Comprehensive Standard 3.10.3
The institution audits financial aid programs as required by federal and state regulations.
Every other year, one half of the schools in the LSU System receive
audits of their financial aid programs by the Louisiana Legislative
Auditor’s office. LSUA was most recently audited in August
2005 [1]  . The overall purpose of
these audits has been to determine whether or not financial aid
programs have been administered properly, with adequate internal
controls in place. The scope of these audits included: (1) An
evaluation of the procedures used in selecting award recipients, and
maintaining adequate documentation supporting the selections; and, (2)
Through sampling techniques, determining if award recipients met the
applicable compliance criteria, and received the correct award amounts.
Testing has also been done to determine if the awards have been
captured in the Financial Aid Database maintained in the LSUA Office of
Financial Aid and Scholarships, and whether or not an appropriate
employee within the administering office certified the propriety of the
award. A report from these audits is sent to the U.S. Department of
Education [2] . LSUA has had no reportable audit findings on financial aid audits within the memory of anyone at the institution.
Additionally, the Legislative Auditor audits the general financial
records of the university as part of annual audits of the LSU System
financial statements. These audits cover all major federally-funded
student aid programs, and an audit opinion is issued at the statewide
level in the Louisiana Single Audit. These annual audits include tests
of compliance with applicable federal laws and regulations, and a
review of internal controls used in administering the programs. Because
LSUA has had no audit findings, it was not cited by name in the
Legislative Auditor’s Reports (see Comprehensive Standard 3.10.1).
The Office of Student Financial Assistance, State of Louisiana
(LOSFA) conducts program reviews which determine the extent to which
Louisiana State University Alexandria complies with federal and state
regulations and LOSFA policies in administering state scholarship grant
programs, and state-guaranteed student loans. LSUA had no reportable
findings in the most recent review [3] .
Documentation
[1] Memo from Legislative Auditor (July 6, 2005) (27kb)
[2] Letter from U.S. Department of Education RE: LSUA's Financial Aid Audit (127kb)
[3] LOSFA Compliance Review Report for LSUA (January 16, 2004) (9917kb)
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