Federal Reports

Employee Integrity

We found that SOLEX College did not disburse Title IV funds only to eligible students enrolled in Title IV-eligible programs. We found that SOLEX College’s two English as a second language programs were not Title IV-eligible programs because SOLEX College did not admit only students who needed English as second language instruction to use their already existing knowledge, training, or skills for gainful employment and did not document its determinationsthat the students needed the instruction for such purposes. For award years 2012–2013 and 2013–2014, SOLEX College disbursed $1,795,500 in Pell funds to students who were enrolled in ineligible English as second language programs.

We concluded that the Higher Learning Commission did not establish a system of internal control that provided reasonable assurance that schools’ classifications of delivery methods and measurements of student learning for competency-based education programs, including direct assessment programs, were sufficient and appropriate to help the Department ensure that the schools’ programs were properly classified for the purposes of awarding Federal student aid authorized. We further reported that the Higher Learning Commission did not consistently apply its standards for reviewing competency-based education programs because its policies and procedures for substantive change applications needed strengthening. As a result of these weaknesses, the Department might not receive sufficient information about a school’s proposed competency-based education programs to make fully informed decisions about the Title IV eligibility of the programs.