The last thing an institution wants to hear while undergoing an audit is, “We’ve identified some processes that aren’t compliant with Title IV rules.” In a perfect world, a compliance audit comes and goes swiftly and without any findings. But in the real world, one where regulations change regularly and it’s...

Chances are you haven’t seen your auditor around the office for quite a while — and some people might be just fine with that. After all, audits normally don’t rank highly on a financial aid professional’s list of favorite annual activities. However, the past two-plus years of pandemic gave rise to...

Is your school having trouble drawing down federal student aid for any of its locations?  Earlier this month, the General Services Administration (GSA) as well as the U.S. Department of Education (ED) officially discontinued the use of the Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number and began recognizing the Unique Entity...

Less than two weeks before it was set to end, the COVID-19 national emergency was extended by President Joe Biden. Citing ongoing public health and safety risks presented by the pandemic, the declaration published in the Federal Register on February 18, 2022, continues the emergency beyond its March 1, 2022,...

As part of the wide range of regulatory changes, the Department of Education (ED) recently altered the verification process for some Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) information. As of July 13, ED waived the requirement to verify students selected under the V1 Verification Tracking Group and will continue...

Along with wide-ranging overhauls and easy-to-implement changes to regulations surrounding Title IV programs, the Department of Education (ED) annually makes more subtle changes or additions that can pass under the radar. Big or small, any alteration to the Federal Student Aid Handbook matters. To that end, recently while we were identifying...