students would not have shown as over-awards, nor would they be counted as FWS recipients.
Corrective Action Plan
The Financial Aid Office already audits financial aid packages to prevent over-awards. The office will ensure that such audits are completed in a timelier fashion, resulting in a proper final list of Title IV recipients to be submitted for audit review.
Name(s) of the contact person(s) responsible for corrective action:
Michael Colahan, Student Financial Aid Director
Planned completion date for corrective action plan:
Effective November 2023