Finding Text
Program Information:
Federal Direct Loan Program (ALN: 84.268)
Criteria or Specific Requirement (Including Statutory, Regulatory
or Other Citation): N. Special Tests and Provisions – Borrower Data Transmission and Reconciliation – Federal regulations require that the University submit Federal Direct Loan Program (“Direct Loan”) disbursement records for students to the Common Origination and Disbursement (“COD”) in an accurate and timely manner (no earlier than 7 days before and no later than 15 days after disbursement of funds).
Condition: During our testing of student disbursement records, we noted the following exceptions:
• For 1 of 40 students selected for Federal Direct Loan Program disbursement testing, the University did not report an accurate disbursement date within the COD system.
Cause: Administrative oversight with respect to accurate and timely reporting of federal awards.
Effect or Potential Effect: The University is not in compliance with COD reporting requirements.
Questioned Costs:
None.
Context: We tested a sample of 40 students and found an exception as noted in the condition. This is a condition identified per review of the University’s compliance with specified requirements using a statistically valid sample.
Repeat Finding: This is a repeat finding from prior year. This was reported as Finding 2022-001 in the prior year schedule of findings and questioned costs.
Recommendation: We recommend that the University ensure that Direct Loan and Pell grant disbursement dates are entered into the COD website no earlier than 7 days before and no later than 15 days after disbursement as required by federal regulations.
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions:
The University concurs with finding and will monitor internal controls to ensure that all student disbursement data occurs within 15 calendar days after payment or the University becomes aware of the need to make an adjustment. Internal controls will be maintained by reporting on a daily basis as disbursements are posted. It should be noted that 1 out of 40 students is below the 5% threshold of error set forth by the United States Department of Education.