University of St. Francis

2025-001: Incorrect Pell Disbursement Amount - Student Financial Aid Cluster Assistance Listing Number 84.007, 84.033, 84.038, 84.063, 84.268, 84.379, 93.264 Grant Period - Year Ended May 31, 2025 Criteria: According to 34 CFR 690.63 students may qualify for a maximum Pell Grant award of $7,395 for an award year. The maximum amount is awarded to students with a zero Student Aid Index (SAI) and full-time enrollment status. Students with less than full-time enrollment or more than a zero SAI are eligible for a reduced Pell award. Statistical sampling was not used when making sample selections. Questioned Costs: $0 Effect: Two students received an incorrect amount of Pell award and were under awarded an amount of $936. Cause: The University’s internal controls did not identify that the incorrect amount of Pell grant was awarded to the students. According to the calculations, the students were under awarded Pell in the amount of $936. Recommendation: We recommend the University closely monitor all student’s enrollment status to ensure all students receive financial aid are disbursed the correct amount. Condition/Context: During our student file testing we noted two students out of forty were not disbursed the correct Pell Grant award. Based on the student’s enrollment status and need, the University under awarded the students by $936. We consider this to be an instance of noncompliance relating to the Eligibility Compliance Requirement. Views of Responsible Officials: Management agrees with this finding and response is included in Corrective Action Plan.

Incorrect Pell Disbursement Corrective Action Plan: The Financial Aid Services office, in collaboration with IT, has implemented an exception report. This report is received, daily, and designed to identify any students whose Pell Grant awards may not align with their enrollment status or need. The goal is to proactively identify and correct discrepancies before disbursement to ensure accuracy. Responsible Person for Corrective Action Plan: Erika Guzman, Associate Di rector of Financial Aid Services Implementation Date of Corrective Action Plan: 6/23/2025

Criteria: According to 34 CFR 685.203 an eligible independent student in their third year of school can borrow up to $5,500 in Subsidized Direct Loans and $7,000 in Unsubsidized Direct Loans. Condition/Context: During our student file testing we noted one student out of forty was disbursed the incorrect Direct Loan amount. Based on the student’s enrollment status and need this student was eligible for $5,500 in Subsidized Loans; however, the University awarded the student $4,500 in Subsidized loans which resulted in an under award of $1,000 in Subsidized Loans. We consider this error in awarding to be an instance of noncompliance of the Eligibility Compliance Requirement. Statistical sampling was not used when making sample selections. Questioned Costs: $0 Effect: A student was under awarded Subsidized Direct Loans in the amount of $1,000. Cause: The University’s internal controls did not identify the fact that the student was under awarded Subsidized Direct Loans in the amount of $1,000. Recommendation: We recommend the University closely monitor all students who receive direct loans and verify that they receive the proper amount of Subsidized Direct Loans. Views of Responsible Officials: Management agrees with this finding and response is included in Corrective Action Plan.

Incorrect Loan Disbursement Amount Corrective Action Plan: The Financial Aid Services office, in collaboration with IT, has implemented an exception report. This report is received daily, and designed to identify any students whose subsidized and unsubsidized loan awards may not align with their enrollment status, need, and annual loan limit. The goal is to proactivety identify and correct any discrepancies before disbursement to ensure accuracy. Responsible Person for Correction Action Plan: Marlon Jones Jr., Director of Financial Aid Services Implementation Date of Corrective Action Plan: 9/18/2025

2024-001: Errors Relating to Return of Title IV Financial Aid - Student Financial Aid Cluster Assistance Listing Number 84.007, 84.033, 84.038, 84.063, 84.268, 84.379, 93.264 Grant Period - Year Ended May 31, 2024 Criteria: According to 34 CFR 668.22 when a recipient of Title IV grant or loan assistance withdraws from a College during a payment period or period of enrollment in which the recipient began attendance, the College must determine the amount of Title IV grant or loan assistance that the student earned as of the student's withdrawal date. Condition: During our return of Title IV Fund testing we noted that the University did not calculate or return Title IV for students who ceased attendance correctly for two students out of eleven. The University used the incorrect number of days for the total days in the period of enrollment when calculating the return of Title IV. We consider this to be an instance of non-compliance relating to the Special Tests and Provisions Compliance Requirement. Statistical sampling was not used when making sample selections. Questioned Costs: $129 Effect: The College did not properly calculate the return of Title IV for two students out of eleven. Cause: The University’s internal controls did not identify the fact that the incorrect number of days the student attended when calculating the return of Title IV. Recommendation: We recommend the University monitors and updates their system used for return of Title IV calculations with the correct dates. Views of Responsible Officials: Management agrees with this finding and response is included in Corrective Action Plan.

2024-001: Errors Relating to Return of Title IV Financial Aid - Student Financial Aid Cluster Assistance Listing Number 84.007, 84.033, 84.038, 84.063, 84.268, 84.379, 93.264 Grant Period - Year Ended May 31, 2024 Condition Found During our return of Title IV Fund testing we noted that the University did not calculate or return Title IV for students who ceased attendance correctly for two students out of eleven. The University used the incorrect number of days for the total days in the period of enrollment when calculating the return of Title IV.We consider this to be an instance of non-compliance relating to the Special Tests and ProvisionsCompliance Requirement. Corrective Action Plan Moving forward, the financial aid team will implement internal controls: Marlon Jones, Director of Financial Aid will process the R2T4 using COD instead of Banner. So, Marlon will ensure that the dates for fall break (fall term)/spring break (spring term) are properly utilized within the R2T4 calculations, prior to the start of the terms. After Marlon’s initial process of completing the R2T4 calculation in COD, Erika Guzman, Associate Director, will check the completed R2T4 to ensure precise calculations. This new addition will ensure that two people are determining the accuracy of the R2T4’s, as well as ensuring that the breaks during the terms, are included. Responsible Person for Corrective Action Plan Marlon Jones Jr and Erika Guzman Implementation Date of Corrective Action Plan 9/23/2024

2022-001: Errors Relating to Return of Title IV Financial Aid - Student Financial Aid Cluster Assistance Listing Number 84.007, 84.033, 84.038, 84.063, 84.268, 84.379 Grant Period - Year Ended May 31, 2022 Criteria: According to 34 CFR 668.22 when a recipient of Title IV grant or loan assistance withdraws from a College during a payment period or period of enrollment in which the recipient began attendance, the College must determine the amount of Title IV grant or loan assistance that the student earned as of the student's withdrawal date. Condition: During our return of Title IV Fund testing we noted that the College did not calculate or return Title IV for students who ceased attendance correctly for three students out of ten. The College used the incorrect number of days for the total days in the period of enrollment when calculating the return of Title IV. We consider this to be a significant deficiency relating to the Special Tests and Provisions Compliance Requirement. Statistical sampling was not used when making sample selections. See Schedule of Findings and Questioned Costs for chart/table. Questioned Costs : $0 Effect: The College did not properly calculate the return of Title IV for three students out of ten. Cause: The College's internal controls did not identify the fact that the incorrect number. Recommendation: We recommend the College monitor and update their system used for return of Title IV calculations with the correct dates. Views of Responsible Officials: Management agrees with this finding and response is included in Corrective Action Plan. of days the student attended when calculating the return of Title IV.

2022-001: Errors Relating to Return of Title IV Financial Aid - Student Financial Aid Cluster Assistance Listing Number 84.007, 84.033, 84.038, 84.063, 84.268, 84.379 Grant Period - Year Ended May 31, 2022 Condition Found: During our return of Title IV Fund testing we noted that the College did not calculate or return Title IV for students who ceased attendance correctly for three students out of ten. The College used the incorrect number of days for the total days in the period of enrollment when calculating the return of Title IV. We consider this to be a significant deficiency relating to the Special Tests and Provisions Compliance Requirement. Corrective Action Plan: It was discovered during the audit that the term break dates for Spring 2021 had been entered incorrectly, this caused certain R2T4's performed to be incorrect. All the affected records were corrected and rather than increasing the students' loans, USF funds were used to fill the void created by the incorrect calculations. This mistake was completely human error and great care will be taken to ensure the break dates are correct in the beginning of performed R2T4 calculations for the beginning of Fall 2022 and beyond. Responsible Perform for Corrective Action Plan: Bruce Foote, Director of Financial Aid, University of St. Francis, Joliet, IL 60435 Implementation Data of Corrective Action Plan: The Corrective Action Plan has been implemented immediately.

2020-001:Incorrect Federal Pell Disbursement Amount - Student Financial Aid Cluster CFDA 84.007, 84.033, 84.038, 84.063, 84.268, 84.379 Grant Period - Year Ended May 31, 2020 Criteria: According to 34 CFR 690.63 students may qualify for a maximum Pell Grant award of $6,195 for an award year. The maximum amount is awarded to students with a zero Expected Family Contribution (EFC) and full-time enrollment status. Students with less than full-time enrollment or more than a zero EFC are eligible for a reduced Pell award. Condition: During our student file testing we noted one student out of forty was not disbursed the correct Pell Grant award. The student was disbursed $1,523; however, as a half time student with zero EFC the student was eligible for $1,549. The student was under awarded Pell in the amount of $26. We consider this to be an instance of noncompliance relating to the Eligibility Compliance Requirement. Statistical sampling was not used when making sample selections. See Schedule of Findings and Questioned Costs for chart/table. Questioned Costs: $0 Effect: Student received an incorrect amount of Pell award and were under awarded an amount of $26 which will need to be awarded to the student. Cause: The University?s internal controls did not identify that the incorrect amount of Pell grant was awarded to the student. According to the Department of Education?s Pell matrix chart, the student was under awarded Pell in the amount of $26. Recommendation: We recommend the University closely monitor all student?s enrollment status to ensure all students receiving financial aid are disbursed the correct amount. In addition, awarded the student $26 in Pell that they were entitled to. Views of Responsible Officials: Management agrees with this finding and response is included in Corrective Action Plan.

2020-001: Incorrect Federal Pell Grant Amount - Student Financial Aid Cluster CFDA 84.007, 84.033, 84.038, 84.063, 84.268, 84.379 Grant Period - Year Ended May 31, 2020 Condition Found During our student file testing we noted one student out of forty was not disbursed the correct Pell Grant award. The student was disbursed $1,523; however, as a half time student with zero EFC the student was eligible for $1,549. The student was under awarded Pell in the amount of $26. We consider this to be an instance of noncompliance relating to the Eligibility Compliance Requirement. Corrective Action Plan Upon discovery of this error, the Federal Pell Grant for this student was corrected. Inevitably the BANNER software system calculates Pell, however on students not enrolled full-time, counselors use the Pell chart for less than full-time students, and apparently the wrong cell amount was taken from the chart. Counselors have been advised to carefully check less than full-time Pell amounts to ensure they are reading the amount from the correct cell. Responsible Person for Corrective Action Plan Bruce A. Foote, Executive Director of Financial Aid Services Implementation Date of Corrective Action Plan This directive was reinforced at the time the error was discovered and will be carried out on a rolling basis as we continue awarding.

2019-001:Incorrect Direct Loans Disbursement Amount - Student Financial Aid Cluster CFDA 84.007, 84.033, 84.038, 84.063, 84.268, 84.379 Grant Period - Year Ended May 31, 2019 Criteria: According to 34 CFR 685.203 an eligible dependent student in their second year of school can borrow up to $4,500 in Subsidized Direct Loans. Condition: During our student file testing we noted one student out of forty was disbursed the incorrect Subsidized Direct Loan amounts. Based on the student?s academic level and need, the University over awarded Subsidized Direct Loans in the amount of $1,000. We consider this to be an instance of noncompliance of the Eligibility Compliance Requirement. This finding is repeated and is also reported in Section IV- Summary Schedule of Prior Audit Findings as finding 2018-001. Statistical sampling was not used when making sample selections. Questioned Costs: $1,000 Effect: A student was over awarded Subsidized Direct Loans in the amount of $1,000. Cause: The University?s internal controls did not identify the fact that the student was over awarded an amount of $1,000 in Subsidized Direct Loans. Recommendation: We recommend the University closely monitor all students who receive direct loans and verify that they receive the proper amount of Subsidized Direct Loans. Views of Responsible Officials: Management agrees with this finding and response is included in Corrective Action Plan.

2019-001: Incorrect Direct Loans Disbursement Amount - Student Financial Aid Cluster CFDA 84.007, 84.033, 84.063, 84.268, Grant Period - Year Ended May 31, 2019 Condition Found During our student file testing we noted one student out of forty was disbursed the incorrect Subsidized Direct Loan amounts. Based on the student's academic level and need, the University over awarded Subsidized Direct Loans in the amount of $1,000. We consider this to be an instance of noncompliance of the Eligibility Compliance Requirement. This finding is repeated and is also reported in Section IV- Summary Schedule of Prior Audit Findings as finding 2018-001. Corrective Action Plan This error inadvertently occurred because the counselor in Financial Aid Services was informed by an advisor that the student would have sufficient credits to be at the academic level for which the loan was processed. Upon an actual review of the student's transcripts, that was not the case. All Counselors have been advised that only final credit evaluations will be accepted and used for Federal Direct Loan processing from this point forth. Responsible Person for Corrective Action Plan Bruce A. Foote Executive Director of Financial Aid Services Implementation Date of Corrective Action Plan This policy has been placed in effect immediately after the issue was discovered.

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