Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Education
Federal Program Name: Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant Program, Federal Pell Grant Program; Federal Direct Student Loans; Federal Work Study Program
Assistance Listing Number: 84.007; 84.063; 84.268; 84.033
Federal Award Identification Number and Year: P007A171583; P007A231583; P063P190147; P063P210147; P063P220147; P063P230147; P063Q210147; P063Q220147; P268K230147; P268K240147; P033A211583; P033A231583 - 2023
Award Period: July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2023
Type of Finding:
Criteria or specific requirement: The Code of Federal Regulations, 34 CFR 668.164(h)(2) states that an institution that attempts to disburse funds by check and the check is not cashed, the institution must return the funds to the Department of Education no later than 240 days after the date it issued that check.
Condition: During our testing of refund checks, we noted student refunds of Title IV federal financial aid were outstanding more than 240 days.
Questioned costs: $96,158.
Context: During the testing of student refund checks, it was noted that 39 student refund checks were not returned to the Department of Education within the 240-day deadline.
Cause: The University did not have a process in place to return Title IV refund checks outstanding over 240 days.
Effect: The University is not in compliance with Department of Education requirements that all student refund checks that are outstanding for more than 240 days be returned to the Department of Education.
Recommendation: We recommend the University review its policies and procedures related to outstanding student refund checks to ensure they are being returned to the Department of Education after 240 days.
Views of responsible officials: There is no disagreement with the audit finding.
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