University Business - September 2007 - (Page 29)

MONEY M AT T E R S Don’t Get Distracted: Top Audit Issues in Financial Aid By Samantha Veeder G IVEN THE RECENT STU dent loan controversy in ﬁnancial aid, many campuses have been focused on reviewing preferredlender list criteria (including a formal RFP process at some institutions), meeting with campus leadership to discuss oﬃce policy, and communicating with constituencies, both on and oﬀ campus, regarding the situation. Yet, at the same time, aid oﬃces can’t pay any less attention to the standard regulatory requirements that can emerge as compliance issues and eZ-Audit submission errors during annual audits and program reviews. Therefore, aid oﬃcers should keep in mind the following top regulatory compliance issues, as reported by the U.S. Department of Education Federal Student Aid (FSA) programs, and suggestions included for avoiding these common pitfalls. SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS Arguably the most burdensome regulatory requirements are those concerning satisfactory academic progress (SAP). Besides following speciﬁc SAP regulations, institutions need to be aware of the impact of SAP on student aid eligibility, which brings another set of compliance issues. Developing an appropriate institutional policy is challenging, as it requires that academic leadership play a role in deﬁning standards that are the same as or stricter than those applicable for students enrolled in the same educational programs who are not receiving Title IV assistance. The policy must also be consistent with other similar institutional policies, such as NCAA There must be a clear division of responsibility between the ﬁnancial aid and ﬁscal ofﬁces. guidelines imposed on student athletes. Since SAP regulations are two-pronged— qualitative and quantitative—IHEs often make the mistake of strictly monitoring one element at the expense of the other. RECERTIFICATION PROCESS During the Title IV recertiﬁcation process, there are certain changes that require written approval from the U.S. Department of Education before the disbursement of Title IV aid. These include changes to the state authorizing agency or accrediting agency; changes to program oﬀerings (including the addition of nondegree programs); and changes to institutional structure (nonproﬁt versus for-proﬁt). These must be submitted, along with supporting documentation, to receive approval. FISCAL RECONCILIATION OF TITLE IV ACCOUNTS To participate in Title IV aid programs, IHEs must demonstrate ﬁnancial responsibility and annually submit audited ﬁnancial statements and a compliance audit. Financial responsibility is demonstrated by the ability to provide the services oﬀered in oﬃcial publications, properly administer FSA programs (if applicable), and meet ﬁnancial obligations. Failure to reconcile Title IV accounts is a common compliance issue. Both the ﬁnancial aid and business oﬃces must work together to compare records of disbursed amounts for each federal program. These amounts must also be reconciled to the amounts drawn down and reported to the Grants Administration and Payment System (GAPS) for campus-based aid, and the Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) system for Pell Grants and Direct Loans. If the net expended amounts diﬀer— which is likely based on timing issues related to the reporting of disbursements by the ﬁnancial aid oﬃce and the actual draw down of cash by the business oﬃce—discrepancies should be noted and resolved. To help schools comply, the U.S. Department of Education Federal Student Aid program provides monthly reconciliation worksheets for each program. Samantha Veeder, formerly the director of ﬁnancial aid at Hobart and William Smith Colleges (N.Y.), is senior consultant in the enrollment management consulting ﬁrm Scannell & Kurz. She can be reached via the ﬁrm’s website, www.scannellkurz.com. September 2007 | 29 universitybusiness.com http://www.scannellkurz.com http://universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - September 2007

University Business - September 2007
Contents
College Index
Company Index
Advisory Board
Editor's Note
People Watach
Sense of Place
Viewpoint
Human Resources
Money Matters
Financial Aid
Community Colleges
Una Fuerza to Reckon With
The Right Stuff
Making an Impact
Going VoIP
Training Your Staff to Protect SIS Data
Summer Conference Report
Business Technology
What's New
Calendar of Events
End Note

University Business - September 2007