In August, the U.S. Department of Education announced settlement agreements with five law schools after a Federal Student Aid investigation revealed that the schools improperly disbursed Title IV funds. The schools had distributed funds to students who were enrolled in unaccredited programs, resulting in nearly $2.9 million in ineligible disbursements made to 92 students across the five schools during the period from July 2017 to June 2022.
The five schools were: Albany Law School, Atlanta’s John Marshall School of Law, Brooklyn Law School, New England Law–Boston, and New York Law School.
The settlement agreements do not constitute an admission of wrongdoing or liability by the schools, however, the settlements will require the schools to:
- Reimburse the expected loss to the Department from the improperly disbursed funds;
- Stop disbursing federal student aid funds to students in ineligible programs; and
- Agree not to seek reimbursement or to recoup the amounts paid as a settlement from any students or former students.
- In addition, three schools that disbursed Title IV funds within the last five years must also pay a fine.
“Today’s actions demonstrate our commitment to protect the integrity of the federal student aid programs,” said FSA Chief Operating Officer Richard Cordray. “Through our ongoing work, we will continue to protect both students and taxpayers.”
Is your Financial Aid office properly equipped to ensure that your school is properly handing Title IV funds?
Compliance with federal regulations is one the most important requirements that institutions must maintain. Whether your school needs support to insure sound business and regulatory practices or you are preparing for a Department of Education Program Review, College Aid Services provides a full range of solutions, including:
- Title IV Compliance Assessments
- R2T4 Compliance Reviews
- Disbursement Audit
- Verification Audit
- File Reviews
- Responding to Department of Education Program Reviews
- Policy and Procedure Reviews
- Heightened Cash Monitoring (HCM) Support
- ED Program Review Preparation
- Financial Aid Best Practices Training Programs for Financial Aid Offices
Contact College Aid Services at 833-438-2271 or email us at info@collegeaidservices.net to learn more on how we can help.