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This document discusses evaluating an institution's systems and procedures for administering Title IV funds as part of a program review. It outlines the responsibilities of key offices involved in the Title IV process, including admissions, academic advising, registrar, financial aid, and bursar/business offices. Coordination of information between these offices is essential, and the review should identify how information is shared and whether there are weaknesses in the systems.

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28 views

Description: Tags: prg-ch5

This document discusses evaluating an institution's systems and procedures for administering Title IV funds as part of a program review. It outlines the responsibilities of key offices involved in the Title IV process, including admissions, academic advising, registrar, financial aid, and bursar/business offices. Coordination of information between these offices is essential, and the review should identify how information is shared and whether there are weaknesses in the systems.

Uploaded by

anon-531060
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Program Review Guide

Chapter V. Office Systems and Coordination

An essential part of performing a thorough program review is to evaluate an institution's


systems and procedures for administering Title IV funds. The primary focus of the program
review is to identify systemic problems at an institution. Discussions should be held with the
appropriate managers to identify how the systems work, and whether there are any obvious
weaknesses. Review of the school's records will demonstrate whether the systems work as
they are designed.
The following is a basic overview of the responsibilities of offices involved in the Title IV
process at an institution:

The Admissions Office usually makes the initial determination of who is eligible to enroll,
based on institutional, accrediting, or licensing requirements.

The Academic Advising/Student Counseling Office usually decides what program of study
students are accepted into, based on information provided in the admissions process. This
office may require adjustments to students' programs (e.g., requiring remedial coursework).

The Registrar/Records Office usually confirms enrollment criteria (e.g., confirms high school
graduation), records and tracks students' status throughout their enrollment at the school.

The Financial Aid Office determines eligibility, awards financial aid, and authorizes the
disbursement of funds;

The Bursar/Business Office/Student Account Office/Fiscal Office/Comptroller's Office usually


bills students, disburses funds to students and/or their accounts, draws federal funds, maintains
fiscal records, and reports on the use of federal funds;
A very small school may have two people coordinating all these processes, whereas a larger
school will have a more complex and segmented organization. For example, a large school
may have a Bursar's Office to handle student charges, disbursements, payments and refunds.
However, a separate Comptroller's Office may be responsible for taking student
disbursement information from the Bursar's Office in order to draw federal funds, and for
completion of reports. The school may even have a separate payroll office which maintains
the records of payments made to students under FWS.
It is suggested that the reviewer determine as quickly as possible the structure of the
organization in order to plan staff interviews. It is important to discuss with different managers
how information passes between the various offices, and which office is responsible for what
tasks (e.g., Which office determines satisfactory academic progress? Is it the Financial Aid
Office, the Registrar, or perhaps the Bursar?)

July 1, 1994 Page 5-1


Program Review Guide

An institution must have systems which allow for the coordination of information between
different offices. For example, if the school's admission application collects information about
prior schooling, this information must be shared with the Financial Aid Office (FAO). Many
students report different schools on their admission application than they report to the FAO,
and the institution cannot assume that information will always be reported consistently when
the same question is asked on different forms. Similarly, students sometimes apply to the
Registrar to transfer credits from prior schools not reported to either Admissions or the FAO.
The FAO may be responsible for collecting financial aid transcripts, but failure to coordinate
information received in other offices may cause a breakdown in this process.
If a school maintains a computer system, determine if the system allows sharing of one office's
data with another. For example, does the financial aid staff have access to the admissions
data, and do they review it?
Coordination of information within offices is also important. For example, many schools have
students complete statements authorizing the retention of funds in excess of direct charges for
budgeting assistance. How does the school track which students don't complete the
retention authorization? The school may assume most students will sign the statement, and
not worry about the few that don't. If there is no adequate system of tracking, and many
students withhold authorization, the school may have a significant problem with credit
balances not paid to students.
Understanding the institution's procedures may also help determine the cause of a problem
when the responsibility for performing the task resides with more than one office. For
example, untimely refunds may be the result either of 1) the Records Office's delayed
determination that a student dropped out; 2) the FAO's delay in calculating the refund; 3) the
Business Office's delay in issuing the refund check; or 4) possibly all of the above!
The complexity of the Title IV regulations and statutes requires continuous coordination of
information offices. The discussions of the focus review items in this guide provide some
insight into specific systemic problems commonly encountered.

July 1, 1994 Page 5-2

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