UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20202
____________________________________
In the Matter of Docket No. 98-149-SP
CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY,
Appearances:
Before:
The U.S. Department of Education (Department), Student Financial Assistance Programs
(SFAP) performed a program compliance review of Clark Atlanta University's administration of
the student financial assistance programs authorized under Title IV of the Higher Education Act
of 1965, as amended (HEA). 20 U.S.C. § 1070 et seq. and 42 U.S.C. § 2751 et seq.See footnote 1* On
September 21, 1998, SFAP issued a final program review determination (FPRD) for all findings
in the program review report, along with the correlating assessments of liability. On November
12, 1998, Clark Atlanta submitted an appeal of the monetary liabilities established in the FPRD.
In this correspondence, Clark Atlanta simultaneously conceded the total financial liability as
identified in the FPRD, and requested the establishment of a payment plan to repay the balance
due the Department and others over a five year period, in semi-annual payments.
In its January 4, 1999, written submission to this tribunal, Clark Atlanta reiterated that
while it does not appeal the nature and substance of the findings in the FPRD, “it appeals the
amount owed as a result of the findings.” Clark Atlanta does not further clarify or elaborate upon
this statement, except to describe a number of individual payments it alleges it has made to
various groups of students, holders of loans, and the Department, all of which relate to the five
principal findings of the program review described in the FPRD. Of these five findings, SFAP
agrees that Clark Atlanta has satisfied Findings 2 and 22 by making full payments as directed,
and that it has made partial payments on behalf of Findings 4, 6, and 8. For each of these three
with remaining liabilities, Clark Atlanta now asks that the FPRD be amended to provide the
institution with an additional twelve months to locate students, identify lenders and make the
remaining outstanding payments. Since Clark Atlanta has not contested any of the findings or
the specific dollar amounts associated with these three findings when it says it appeals the
“amount owed,” I assume this means it is appealing SFAP's demand for an immediate full
payment, as opposed to Clark Atlanta's request it be given twelve additional months to make the
payment.
This administrative proceeding is governed by 34 C.F.R. Part 668, Subpart H, titled
“Appeal Procedures for Audit Determinations and Program Review Determinations,” and the
respondent, Clark Atlanta, has the burden of establishing through the submission of written briefs
that the institution complied with program requirements. 34 C.F.R. § 668.116. (1998). Clark
Atlanta's written brief does not challenge or otherwise raise any factual or legal objections to the
findings of the FPRD; therefore, I must affirm the conclusions and financial liabilities contained
in Findings 2, 4, 6, 8, and 22 of the FPRD. 34 C.F.R. § 668.118.
With regard to the payment of these liabilities, Clark Atlanta has described partial
payments it has made on behalf of Findings 4, 6, and 8 and asks for a deferment of the remaining
liability. SFAP, however, challenges the correctness of some of those payments, stating that it
has evaluated Clark Atlanta's payment documentation and finds the institution has overpaid
some beneficiaries while underpaying others. In this instance, the burden rests with Clark
Atlanta to provide SFAP with documentation to support its position that it has made payments to
appropriate persons or institutions. On the issue of a deferment of the payments, SFAP has
already made allowances for such a contingency. The standard language found at the conclusion
of the FPRD explains that an institution may contact the Department's Accounts Receivable
Management Group and apply for a payment plan if it is unable to make full payment on its
obligation. Clark Atlanta should avail itself of this opportunity.
_________________________________
Judge Richard F. O'Hair
Dated: May 11, 1999
A copy of the attached initial decision was sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the
following:
Dr. Charles C. Teamer
Vice President for Finance and Administration &
Chief Financial Officer
Clark Atlanta University
223 James P. Brawley Drive, S.W.
Atlanta, GA 30314-4391
Denise Morelli, Esq.
Office of the General Counsel
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20202-2110