Franklin Pierce University

Information on the Federal Program: Federal Agency: United States Department of Education (ED) Program Name: Student Financial Assistance Cluster CFDA: 84.063 - Federal Pell Grant Program 84.268 - Federal Direct Student Loans Federal Award Identification Number: N/A Federal Award Year: Year Ended May 31, 2025 Specific Requirement: Under the Federal Pell Grant and Federal Direct Loan Programs, institutions must complete and return within 15 days the Enrollment Reporting roster file placed in their Student Aid Internet Gateway mailboxes sent by ED via National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS). Institutions must review, update and verify enrollment statuses, program information, and effective dates that appear on the Enrollment Reporting Roster file or on the Enrollment Maintenance page of the NSLDS Professional Access website. Also, an institution must notify NSLDS within 30 days after the date that the institution discovers that a direct loan was made to or on behalf of a student who was enrolled or accepted for enrollment at the institution, and the student has ceased to be enrolled on at least a half-time basis or failed to enroll on at least a half-time basis for the period for which the loan was intended (PELL, 34 CFR section 690.83(b)(2), and Direct Loans, 34 CFR section 685.309). Conditions Found: The University did not submit status changes for two students out of 18 students sampled within the required timeframe. Context: Two students were not submitted to NSLDS within the required timeframe due to their separation during off-cycle periods and the University’s failure to properly identify them, resulting in exclusion from scheduled transmissions. A review of the remaining population of 157 students not selected for testing identified four additional students with similar attributes. The sample of 18 students was selected using a nonstatistical sampling approach. Questioned Costs: None.   Cause and Effect: The University was aware of the requirement to submit student status changes timely. Due to turnover within the University’s student financial services department, scheduled transmissions for off-cycle student status changes were missed. The effect of the noted conditions results in an inaccurate last date of attendance reported to NSLDS which is used to determine the date a student is to be placed into repayment status and begin making payments on student loans. Recommendation: We recommend the University review the system generated report to verify all students are included in addition to implementing a quality control review process to be completed monthly to help ensure all student changes are reviewed in a timely manner to ensure compliance with the 60 day requirement. Views of a Responsible Official and Corrective Action Plan: Management agrees with the finding and the recommendation. See Corrective Action Plan on page 39.

Finding Number: 2020-001 Information on the Federal Program: Federal Agency: United States Department of Education (ED) Program Name: Student Financial Assistance Cluster CFDA: 84.268 - Federal Direct Student Loans Federal Award Identification Number: N/A Federal Award Year: 2020 Specific Requirement: Required by 34 CFR 688.165, an institution must notify the student, or parent, in writing of (1) the date and amount of disbursement; (2) the student?s right, or parent?s right, to cancel all or a portion of that loan; and (3) the procedure and time by which the student or parent must notify the institution that he or she wishes to cancel the loan. When funds are disbursed by electronic fund transfer and an institution does not implement an affirmative confirmation process, an institution must notify a student no earlier than 30 days before, but no later than 7 days after, crediting the student?s account of their right to cancel all or part of the loan within 30 days. Condition Found: During our audit, we noted the University did not send one disbursement notification letter informing the student, or their parent, of their right, to cancel all or a portion of their loan to four students out of 29 students tested within the required timeframe. Context: Approximately 1,700 students were awarded and disbursed Federal Direct Student Loans. Based on our sample, which was based on statistically-based samples, of 29 students who were disbursed Federal Direct Student Loans, four students or their parents did not receive one disbursement notification of their right to cancel all or a portion of their loan within the required timeframe. These four students however, did receive notification letters of their right to cancel for the other 14 disbursements made during the academic year. The related disbursements to these four student or their parents occurred outside of the University?s normal disbursement periods for providing student financial aid. As a result, this is considered as an isolated incident as these disbursements happened infrequently and at unscheduled times during the academic year. Questioned Costs: None. Cause and Effect: We noted that through our sample outlined above, there was no documentation of sending of certain notification letters to four students, or their parents, of their right to cancel for disbursements outside of the standard disbursement dates each semester. The financial aid software was not updated to reflect a disbursement was made; therefore a letter was not generated notifying those four students of their right to cancel their loan. As a result, students may not have been aware of their right to cancel their loan or the procedures and time by which the loan may be cancelled. Recommendation: When there are disbursements that fall outside of the initial disbursement process, we recommend the University implement a procedure to identify those students in order for notification letters to be generated by the Student Financial Services Department. Views of a Responsible Official and Corrective Action Plan: Management agrees with the finding and the recommendation. See Corrective Action Plan on page 36.

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