PublicationDate: 7/1/95 ChapterNumber: 6 ChapterTitle: Title IV Reporting Requirements SectionNumber: 5 SectionTitle: Adjusting Expenditures Reported to ED/PMS PageNumbers: 252-254 Schools may make adjustments to reported disbursements (expenditures) on open or closed awards in ED/PMS. Such adjustments may occur as a result of a school: ((Reasons for adjustments)) - paying a refund to a Title IV account when a student has withdrawn from school; - recovering funds directly from students (an overpayment to an eligible student or a payment to an ineligible student); and - making a disbursement to a student who was underpaid in a previous payment period. Adjustments resulting from audit or program review liabilities are discussed in section 6.6.6 of this book. 6.5.1 Open Awards (Current Year Adjustments) ((Recoveries and expenditures)) If an award is open and is listed on ED/PMS 272A or 272G, a school may make upward or downward adjustments by reporting the correct cumulative disbursements on ED/PMS 272A for the reporting period in which the adjustment is made. If the adjustment is a recovery, the school repays funds (makes a downward adjustment) from its current year program account(s). If the adjustment is an expenditure, the school draws additional funds (makes an upward adjustment) from its current year program account(s). (See Appendices L and P of the ED/PMS Recipient's Guide.) ((Adjustments initiated by ED)) An ED grants or program office may also initiate an adjustment to a school's reported disbursements on open awards. If a grants or program office reduces a school's award authorization amount to an amount that is less than the school's reported disbursement amount, the disbursement amount will be reduced to the revised authorization amount. The reduction will appear as a prior period adjustment on the school's ED/PMS 272 Report. ((Federal Pell Grant adjustments)) For the Federal Pell Grant Program, adjustments made by September 30 of the calendar year in which the award year ends are considered to be current year adjustments. These adjustments are reported in Processed Payment Vouchers submitted with a school's Institutional Payment Summary (IPS). (See Chapter 4 of The 1995-96 Federal Student Financial Aid Handbook.) Such adjustments will affect the school's Federal Pell Grant authorization, as reported on its Statement of Account. This adjusted authorization will, in turn, be reflected on the school's ED/PMS 272 Report. 6.5.2 Closed Awards (Prior Year Adjustments) Closed awards are those that no longer appear on a school's ED/PMS 272 Report. ((Increasing reported disburse-ments)) If an award is closed and a school needs to increase the amount of reported disbursements, the school must contact the grants or program office that issued the award and request an increase to the reported disbursement. If the grants or program office approves the increase, the award will be reinstated and the net amount of the increased disbursement amount will be posted to the school's ED/PMS account. This action will appear as a prior period adjustment on the school's ED/PMS 272 Report and will reduce the school's cash-on-hand (COH) amount. ((Reducing reported disbursements)) If an award is closed and a school needs to reduce the amount of reported disbursements, the school must contact the grants or program office that issued the award and request a decrease to the reported disbursement. If the grants or program office approves the reduction, the net amount of the reduction will be posted to the school's ED/PMS account. This action will appear as a prior period adjustment on the school's ED/PMS 272 Report and will increase the school's cash-on-hand (COH) amount. ((Federal Pell Grant adjustments)) For the Federal Pell Grant Program, adjustments made after September 30 of the calendar year in which the award year ends are considered prior year adjustments. Schools are allowed to adjust their prior year Federal Pell Grant accounts only as a result of: - an ED program review, - an audit, - a court order, or - an overpayment to a student. Once a debt to the Federal Pell Grant Program is established by a program review or audit, a school may not adjust its Federal Pell Grant expenditures on the ED/PMS 272 Report. Adjustments that must be made on the basis of a program review, audit, or court order are reported and dealt with within ED. Adjustments made as a result of overpayments to students must be reported directly to ED's Federal Pell Grant Branch. Such adjustments must be reported by September 30 of the year following the original reporting deadline. These adjustments may not be made on Processed Payment Vouchers submitted with an Institutional Payment Summary (IPS). There are isolated examples when the program office or an audit requires a school to make adjustments on closed awards from either of the two previous payment systems used by the Department of Education (EDPMTS or DFAFS). The adjustments occur when ED/PMS has decreased the award, but the school has unreported expenditures. The school would make the adjustment through the applicable ED program office. |