Federal Program Information: Transition Program for Students with Intellectual Disabilities
into Higher Education Grant (ALN: 84.407A).
Criteria or Specific Requirement
(Including Statutory, Regulatory or
Other Citation):
The auditee must prepare a schedule of expenditures of
Federal awards (“SEFA”) for the period covered by the
auditee's financial statements which must include the total
Federal awards expended as determined in accordance with
§ 200.502. At a minimum, the schedule must: (1) List
individual Federal programs by Federal agency. For a cluster
of programs, provide the cluster name, list individual Federal
programs within the cluster of programs, and provide the
applicable Federal agency name. For R&D, total Federal
awards expended must be shown either by individual Federal
award or by Federal agency and major subdivision within the
Federal agency. (2) For Federal awards received as a
subrecipient, the name of the pass-through entity and
identifying number assigned by the pass-through entity must
be included. (3) Provide total Federal awards expended for
each individual Federal program and the Assistance Listings
Number or other identifying number when the Assistance
Listings information is not available. For a cluster of programs
also provide the total for the cluster. (4) Include the total
amount provided to subrecipients from each Federal
program. (5) For loan or loan guarantee programs described
in § 200.502(b), identify in the notes to the schedule the
balances outstanding at the end of the audit period. This is in
addition to including the total Federal awards expended for
loan or loan guarantee programs in the schedule. (6) Include
notes that describe that significant accounting policies used
in preparing the schedule, and note whether or not the
auditee elected to use the 10% de minimis cost rate as
covered in § 200.414 (2 CFR section 200.510(b)).
Condition: For certain Federal grant programs presented on the SEFA,
the total amount provided to subrecipients during the year
was not included.
Cause: Administrative oversight with respect to SEFA preparation.
Effect or Potential Effect: The University was not in compliance with SEFA presentation
and disclosure requirements.
Questioned Costs: None.
Context: The University did not properly present and disclose
approximately $162,000 of funds passed to subrecipients
under the Transition Programs for Students with Intellectual
Disabilities into Higher Education grant (ALN 84.407A) on the
SEFA for the year ended June 30, 2023.
Identification as a Repeat Finding: No similar findings noted in the prior year.
Recommendation: We recommend the University enhance its policies and
procedures to ensure that the SEFA has been prepared in
accordance with the required guidelines and that it contains
all minimum required elements that must be presented and
disclosed, in accordance with federal regulations.
Views of Responsible Officials
and Planned Corrective Actions:
The University Finance department has updated their policies
and procedures to ensure that the SEFA is being prepared in
accordance with required guidelines. We will work closely
with our grants department to ensure all required elements
are properly identified and disclosed.
Federal Program Information: Federal Direct Loan Program (ALN: 84.268)
Criteria or Specific Requirement
(Including Statutory, Regulatory or
Other Citation):
C. Cash Management - Institutions are permitted to draw
down Title IV funds prior to disbursing funds to eligible
students and parents. The institution’s request must not
exceed the amount immediately needed to disburse funds to
students or parents. A disbursement of funds occurs on the
date an institution credits a student’s account or pays a
student or parent directly with either student financial aid
funds or institutional funds. The institution must make the
disbursements as soon as administratively feasible, but no
later than 3 business days following the receipt of funds. Any
amounts not disbursed by the end of the third business day
are considered to be excess cash and generally are required
to be promptly returned to the U.S. Department of Education
(the “ED”) (34 CFR section 668.166(a)(1)). Excess cash
includes any funds received from the ED that are deposited
or transferred to the institution’s Federal account as a result
of an award adjustment, cancellation, or recovery. However,
an excess cash balance is allowed and considered tolerable if
that balance: (1) is less than one percent of its prior-year
drawdowns; and (2) is eliminated within the next 7 calendar
days (34 CFR sections 668.166(a) and (b)).
Condition: An instance was identified during the year in which funds
drawn were held in excess of the allowable time frame.
Cause: Administrative oversight with respect to Cash Management
compliance requirements.
Effect or Potential Effect: The University was not in compliance with Cash Management
compliance requirements.
Questioned Costs: None.
Context: During our testing, we identified 1 instance of cash held in
excess of allowable time frames for the Federal Direct Loan
Program, as noted below:
Date of Excess Cash 6/13/23
Drawdown Amount $ 4,665
Days in Excess 25
Identification of Repeat Finding: No similar findings noted in the prior year.
Recommendation: We recommend the University enhance its procedures over to
ensure that excess cash is returned timely, in accordance
with federal regulations.
Views of Responsible Officials and
Planned Corrective Actions:
A turnover in personnel led to inconsistent refund processing
for the Summer 2023 semester. There are multiple terms
within the summer semester and the new personnel did not
run refund files during the first term but ran them during the
2nd term. This is when the loan disbursement was realized
and returned. Policies have been set in place outlining
disbursement dates that coincide with refund processing
dates.
Federal Program Information: Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (ALN:
84.007), Federal Work-Study Program (ALN: 84.033), Federal
Pell Grant Program (ALN: 84.063), Federal Direct Student
Loans (ALN: 84.268)
Criteria or Specific Requirement
(Including Statutory, Regulatory
or Other Citation):
E. Eligibility – Calculation of Benefits – Awards must be
coordinated among the various programs and with other
federal and nonfederal aid (need and non-need based aid) to
ensure that total aid is not awarded in excess of the student’s
financial need or cost of attendance (“COA”) (34 CFR 668.42,
FWS, and FSEOG, 34 CFR 673.5 and 673.6; Direct Loan, 34 CFR
685.301). For Title IV programs, the COA is generally the sum
of the following: tuition and fees; an allowance for books,
supplies, transportation, and miscellaneous personal
expenses; an allowance for room and board; when applicable,
allowances for costs for dependent care; costs associated
with study abroad and cooperative education; costs related
to disabilities; and fees charged for student loans.
Condition: For certain students identified through our testing, the
University did not properly calculate the student’s COA.
Cause: Administrative oversight and lack of sufficient internal
controls with respect to Title IV aid award eligibility.
Effect or Potential Effect: The University is not in compliance with aid awarding criteria
under the eligibility requirements. Failure to properly
determine students’ COAs and calculate eligible award
amounts could result in improper disbursements of Title IV
funds.
Questioned Costs: None.
Context: For 16 of 25 students selected for testing, the University
either did not properly calculate the student’s COA or was
unable to support the components of the student’s COA that
was used for awarding and disbursing Title IV aid. For all
students noted with COA issues, we determined that there
were no overawards of federal and nonfederal aid.
Identification as a Repeat Finding: No similar findings noted in the prior year.
Recommendation: We recommend that the University enhance its policies,
procedures and internal controls to ensure that Title IV aid is
properly calculated, awarded and disbursed, consistent with
federal regulations.
Views of Responsible Officials
and Planned Corrective Actions:
For the 2023-2024 academic year Cost of Attendance Budgets
were reviewed and tested to correct any miscalculations and
omissions. Pell Budgets were updated to correctly
differentiate program tuition and fees. Testing for 2024-2025
academic year has been updated and reviewed to accurately
calculate Cost of Attendance Budgets. In some of the findings
it was later found that due to changes made in the student’s
record, the record should have run through the dynamic
redetermination process to update the budget. The staff has
been retrained in this process.
The process for summer periods of enrollment has been
reviewed and revised to flag students who initially applied
and or registered for summer classes and subsequently did
not register or dropped the classes during the add/drop
period and the summer period of enrollment remained,
thereby calculating a Cost of Attendance for summer.
Federal Program Information: Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (ALN:
84.007), Federal Work-Study Program (ALN: 84.033), Federal
Pell Grant Program (ALN: 84.063), Federal Direct Student
Loans (ALN: 84.268)
Criteria or Specific Requirement
(Including Statutory, Regulatory
or Other Citation):
E. Eligibility – Calculation of Benefits – Awards must be
coordinated among the various programs and with other
federal and nonfederal aid (need and non-need based aid) to
ensure that total aid is not awarded in excess of the student’s
financial need or cost of attendance (“COA”) (34 CFR 668.42,
FWS, and FSEOG, 34 CFR 673.5 and 673.6; Direct Loan, 34 CFR
685.301). For Title IV programs, the COA is generally the sum
of the following: tuition and fees; an allowance for books,
supplies, transportation, and miscellaneous personal
expenses; an allowance for room and board; when applicable,
allowances for costs for dependent care; costs associated
with study abroad and cooperative education; costs related
to disabilities; and fees charged for student loans.
Condition: For certain students identified through our testing, the
University did not properly calculate the student’s COA.
Cause: Administrative oversight and lack of sufficient internal
controls with respect to Title IV aid award eligibility.
Effect or Potential Effect: The University is not in compliance with aid awarding criteria
under the eligibility requirements. Failure to properly
determine students’ COAs and calculate eligible award
amounts could result in improper disbursements of Title IV
funds.
Questioned Costs: None.
Context: For 16 of 25 students selected for testing, the University
either did not properly calculate the student’s COA or was
unable to support the components of the student’s COA that
was used for awarding and disbursing Title IV aid. For all
students noted with COA issues, we determined that there
were no overawards of federal and nonfederal aid.
Identification as a Repeat Finding: No similar findings noted in the prior year.
Recommendation: We recommend that the University enhance its policies,
procedures and internal controls to ensure that Title IV aid is
properly calculated, awarded and disbursed, consistent with
federal regulations.
Views of Responsible Officials
and Planned Corrective Actions:
For the 2023-2024 academic year Cost of Attendance Budgets
were reviewed and tested to correct any miscalculations and
omissions. Pell Budgets were updated to correctly
differentiate program tuition and fees. Testing for 2024-2025
academic year has been updated and reviewed to accurately
calculate Cost of Attendance Budgets. In some of the findings
it was later found that due to changes made in the student’s
record, the record should have run through the dynamic
redetermination process to update the budget. The staff has
been retrained in this process.
The process for summer periods of enrollment has been
reviewed and revised to flag students who initially applied
and or registered for summer classes and subsequently did
not register or dropped the classes during the add/drop
period and the summer period of enrollment remained,
thereby calculating a Cost of Attendance for summer.
Federal Program Information: Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (ALN:
84.007), Federal Work-Study Program (ALN: 84.033), Federal
Pell Grant Program (ALN: 84.063), Federal Direct Student
Loans (ALN: 84.268)
Criteria or Specific Requirement
(Including Statutory, Regulatory
or Other Citation):
E. Eligibility – Calculation of Benefits – Awards must be
coordinated among the various programs and with other
federal and nonfederal aid (need and non-need based aid) to
ensure that total aid is not awarded in excess of the student’s
financial need or cost of attendance (“COA”) (34 CFR 668.42,
FWS, and FSEOG, 34 CFR 673.5 and 673.6; Direct Loan, 34 CFR
685.301). For Title IV programs, the COA is generally the sum
of the following: tuition and fees; an allowance for books,
supplies, transportation, and miscellaneous personal
expenses; an allowance for room and board; when applicable,
allowances for costs for dependent care; costs associated
with study abroad and cooperative education; costs related
to disabilities; and fees charged for student loans.
Condition: For certain students identified through our testing, the
University did not properly calculate the student’s COA.
Cause: Administrative oversight and lack of sufficient internal
controls with respect to Title IV aid award eligibility.
Effect or Potential Effect: The University is not in compliance with aid awarding criteria
under the eligibility requirements. Failure to properly
determine students’ COAs and calculate eligible award
amounts could result in improper disbursements of Title IV
funds.
Questioned Costs: None.
Context: For 16 of 25 students selected for testing, the University
either did not properly calculate the student’s COA or was
unable to support the components of the student’s COA that
was used for awarding and disbursing Title IV aid. For all
students noted with COA issues, we determined that there
were no overawards of federal and nonfederal aid.
Identification as a Repeat Finding: No similar findings noted in the prior year.
Recommendation: We recommend that the University enhance its policies,
procedures and internal controls to ensure that Title IV aid is
properly calculated, awarded and disbursed, consistent with
federal regulations.
Views of Responsible Officials
and Planned Corrective Actions:
For the 2023-2024 academic year Cost of Attendance Budgets
were reviewed and tested to correct any miscalculations and
omissions. Pell Budgets were updated to correctly
differentiate program tuition and fees. Testing for 2024-2025
academic year has been updated and reviewed to accurately
calculate Cost of Attendance Budgets. In some of the findings
it was later found that due to changes made in the student’s
record, the record should have run through the dynamic
redetermination process to update the budget. The staff has
been retrained in this process.
The process for summer periods of enrollment has been
reviewed and revised to flag students who initially applied
and or registered for summer classes and subsequently did
not register or dropped the classes during the add/drop
period and the summer period of enrollment remained,
thereby calculating a Cost of Attendance for summer.
Federal Program Information: Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (ALN:
84.007), Federal Work-Study Program (ALN: 84.033), Federal
Pell Grant Program (ALN: 84.063), Federal Direct Student
Loans (ALN: 84.268)
Criteria or Specific Requirement
(Including Statutory, Regulatory
or Other Citation):
E. Eligibility – Calculation of Benefits – Awards must be
coordinated among the various programs and with other
federal and nonfederal aid (need and non-need based aid) to
ensure that total aid is not awarded in excess of the student’s
financial need or cost of attendance (“COA”) (34 CFR 668.42,
FWS, and FSEOG, 34 CFR 673.5 and 673.6; Direct Loan, 34 CFR
685.301). For Title IV programs, the COA is generally the sum
of the following: tuition and fees; an allowance for books,
supplies, transportation, and miscellaneous personal
expenses; an allowance for room and board; when applicable,
allowances for costs for dependent care; costs associated
with study abroad and cooperative education; costs related
to disabilities; and fees charged for student loans.
Condition: For certain students identified through our testing, the
University did not properly calculate the student’s COA.
Cause: Administrative oversight and lack of sufficient internal
controls with respect to Title IV aid award eligibility.
Effect or Potential Effect: The University is not in compliance with aid awarding criteria
under the eligibility requirements. Failure to properly
determine students’ COAs and calculate eligible award
amounts could result in improper disbursements of Title IV
funds.
Questioned Costs: None.
Context: For 16 of 25 students selected for testing, the University
either did not properly calculate the student’s COA or was
unable to support the components of the student’s COA that
was used for awarding and disbursing Title IV aid. For all
students noted with COA issues, we determined that there
were no overawards of federal and nonfederal aid.
Identification as a Repeat Finding: No similar findings noted in the prior year.
Recommendation: We recommend that the University enhance its policies,
procedures and internal controls to ensure that Title IV aid is
properly calculated, awarded and disbursed, consistent with
federal regulations.
Views of Responsible Officials
and Planned Corrective Actions:
For the 2023-2024 academic year Cost of Attendance Budgets
were reviewed and tested to correct any miscalculations and
omissions. Pell Budgets were updated to correctly
differentiate program tuition and fees. Testing for 2024-2025
academic year has been updated and reviewed to accurately
calculate Cost of Attendance Budgets. In some of the findings
it was later found that due to changes made in the student’s
record, the record should have run through the dynamic
redetermination process to update the budget. The staff has
been retrained in this process.
The process for summer periods of enrollment has been
reviewed and revised to flag students who initially applied
and or registered for summer classes and subsequently did
not register or dropped the classes during the add/drop
period and the summer period of enrollment remained,
thereby calculating a Cost of Attendance for summer.
Federal Program Information: Federal Pell Grant Program (ALN: 84.063) and Federal Direct
Loan Program (ALN: 84.268)
Criteria or Specific Requirement
(Including Statutory, Regulatory or
Other Citation):
L. Reporting – Financial Reporting – Federal regulations
require that the University submit origination and
disbursement records for students to the Common Origination
and Disbursement (“COD”) system. Items considered key in
student origination records, if applicable, are: Social Security
number, award amount, enrollment date, verification status
code (when the applicate is selected for verification),
transaction number, COA, and the “Academic Start Date” and
“Academic End Date”.
Condition: For certain students identified through our testing, errors
were identified in key items reported to the COD in student
origination records.
Cause: Administrative oversight and lack of sufficient internal
controls with respect to accurate reporting of federal award
information.
Effect or Potential Effect: The University was not in compliance with COD reporting
requirements.
Questioned Costs: None.
Context: We noted the following exceptions:
• For 18 of 25 students selected for testing, the
student’s COA was inaccurately reported within the
COD system.
• For 2 of 25 students selected for testing, the
enrollment date or “Academic Start Date” was
inaccurately reported.
• For 1 of 25 students selected for testing, the
transaction number was inaccurately reported.
Identification as a Repeat Finding: No similar findings noted in the prior year.
Recommendation: We recommend that the University enhance its policies,
procedures, and internal controls to ensure origination
records are accurately reported to the COD for Federal Direct
Loan Program and Federal Pell Grant Program recipients, in
accordance with federal regulations.
Views of Responsible Officials
and Planned Corrective Actions:
Corrective action has been taken to ensure that when
students have a spring start date in the prior academic year,
the enrollment start date is updated to the correct
enrollment start date. A cross check with a selection set has
been added to capture any incorrect records and adjust
accordingly.
Federal Program Information: Federal Pell Grant Program (ALN: 84.063) and Federal Direct
Loan Program (ALN: 84.268)
Criteria or Specific Requirement
(Including Statutory, Regulatory or
Other Citation):
L. Reporting – Financial Reporting – Federal regulations
require that the University submit origination and
disbursement records for students to the Common Origination
and Disbursement (“COD”) system. Items considered key in
student origination records, if applicable, are: Social Security
number, award amount, enrollment date, verification status
code (when the applicate is selected for verification),
transaction number, COA, and the “Academic Start Date” and
“Academic End Date”.
Condition: For certain students identified through our testing, errors
were identified in key items reported to the COD in student
origination records.
Cause: Administrative oversight and lack of sufficient internal
controls with respect to accurate reporting of federal award
information.
Effect or Potential Effect: The University was not in compliance with COD reporting
requirements.
Questioned Costs: None.
Context: We noted the following exceptions:
• For 18 of 25 students selected for testing, the
student’s COA was inaccurately reported within the
COD system.
• For 2 of 25 students selected for testing, the
enrollment date or “Academic Start Date” was
inaccurately reported.
• For 1 of 25 students selected for testing, the
transaction number was inaccurately reported.
Identification as a Repeat Finding: No similar findings noted in the prior year.
Recommendation: We recommend that the University enhance its policies,
procedures, and internal controls to ensure origination
records are accurately reported to the COD for Federal Direct
Loan Program and Federal Pell Grant Program recipients, in
accordance with federal regulations.
Views of Responsible Officials
and Planned Corrective Actions:
Corrective action has been taken to ensure that when
students have a spring start date in the prior academic year,
the enrollment start date is updated to the correct
enrollment start date. A cross check with a selection set has
been added to capture any incorrect records and adjust
accordingly.
Federal Program Information: Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (ALN:
84.007) and Federal Work-Study Program (ALN: 84.033)
Criteria or Specific Requirement
(Including Statutory, Regulatory
or Other Citation):
L. Reporting – Special Reporting – The Fiscal Operations
Report and Application to Participate (“FISAP”) is an
electronic report submitted annual to receive funds for the
campus-based programs. The institution uses the Fiscal
Operations Report portion to report its expenditures in the
previous award year and the Application to Participate
portion to apply for the following year. Key line items
containing critical information include: Part I, Identifying
Information, Certification, and Warning; Part II, Application
to Participate (selected sections); Part III, Fiscal Operations
Report, Part IV, Fiscal Operations Report Federal
Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (“FSEOG”)
Program; Part V, Fiscal Operations Report Federal Work-Study
(“FWS”) Program; and Part VI, Program Summary for Award
Year.
Condition: Through our testing, certain errors in key line items of the
University’s FISAP were identified.
Cause: Administrative oversight with respect to FISAP reporting.
Effect or Potential Effect: The University is not in compliance with FISAP reporting
requirements. Failure to report accurate records of
expenditures for the previous award year could impact future
availability of Title IV aid.
Questioned Costs: None.
Context: The University incorrectly reported certain required line
items disclosing the uses of FWS funds during the year in Part
V of the FISAP. Additionally, the total of less-than-full-time
students was not properly reported in Part VI of the FISAP.
Identification of Repeat Finding: No similar findings noted in the prior year.
Recommendation: We recommend the University enhance its policies and
procedures to ensure that key line items containing critical
information are properly reported in the FISAP, in accordance
with federal regulations.
Views of Responsible Officials and
Planned Corrective Actions:
Corrections to the FISAP were made prior to the correction
submission deadline date. A review in the Detail Reporting
process in Powerfaids was conducted and determined that the
process in Powerfaids initially reported that students who
should have been included as full time were reverted to part
time status if the last period of enrollment was less than
fulltime. We have worked with Powerfaids to resolve this
issue.
Corrections were made to all Part V errors prior to the
correction submission date. Payroll has been apprised that
only ten percent of the JDL administrator salary can be
attributed to and or drawn down from Federal Work Study
funds.
Federal Program Information: Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (ALN:
84.007) and Federal Work-Study Program (ALN: 84.033)
Criteria or Specific Requirement
(Including Statutory, Regulatory
or Other Citation):
L. Reporting – Special Reporting – The Fiscal Operations
Report and Application to Participate (“FISAP”) is an
electronic report submitted annual to receive funds for the
campus-based programs. The institution uses the Fiscal
Operations Report portion to report its expenditures in the
previous award year and the Application to Participate
portion to apply for the following year. Key line items
containing critical information include: Part I, Identifying
Information, Certification, and Warning; Part II, Application
to Participate (selected sections); Part III, Fiscal Operations
Report, Part IV, Fiscal Operations Report Federal
Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (“FSEOG”)
Program; Part V, Fiscal Operations Report Federal Work-Study
(“FWS”) Program; and Part VI, Program Summary for Award
Year.
Condition: Through our testing, certain errors in key line items of the
University’s FISAP were identified.
Cause: Administrative oversight with respect to FISAP reporting.
Effect or Potential Effect: The University is not in compliance with FISAP reporting
requirements. Failure to report accurate records of
expenditures for the previous award year could impact future
availability of Title IV aid.
Questioned Costs: None.
Context: The University incorrectly reported certain required line
items disclosing the uses of FWS funds during the year in Part
V of the FISAP. Additionally, the total of less-than-full-time
students was not properly reported in Part VI of the FISAP.
Identification of Repeat Finding: No similar findings noted in the prior year.
Recommendation: We recommend the University enhance its policies and
procedures to ensure that key line items containing critical
information are properly reported in the FISAP, in accordance
with federal regulations.
Views of Responsible Officials and
Planned Corrective Actions:
Corrections to the FISAP were made prior to the correction
submission deadline date. A review in the Detail Reporting
process in Powerfaids was conducted and determined that the
process in Powerfaids initially reported that students who
should have been included as full time were reverted to part
time status if the last period of enrollment was less than
fulltime. We have worked with Powerfaids to resolve this
issue.
Corrections were made to all Part V errors prior to the
correction submission date. Payroll has been apprised that
only ten percent of the JDL administrator salary can be
attributed to and or drawn down from Federal Work Study
funds.
Federal Program Information: Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (ALN:
84.007), Federal Pell Grant Program (ALN: 84.063), Federal
Direct Student Loans (ALN: 84.268)
Criteria or Specific Requirement
(Including Statutory, Regulatory
or Other Citation):
N. Special Tests and Provisions – Return of Title IV Funds: The
amount of earned Title IV grant or loan assistance is
calculated by determining the percentage of Title IV grant or
loan assistance that has been earned by the student and
applying that percentage to the total amount of Title IV grant
or loan assistance that was or could have been disbursed to
the student for the payment period or period of enrollment
as of the student’s withdrawal date. A student earns 100
percent if his or her withdrawal date is after the completion
of 60 percent of (1) the calendar days in the payment period
or period of enrollment for a program measured in credit
hours, or (2) the clock hours scheduled to be completed for
the payment period or period of enrollment for a program
measured in clock hours (34 CFR 668.22(e)(2)). Otherwise,
the percentage earned by the student is equal to the
percentage (60 percent or less) of the payment period or
period of enrollment that was completed as of the student’s
withdrawal date. The percentage of Title IV grant or loan
assistance that has not been earned by the student is the
complement of one of these calculations. Standard termbased
institutions must always use the payment period as the
basis for the determination.
The unearned amount of Title IV assistance to be returned is
calculated by subtracting the amount of Title IV assistance
earned by the student from the amount of Title IV aid that
was disbursed to the student as of the date of the institution’s
determination that the student withdrew (34 CFR 668.22(e)).
Condition: For certain students identified through our testing, the
University did not properly calculate the amounts to be
returned to the ED.
Cause: Administrative oversight with respect to return of Title IV
fund calculations.
Effect or Potential Effect: The University is not in compliance with the return of Title IV
funds requirements.
Questioned Costs: None.
Context: For 1 of 2 students selected for testing, the University did not
properly calculate the amount of Title IV aid to be returned
to the ED. The amount returned to the ED was greater than
the amount owed based upon the student’s withdrawal date.
Identification of Repeat Finding: No similar findings noted in the prior year.
Recommendation: We recommend the University enhance its procedures over
the return of Title IV fund calculations to ensure that returns
of funds are calculated accurately, in accordance with
federal regulations.
Views of Responsible Officials and
Planned Corrective Actions:
The issue has been addressed and reviewed. Going forward
the Director of Financial Aid will set up and review all periods
of enrollment and dates in the return of funds calculation on
COD prior to the start of the academic year.
Federal Program Information: Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (ALN:
84.007), Federal Pell Grant Program (ALN: 84.063), Federal
Direct Student Loans (ALN: 84.268)
Criteria or Specific Requirement
(Including Statutory, Regulatory
or Other Citation):
N. Special Tests and Provisions – Return of Title IV Funds: The
amount of earned Title IV grant or loan assistance is
calculated by determining the percentage of Title IV grant or
loan assistance that has been earned by the student and
applying that percentage to the total amount of Title IV grant
or loan assistance that was or could have been disbursed to
the student for the payment period or period of enrollment
as of the student’s withdrawal date. A student earns 100
percent if his or her withdrawal date is after the completion
of 60 percent of (1) the calendar days in the payment period
or period of enrollment for a program measured in credit
hours, or (2) the clock hours scheduled to be completed for
the payment period or period of enrollment for a program
measured in clock hours (34 CFR 668.22(e)(2)). Otherwise,
the percentage earned by the student is equal to the
percentage (60 percent or less) of the payment period or
period of enrollment that was completed as of the student’s
withdrawal date. The percentage of Title IV grant or loan
assistance that has not been earned by the student is the
complement of one of these calculations. Standard termbased
institutions must always use the payment period as the
basis for the determination.
The unearned amount of Title IV assistance to be returned is
calculated by subtracting the amount of Title IV assistance
earned by the student from the amount of Title IV aid that
was disbursed to the student as of the date of the institution’s
determination that the student withdrew (34 CFR 668.22(e)).
Condition: For certain students identified through our testing, the
University did not properly calculate the amounts to be
returned to the ED.
Cause: Administrative oversight with respect to return of Title IV
fund calculations.
Effect or Potential Effect: The University is not in compliance with the return of Title IV
funds requirements.
Questioned Costs: None.
Context: For 1 of 2 students selected for testing, the University did not
properly calculate the amount of Title IV aid to be returned
to the ED. The amount returned to the ED was greater than
the amount owed based upon the student’s withdrawal date.
Identification of Repeat Finding: No similar findings noted in the prior year.
Recommendation: We recommend the University enhance its procedures over
the return of Title IV fund calculations to ensure that returns
of funds are calculated accurately, in accordance with
federal regulations.
Views of Responsible Officials and
Planned Corrective Actions:
The issue has been addressed and reviewed. Going forward
the Director of Financial Aid will set up and review all periods
of enrollment and dates in the return of funds calculation on
COD prior to the start of the academic year.
Federal Program Information: Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (ALN:
84.007), Federal Pell Grant Program (ALN: 84.063), Federal
Direct Student Loans (ALN: 84.268)
Criteria or Specific Requirement
(Including Statutory, Regulatory
or Other Citation):
N. Special Tests and Provisions – Return of Title IV Funds: The
amount of earned Title IV grant or loan assistance is
calculated by determining the percentage of Title IV grant or
loan assistance that has been earned by the student and
applying that percentage to the total amount of Title IV grant
or loan assistance that was or could have been disbursed to
the student for the payment period or period of enrollment
as of the student’s withdrawal date. A student earns 100
percent if his or her withdrawal date is after the completion
of 60 percent of (1) the calendar days in the payment period
or period of enrollment for a program measured in credit
hours, or (2) the clock hours scheduled to be completed for
the payment period or period of enrollment for a program
measured in clock hours (34 CFR 668.22(e)(2)). Otherwise,
the percentage earned by the student is equal to the
percentage (60 percent or less) of the payment period or
period of enrollment that was completed as of the student’s
withdrawal date. The percentage of Title IV grant or loan
assistance that has not been earned by the student is the
complement of one of these calculations. Standard termbased
institutions must always use the payment period as the
basis for the determination.
The unearned amount of Title IV assistance to be returned is
calculated by subtracting the amount of Title IV assistance
earned by the student from the amount of Title IV aid that
was disbursed to the student as of the date of the institution’s
determination that the student withdrew (34 CFR 668.22(e)).
Condition: For certain students identified through our testing, the
University did not properly calculate the amounts to be
returned to the ED.
Cause: Administrative oversight with respect to return of Title IV
fund calculations.
Effect or Potential Effect: The University is not in compliance with the return of Title IV
funds requirements.
Questioned Costs: None.
Context: For 1 of 2 students selected for testing, the University did not
properly calculate the amount of Title IV aid to be returned
to the ED. The amount returned to the ED was greater than
the amount owed based upon the student’s withdrawal date.
Identification of Repeat Finding: No similar findings noted in the prior year.
Recommendation: We recommend the University enhance its procedures over
the return of Title IV fund calculations to ensure that returns
of funds are calculated accurately, in accordance with
federal regulations.
Views of Responsible Officials and
Planned Corrective Actions:
The issue has been addressed and reviewed. Going forward
the Director of Financial Aid will set up and review all periods
of enrollment and dates in the return of funds calculation on
COD prior to the start of the academic year.
Federal Program Information: Federal Pell Grant Program (ALN: 84.063), Federal Direct
Student Loans (ALN: 84.268), Teacher Education Assistance
for College and Higher Education Grants (ALN: 84.379)
Criteria or Specific Requirement
(Including Statutory, Regulatory
or Other Citation):
N. Special Tests and Provisions - Enrollment Reporting: The
University is required to update students’ statuses on the
National Student Loans Data System (“NSLDS”) website if they
graduate, withdraw or have an increase/decrease in
attendance level during the year within 60 days of the date
the University becomes aware of the change in enrollment
status. There are two categories of enrollment information;
“Campus Level” and “Program Level,” both of which need to
be reported accurately and have separate record types.
Institutions are responsible for accurately reporting the
significant data elements under the Campus-Level Record and
Program-Level Record that ED considers high risk.
Additionally, institutions are responsible for timely reporting,
whether they report directly or via a third-party servicer. As
with any school/servicer arrangement for the administration
of the Title IV programs, if the school uses a third party to
meet the NSLDS enrollment reporting requirements it is the
school that must ensure that enrollment information is
submitted timely, accurately, and completely.
Per the Federal Student Aid Handbook, schools are required
to certify enrollment for all students who are included on
their roster file scheduled at least every two months, and
within 15 days of the date that NSLDS sends a roster file to
the school or its third-party servicer. Any errors identified
and returned by NSLDS in an Error/Acknowledgement file
should be corrected and resubmitted within 10 days.
Condition: The University did not submit an accurate status change
notification or timely notification to the NSLDS website for
certain students who graduated, withdrew, or had an
increase/decrease in attendance level during the year.
Additionally, the University’s fiscal year SCHER1 report
included multiple instances in which error records were not
corrected within the required timeframe.
Cause: Administrative oversight with respect to enrollment reporting
compliance requirements.
Effect or Potential Effect: The University is not in compliance with enrollment reporting
compliance requirements. Failure to promptly report
accurate and timely changes in enrollment status may
adversely impact the repayment status for student loan
borrowers.
Questioned Costs: None.
Context: We noted the following exceptions as a result of our
procedures:
• For 1 of 40 students sampled whose status changed
during the year, the University failed to accurately
report all significant data elements under the Campus-
Level Record in a timely notification to the NSLDS
website.
• For 4 of 25 students sampled whose status changed
during the year, the University failed to accurately
report all significant data elements under the
Program-Level Record in a timely notification to the
NSLDS website.
• For 5 of 6 Error Reports tested, error records identified
in Error/Acknowledgment files were not corrected
within the required timeframe.
Identification of Repeat Finding: This is a repeat finding from prior year. This was reported as
Finding 2022-003 in the prior year schedule of findings and
questioned costs.
Recommendation: We recommend that the University properly follow its policies
and procedures over enrollment reporting to ensure that all
status changes are submitted to the NSLDS website within the
required timeframe and that error records are corrected and
submitted timely, consistent with federal regulations.
Views of Responsible Officials and
Planned Corrective Actions:
With regards to Error #2023-007, some of the findings were
related to incorrect reporting of graduation status,
graduation date, and program begin date. We identified that
some dates had not been correctly entered. We are working
with our student information system software consultants and
National Student Clearinghouse personnel to ensure that all
staff understand reporting requirements, and we have taken
steps to correct errors before we submit reports.
Another finding was that error records were not corrected
within the required timeframe. There has been a change in
staffing in the office since the time periods of the audit
findings, so a different person is now correcting error records.
That individual has been made aware of the audit findings and
has committed to work with office personnel and National
Student Clearinghouse on correcting reported errors
promptly.
Federal Program Information: Federal Pell Grant Program (ALN: 84.063), Federal Direct
Student Loans (ALN: 84.268), Teacher Education Assistance
for College and Higher Education Grants (ALN: 84.379)
Criteria or Specific Requirement
(Including Statutory, Regulatory
or Other Citation):
N. Special Tests and Provisions - Enrollment Reporting: The
University is required to update students’ statuses on the
National Student Loans Data System (“NSLDS”) website if they
graduate, withdraw or have an increase/decrease in
attendance level during the year within 60 days of the date
the University becomes aware of the change in enrollment
status. There are two categories of enrollment information;
“Campus Level” and “Program Level,” both of which need to
be reported accurately and have separate record types.
Institutions are responsible for accurately reporting the
significant data elements under the Campus-Level Record and
Program-Level Record that ED considers high risk.
Additionally, institutions are responsible for timely reporting,
whether they report directly or via a third-party servicer. As
with any school/servicer arrangement for the administration
of the Title IV programs, if the school uses a third party to
meet the NSLDS enrollment reporting requirements it is the
school that must ensure that enrollment information is
submitted timely, accurately, and completely.
Per the Federal Student Aid Handbook, schools are required
to certify enrollment for all students who are included on
their roster file scheduled at least every two months, and
within 15 days of the date that NSLDS sends a roster file to
the school or its third-party servicer. Any errors identified
and returned by NSLDS in an Error/Acknowledgement file
should be corrected and resubmitted within 10 days.
Condition: The University did not submit an accurate status change
notification or timely notification to the NSLDS website for
certain students who graduated, withdrew, or had an
increase/decrease in attendance level during the year.
Additionally, the University’s fiscal year SCHER1 report
included multiple instances in which error records were not
corrected within the required timeframe.
Cause: Administrative oversight with respect to enrollment reporting
compliance requirements.
Effect or Potential Effect: The University is not in compliance with enrollment reporting
compliance requirements. Failure to promptly report
accurate and timely changes in enrollment status may
adversely impact the repayment status for student loan
borrowers.
Questioned Costs: None.
Context: We noted the following exceptions as a result of our
procedures:
• For 1 of 40 students sampled whose status changed
during the year, the University failed to accurately
report all significant data elements under the Campus-
Level Record in a timely notification to the NSLDS
website.
• For 4 of 25 students sampled whose status changed
during the year, the University failed to accurately
report all significant data elements under the
Program-Level Record in a timely notification to the
NSLDS website.
• For 5 of 6 Error Reports tested, error records identified
in Error/Acknowledgment files were not corrected
within the required timeframe.
Identification of Repeat Finding: This is a repeat finding from prior year. This was reported as
Finding 2022-003 in the prior year schedule of findings and
questioned costs.
Recommendation: We recommend that the University properly follow its policies
and procedures over enrollment reporting to ensure that all
status changes are submitted to the NSLDS website within the
required timeframe and that error records are corrected and
submitted timely, consistent with federal regulations.
Views of Responsible Officials and
Planned Corrective Actions:
With regards to Error #2023-007, some of the findings were
related to incorrect reporting of graduation status,
graduation date, and program begin date. We identified that
some dates had not been correctly entered. We are working
with our student information system software consultants and
National Student Clearinghouse personnel to ensure that all
staff understand reporting requirements, and we have taken
steps to correct errors before we submit reports.
Another finding was that error records were not corrected
within the required timeframe. There has been a change in
staffing in the office since the time periods of the audit
findings, so a different person is now correcting error records.
That individual has been made aware of the audit findings and
has committed to work with office personnel and National
Student Clearinghouse on correcting reported errors
promptly.
Federal Program Information: Federal Pell Grant Program (ALN: 84.063), Federal Direct
Student Loans (ALN: 84.268), Teacher Education Assistance
for College and Higher Education Grants (ALN: 84.379)
Criteria or Specific Requirement
(Including Statutory, Regulatory
or Other Citation):
N. Special Tests and Provisions - Enrollment Reporting: The
University is required to update students’ statuses on the
National Student Loans Data System (“NSLDS”) website if they
graduate, withdraw or have an increase/decrease in
attendance level during the year within 60 days of the date
the University becomes aware of the change in enrollment
status. There are two categories of enrollment information;
“Campus Level” and “Program Level,” both of which need to
be reported accurately and have separate record types.
Institutions are responsible for accurately reporting the
significant data elements under the Campus-Level Record and
Program-Level Record that ED considers high risk.
Additionally, institutions are responsible for timely reporting,
whether they report directly or via a third-party servicer. As
with any school/servicer arrangement for the administration
of the Title IV programs, if the school uses a third party to
meet the NSLDS enrollment reporting requirements it is the
school that must ensure that enrollment information is
submitted timely, accurately, and completely.
Per the Federal Student Aid Handbook, schools are required
to certify enrollment for all students who are included on
their roster file scheduled at least every two months, and
within 15 days of the date that NSLDS sends a roster file to
the school or its third-party servicer. Any errors identified
and returned by NSLDS in an Error/Acknowledgement file
should be corrected and resubmitted within 10 days.
Condition: The University did not submit an accurate status change
notification or timely notification to the NSLDS website for
certain students who graduated, withdrew, or had an
increase/decrease in attendance level during the year.
Additionally, the University’s fiscal year SCHER1 report
included multiple instances in which error records were not
corrected within the required timeframe.
Cause: Administrative oversight with respect to enrollment reporting
compliance requirements.
Effect or Potential Effect: The University is not in compliance with enrollment reporting
compliance requirements. Failure to promptly report
accurate and timely changes in enrollment status may
adversely impact the repayment status for student loan
borrowers.
Questioned Costs: None.
Context: We noted the following exceptions as a result of our
procedures:
• For 1 of 40 students sampled whose status changed
during the year, the University failed to accurately
report all significant data elements under the Campus-
Level Record in a timely notification to the NSLDS
website.
• For 4 of 25 students sampled whose status changed
during the year, the University failed to accurately
report all significant data elements under the
Program-Level Record in a timely notification to the
NSLDS website.
• For 5 of 6 Error Reports tested, error records identified
in Error/Acknowledgment files were not corrected
within the required timeframe.
Identification of Repeat Finding: This is a repeat finding from prior year. This was reported as
Finding 2022-003 in the prior year schedule of findings and
questioned costs.
Recommendation: We recommend that the University properly follow its policies
and procedures over enrollment reporting to ensure that all
status changes are submitted to the NSLDS website within the
required timeframe and that error records are corrected and
submitted timely, consistent with federal regulations.
Views of Responsible Officials and
Planned Corrective Actions:
With regards to Error #2023-007, some of the findings were
related to incorrect reporting of graduation status,
graduation date, and program begin date. We identified that
some dates had not been correctly entered. We are working
with our student information system software consultants and
National Student Clearinghouse personnel to ensure that all
staff understand reporting requirements, and we have taken
steps to correct errors before we submit reports.
Another finding was that error records were not corrected
within the required timeframe. There has been a change in
staffing in the office since the time periods of the audit
findings, so a different person is now correcting error records.
That individual has been made aware of the audit findings and
has committed to work with office personnel and National
Student Clearinghouse on correcting reported errors
promptly.
Federal Program Information: Transition Program for Students with Intellectual Disabilities
into Higher Education Grant (ALN: 84.407A).
Criteria or Specific Requirement
(Including Statutory, Regulatory or
Other Citation):
The auditee must prepare a schedule of expenditures of
Federal awards (“SEFA”) for the period covered by the
auditee's financial statements which must include the total
Federal awards expended as determined in accordance with
§ 200.502. At a minimum, the schedule must: (1) List
individual Federal programs by Federal agency. For a cluster
of programs, provide the cluster name, list individual Federal
programs within the cluster of programs, and provide the
applicable Federal agency name. For R&D, total Federal
awards expended must be shown either by individual Federal
award or by Federal agency and major subdivision within the
Federal agency. (2) For Federal awards received as a
subrecipient, the name of the pass-through entity and
identifying number assigned by the pass-through entity must
be included. (3) Provide total Federal awards expended for
each individual Federal program and the Assistance Listings
Number or other identifying number when the Assistance
Listings information is not available. For a cluster of programs
also provide the total for the cluster. (4) Include the total
amount provided to subrecipients from each Federal
program. (5) For loan or loan guarantee programs described
in § 200.502(b), identify in the notes to the schedule the
balances outstanding at the end of the audit period. This is in
addition to including the total Federal awards expended for
loan or loan guarantee programs in the schedule. (6) Include
notes that describe that significant accounting policies used
in preparing the schedule, and note whether or not the
auditee elected to use the 10% de minimis cost rate as
covered in § 200.414 (2 CFR section 200.510(b)).
Condition: For certain Federal grant programs presented on the SEFA,
the total amount provided to subrecipients during the year
was not included.
Cause: Administrative oversight with respect to SEFA preparation.
Effect or Potential Effect: The University was not in compliance with SEFA presentation
and disclosure requirements.
Questioned Costs: None.
Context: The University did not properly present and disclose
approximately $162,000 of funds passed to subrecipients
under the Transition Programs for Students with Intellectual
Disabilities into Higher Education grant (ALN 84.407A) on the
SEFA for the year ended June 30, 2023.
Identification as a Repeat Finding: No similar findings noted in the prior year.
Recommendation: We recommend the University enhance its policies and
procedures to ensure that the SEFA has been prepared in
accordance with the required guidelines and that it contains
all minimum required elements that must be presented and
disclosed, in accordance with federal regulations.
Views of Responsible Officials
and Planned Corrective Actions:
The University Finance department has updated their policies
and procedures to ensure that the SEFA is being prepared in
accordance with required guidelines. We will work closely
with our grants department to ensure all required elements
are properly identified and disclosed.
Federal Program Information: Federal Direct Loan Program (ALN: 84.268)
Criteria or Specific Requirement
(Including Statutory, Regulatory or
Other Citation):
C. Cash Management - Institutions are permitted to draw
down Title IV funds prior to disbursing funds to eligible
students and parents. The institution’s request must not
exceed the amount immediately needed to disburse funds to
students or parents. A disbursement of funds occurs on the
date an institution credits a student’s account or pays a
student or parent directly with either student financial aid
funds or institutional funds. The institution must make the
disbursements as soon as administratively feasible, but no
later than 3 business days following the receipt of funds. Any
amounts not disbursed by the end of the third business day
are considered to be excess cash and generally are required
to be promptly returned to the U.S. Department of Education
(the “ED”) (34 CFR section 668.166(a)(1)). Excess cash
includes any funds received from the ED that are deposited
or transferred to the institution’s Federal account as a result
of an award adjustment, cancellation, or recovery. However,
an excess cash balance is allowed and considered tolerable if
that balance: (1) is less than one percent of its prior-year
drawdowns; and (2) is eliminated within the next 7 calendar
days (34 CFR sections 668.166(a) and (b)).
Condition: An instance was identified during the year in which funds
drawn were held in excess of the allowable time frame.
Cause: Administrative oversight with respect to Cash Management
compliance requirements.
Effect or Potential Effect: The University was not in compliance with Cash Management
compliance requirements.
Questioned Costs: None.
Context: During our testing, we identified 1 instance of cash held in
excess of allowable time frames for the Federal Direct Loan
Program, as noted below:
Date of Excess Cash 6/13/23
Drawdown Amount $ 4,665
Days in Excess 25
Identification of Repeat Finding: No similar findings noted in the prior year.
Recommendation: We recommend the University enhance its procedures over to
ensure that excess cash is returned timely, in accordance
with federal regulations.
Views of Responsible Officials and
Planned Corrective Actions:
A turnover in personnel led to inconsistent refund processing
for the Summer 2023 semester. There are multiple terms
within the summer semester and the new personnel did not
run refund files during the first term but ran them during the
2nd term. This is when the loan disbursement was realized
and returned. Policies have been set in place outlining
disbursement dates that coincide with refund processing
dates.
Federal Program Information: Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (ALN:
84.007), Federal Work-Study Program (ALN: 84.033), Federal
Pell Grant Program (ALN: 84.063), Federal Direct Student
Loans (ALN: 84.268)
Criteria or Specific Requirement
(Including Statutory, Regulatory
or Other Citation):
E. Eligibility – Calculation of Benefits – Awards must be
coordinated among the various programs and with other
federal and nonfederal aid (need and non-need based aid) to
ensure that total aid is not awarded in excess of the student’s
financial need or cost of attendance (“COA”) (34 CFR 668.42,
FWS, and FSEOG, 34 CFR 673.5 and 673.6; Direct Loan, 34 CFR
685.301). For Title IV programs, the COA is generally the sum
of the following: tuition and fees; an allowance for books,
supplies, transportation, and miscellaneous personal
expenses; an allowance for room and board; when applicable,
allowances for costs for dependent care; costs associated
with study abroad and cooperative education; costs related
to disabilities; and fees charged for student loans.
Condition: For certain students identified through our testing, the
University did not properly calculate the student’s COA.
Cause: Administrative oversight and lack of sufficient internal
controls with respect to Title IV aid award eligibility.
Effect or Potential Effect: The University is not in compliance with aid awarding criteria
under the eligibility requirements. Failure to properly
determine students’ COAs and calculate eligible award
amounts could result in improper disbursements of Title IV
funds.
Questioned Costs: None.
Context: For 16 of 25 students selected for testing, the University
either did not properly calculate the student’s COA or was
unable to support the components of the student’s COA that
was used for awarding and disbursing Title IV aid. For all
students noted with COA issues, we determined that there
were no overawards of federal and nonfederal aid.
Identification as a Repeat Finding: No similar findings noted in the prior year.
Recommendation: We recommend that the University enhance its policies,
procedures and internal controls to ensure that Title IV aid is
properly calculated, awarded and disbursed, consistent with
federal regulations.
Views of Responsible Officials
and Planned Corrective Actions:
For the 2023-2024 academic year Cost of Attendance Budgets
were reviewed and tested to correct any miscalculations and
omissions. Pell Budgets were updated to correctly
differentiate program tuition and fees. Testing for 2024-2025
academic year has been updated and reviewed to accurately
calculate Cost of Attendance Budgets. In some of the findings
it was later found that due to changes made in the student’s
record, the record should have run through the dynamic
redetermination process to update the budget. The staff has
been retrained in this process.
The process for summer periods of enrollment has been
reviewed and revised to flag students who initially applied
and or registered for summer classes and subsequently did
not register or dropped the classes during the add/drop
period and the summer period of enrollment remained,
thereby calculating a Cost of Attendance for summer.
Federal Program Information: Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (ALN:
84.007), Federal Work-Study Program (ALN: 84.033), Federal
Pell Grant Program (ALN: 84.063), Federal Direct Student
Loans (ALN: 84.268)
Criteria or Specific Requirement
(Including Statutory, Regulatory
or Other Citation):
E. Eligibility – Calculation of Benefits – Awards must be
coordinated among the various programs and with other
federal and nonfederal aid (need and non-need based aid) to
ensure that total aid is not awarded in excess of the student’s
financial need or cost of attendance (“COA”) (34 CFR 668.42,
FWS, and FSEOG, 34 CFR 673.5 and 673.6; Direct Loan, 34 CFR
685.301). For Title IV programs, the COA is generally the sum
of the following: tuition and fees; an allowance for books,
supplies, transportation, and miscellaneous personal
expenses; an allowance for room and board; when applicable,
allowances for costs for dependent care; costs associated
with study abroad and cooperative education; costs related
to disabilities; and fees charged for student loans.
Condition: For certain students identified through our testing, the
University did not properly calculate the student’s COA.
Cause: Administrative oversight and lack of sufficient internal
controls with respect to Title IV aid award eligibility.
Effect or Potential Effect: The University is not in compliance with aid awarding criteria
under the eligibility requirements. Failure to properly
determine students’ COAs and calculate eligible award
amounts could result in improper disbursements of Title IV
funds.
Questioned Costs: None.
Context: For 16 of 25 students selected for testing, the University
either did not properly calculate the student’s COA or was
unable to support the components of the student’s COA that
was used for awarding and disbursing Title IV aid. For all
students noted with COA issues, we determined that there
were no overawards of federal and nonfederal aid.
Identification as a Repeat Finding: No similar findings noted in the prior year.
Recommendation: We recommend that the University enhance its policies,
procedures and internal controls to ensure that Title IV aid is
properly calculated, awarded and disbursed, consistent with
federal regulations.
Views of Responsible Officials
and Planned Corrective Actions:
For the 2023-2024 academic year Cost of Attendance Budgets
were reviewed and tested to correct any miscalculations and
omissions. Pell Budgets were updated to correctly
differentiate program tuition and fees. Testing for 2024-2025
academic year has been updated and reviewed to accurately
calculate Cost of Attendance Budgets. In some of the findings
it was later found that due to changes made in the student’s
record, the record should have run through the dynamic
redetermination process to update the budget. The staff has
been retrained in this process.
The process for summer periods of enrollment has been
reviewed and revised to flag students who initially applied
and or registered for summer classes and subsequently did
not register or dropped the classes during the add/drop
period and the summer period of enrollment remained,
thereby calculating a Cost of Attendance for summer.
Federal Program Information: Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (ALN:
84.007), Federal Work-Study Program (ALN: 84.033), Federal
Pell Grant Program (ALN: 84.063), Federal Direct Student
Loans (ALN: 84.268)
Criteria or Specific Requirement
(Including Statutory, Regulatory
or Other Citation):
E. Eligibility – Calculation of Benefits – Awards must be
coordinated among the various programs and with other
federal and nonfederal aid (need and non-need based aid) to
ensure that total aid is not awarded in excess of the student’s
financial need or cost of attendance (“COA”) (34 CFR 668.42,
FWS, and FSEOG, 34 CFR 673.5 and 673.6; Direct Loan, 34 CFR
685.301). For Title IV programs, the COA is generally the sum
of the following: tuition and fees; an allowance for books,
supplies, transportation, and miscellaneous personal
expenses; an allowance for room and board; when applicable,
allowances for costs for dependent care; costs associated
with study abroad and cooperative education; costs related
to disabilities; and fees charged for student loans.
Condition: For certain students identified through our testing, the
University did not properly calculate the student’s COA.
Cause: Administrative oversight and lack of sufficient internal
controls with respect to Title IV aid award eligibility.
Effect or Potential Effect: The University is not in compliance with aid awarding criteria
under the eligibility requirements. Failure to properly
determine students’ COAs and calculate eligible award
amounts could result in improper disbursements of Title IV
funds.
Questioned Costs: None.
Context: For 16 of 25 students selected for testing, the University
either did not properly calculate the student’s COA or was
unable to support the components of the student’s COA that
was used for awarding and disbursing Title IV aid. For all
students noted with COA issues, we determined that there
were no overawards of federal and nonfederal aid.
Identification as a Repeat Finding: No similar findings noted in the prior year.
Recommendation: We recommend that the University enhance its policies,
procedures and internal controls to ensure that Title IV aid is
properly calculated, awarded and disbursed, consistent with
federal regulations.
Views of Responsible Officials
and Planned Corrective Actions:
For the 2023-2024 academic year Cost of Attendance Budgets
were reviewed and tested to correct any miscalculations and
omissions. Pell Budgets were updated to correctly
differentiate program tuition and fees. Testing for 2024-2025
academic year has been updated and reviewed to accurately
calculate Cost of Attendance Budgets. In some of the findings
it was later found that due to changes made in the student’s
record, the record should have run through the dynamic
redetermination process to update the budget. The staff has
been retrained in this process.
The process for summer periods of enrollment has been
reviewed and revised to flag students who initially applied
and or registered for summer classes and subsequently did
not register or dropped the classes during the add/drop
period and the summer period of enrollment remained,
thereby calculating a Cost of Attendance for summer.
Federal Program Information: Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (ALN:
84.007), Federal Work-Study Program (ALN: 84.033), Federal
Pell Grant Program (ALN: 84.063), Federal Direct Student
Loans (ALN: 84.268)
Criteria or Specific Requirement
(Including Statutory, Regulatory
or Other Citation):
E. Eligibility – Calculation of Benefits – Awards must be
coordinated among the various programs and with other
federal and nonfederal aid (need and non-need based aid) to
ensure that total aid is not awarded in excess of the student’s
financial need or cost of attendance (“COA”) (34 CFR 668.42,
FWS, and FSEOG, 34 CFR 673.5 and 673.6; Direct Loan, 34 CFR
685.301). For Title IV programs, the COA is generally the sum
of the following: tuition and fees; an allowance for books,
supplies, transportation, and miscellaneous personal
expenses; an allowance for room and board; when applicable,
allowances for costs for dependent care; costs associated
with study abroad and cooperative education; costs related
to disabilities; and fees charged for student loans.
Condition: For certain students identified through our testing, the
University did not properly calculate the student’s COA.
Cause: Administrative oversight and lack of sufficient internal
controls with respect to Title IV aid award eligibility.
Effect or Potential Effect: The University is not in compliance with aid awarding criteria
under the eligibility requirements. Failure to properly
determine students’ COAs and calculate eligible award
amounts could result in improper disbursements of Title IV
funds.
Questioned Costs: None.
Context: For 16 of 25 students selected for testing, the University
either did not properly calculate the student’s COA or was
unable to support the components of the student’s COA that
was used for awarding and disbursing Title IV aid. For all
students noted with COA issues, we determined that there
were no overawards of federal and nonfederal aid.
Identification as a Repeat Finding: No similar findings noted in the prior year.
Recommendation: We recommend that the University enhance its policies,
procedures and internal controls to ensure that Title IV aid is
properly calculated, awarded and disbursed, consistent with
federal regulations.
Views of Responsible Officials
and Planned Corrective Actions:
For the 2023-2024 academic year Cost of Attendance Budgets
were reviewed and tested to correct any miscalculations and
omissions. Pell Budgets were updated to correctly
differentiate program tuition and fees. Testing for 2024-2025
academic year has been updated and reviewed to accurately
calculate Cost of Attendance Budgets. In some of the findings
it was later found that due to changes made in the student’s
record, the record should have run through the dynamic
redetermination process to update the budget. The staff has
been retrained in this process.
The process for summer periods of enrollment has been
reviewed and revised to flag students who initially applied
and or registered for summer classes and subsequently did
not register or dropped the classes during the add/drop
period and the summer period of enrollment remained,
thereby calculating a Cost of Attendance for summer.
Federal Program Information: Federal Pell Grant Program (ALN: 84.063) and Federal Direct
Loan Program (ALN: 84.268)
Criteria or Specific Requirement
(Including Statutory, Regulatory or
Other Citation):
L. Reporting – Financial Reporting – Federal regulations
require that the University submit origination and
disbursement records for students to the Common Origination
and Disbursement (“COD”) system. Items considered key in
student origination records, if applicable, are: Social Security
number, award amount, enrollment date, verification status
code (when the applicate is selected for verification),
transaction number, COA, and the “Academic Start Date” and
“Academic End Date”.
Condition: For certain students identified through our testing, errors
were identified in key items reported to the COD in student
origination records.
Cause: Administrative oversight and lack of sufficient internal
controls with respect to accurate reporting of federal award
information.
Effect or Potential Effect: The University was not in compliance with COD reporting
requirements.
Questioned Costs: None.
Context: We noted the following exceptions:
• For 18 of 25 students selected for testing, the
student’s COA was inaccurately reported within the
COD system.
• For 2 of 25 students selected for testing, the
enrollment date or “Academic Start Date” was
inaccurately reported.
• For 1 of 25 students selected for testing, the
transaction number was inaccurately reported.
Identification as a Repeat Finding: No similar findings noted in the prior year.
Recommendation: We recommend that the University enhance its policies,
procedures, and internal controls to ensure origination
records are accurately reported to the COD for Federal Direct
Loan Program and Federal Pell Grant Program recipients, in
accordance with federal regulations.
Views of Responsible Officials
and Planned Corrective Actions:
Corrective action has been taken to ensure that when
students have a spring start date in the prior academic year,
the enrollment start date is updated to the correct
enrollment start date. A cross check with a selection set has
been added to capture any incorrect records and adjust
accordingly.
Federal Program Information: Federal Pell Grant Program (ALN: 84.063) and Federal Direct
Loan Program (ALN: 84.268)
Criteria or Specific Requirement
(Including Statutory, Regulatory or
Other Citation):
L. Reporting – Financial Reporting – Federal regulations
require that the University submit origination and
disbursement records for students to the Common Origination
and Disbursement (“COD”) system. Items considered key in
student origination records, if applicable, are: Social Security
number, award amount, enrollment date, verification status
code (when the applicate is selected for verification),
transaction number, COA, and the “Academic Start Date” and
“Academic End Date”.
Condition: For certain students identified through our testing, errors
were identified in key items reported to the COD in student
origination records.
Cause: Administrative oversight and lack of sufficient internal
controls with respect to accurate reporting of federal award
information.
Effect or Potential Effect: The University was not in compliance with COD reporting
requirements.
Questioned Costs: None.
Context: We noted the following exceptions:
• For 18 of 25 students selected for testing, the
student’s COA was inaccurately reported within the
COD system.
• For 2 of 25 students selected for testing, the
enrollment date or “Academic Start Date” was
inaccurately reported.
• For 1 of 25 students selected for testing, the
transaction number was inaccurately reported.
Identification as a Repeat Finding: No similar findings noted in the prior year.
Recommendation: We recommend that the University enhance its policies,
procedures, and internal controls to ensure origination
records are accurately reported to the COD for Federal Direct
Loan Program and Federal Pell Grant Program recipients, in
accordance with federal regulations.
Views of Responsible Officials
and Planned Corrective Actions:
Corrective action has been taken to ensure that when
students have a spring start date in the prior academic year,
the enrollment start date is updated to the correct
enrollment start date. A cross check with a selection set has
been added to capture any incorrect records and adjust
accordingly.
Federal Program Information: Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (ALN:
84.007) and Federal Work-Study Program (ALN: 84.033)
Criteria or Specific Requirement
(Including Statutory, Regulatory
or Other Citation):
L. Reporting – Special Reporting – The Fiscal Operations
Report and Application to Participate (“FISAP”) is an
electronic report submitted annual to receive funds for the
campus-based programs. The institution uses the Fiscal
Operations Report portion to report its expenditures in the
previous award year and the Application to Participate
portion to apply for the following year. Key line items
containing critical information include: Part I, Identifying
Information, Certification, and Warning; Part II, Application
to Participate (selected sections); Part III, Fiscal Operations
Report, Part IV, Fiscal Operations Report Federal
Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (“FSEOG”)
Program; Part V, Fiscal Operations Report Federal Work-Study
(“FWS”) Program; and Part VI, Program Summary for Award
Year.
Condition: Through our testing, certain errors in key line items of the
University’s FISAP were identified.
Cause: Administrative oversight with respect to FISAP reporting.
Effect or Potential Effect: The University is not in compliance with FISAP reporting
requirements. Failure to report accurate records of
expenditures for the previous award year could impact future
availability of Title IV aid.
Questioned Costs: None.
Context: The University incorrectly reported certain required line
items disclosing the uses of FWS funds during the year in Part
V of the FISAP. Additionally, the total of less-than-full-time
students was not properly reported in Part VI of the FISAP.
Identification of Repeat Finding: No similar findings noted in the prior year.
Recommendation: We recommend the University enhance its policies and
procedures to ensure that key line items containing critical
information are properly reported in the FISAP, in accordance
with federal regulations.
Views of Responsible Officials and
Planned Corrective Actions:
Corrections to the FISAP were made prior to the correction
submission deadline date. A review in the Detail Reporting
process in Powerfaids was conducted and determined that the
process in Powerfaids initially reported that students who
should have been included as full time were reverted to part
time status if the last period of enrollment was less than
fulltime. We have worked with Powerfaids to resolve this
issue.
Corrections were made to all Part V errors prior to the
correction submission date. Payroll has been apprised that
only ten percent of the JDL administrator salary can be
attributed to and or drawn down from Federal Work Study
funds.
Federal Program Information: Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (ALN:
84.007) and Federal Work-Study Program (ALN: 84.033)
Criteria or Specific Requirement
(Including Statutory, Regulatory
or Other Citation):
L. Reporting – Special Reporting – The Fiscal Operations
Report and Application to Participate (“FISAP”) is an
electronic report submitted annual to receive funds for the
campus-based programs. The institution uses the Fiscal
Operations Report portion to report its expenditures in the
previous award year and the Application to Participate
portion to apply for the following year. Key line items
containing critical information include: Part I, Identifying
Information, Certification, and Warning; Part II, Application
to Participate (selected sections); Part III, Fiscal Operations
Report, Part IV, Fiscal Operations Report Federal
Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (“FSEOG”)
Program; Part V, Fiscal Operations Report Federal Work-Study
(“FWS”) Program; and Part VI, Program Summary for Award
Year.
Condition: Through our testing, certain errors in key line items of the
University’s FISAP were identified.
Cause: Administrative oversight with respect to FISAP reporting.
Effect or Potential Effect: The University is not in compliance with FISAP reporting
requirements. Failure to report accurate records of
expenditures for the previous award year could impact future
availability of Title IV aid.
Questioned Costs: None.
Context: The University incorrectly reported certain required line
items disclosing the uses of FWS funds during the year in Part
V of the FISAP. Additionally, the total of less-than-full-time
students was not properly reported in Part VI of the FISAP.
Identification of Repeat Finding: No similar findings noted in the prior year.
Recommendation: We recommend the University enhance its policies and
procedures to ensure that key line items containing critical
information are properly reported in the FISAP, in accordance
with federal regulations.
Views of Responsible Officials and
Planned Corrective Actions:
Corrections to the FISAP were made prior to the correction
submission deadline date. A review in the Detail Reporting
process in Powerfaids was conducted and determined that the
process in Powerfaids initially reported that students who
should have been included as full time were reverted to part
time status if the last period of enrollment was less than
fulltime. We have worked with Powerfaids to resolve this
issue.
Corrections were made to all Part V errors prior to the
correction submission date. Payroll has been apprised that
only ten percent of the JDL administrator salary can be
attributed to and or drawn down from Federal Work Study
funds.
Federal Program Information: Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (ALN:
84.007), Federal Pell Grant Program (ALN: 84.063), Federal
Direct Student Loans (ALN: 84.268)
Criteria or Specific Requirement
(Including Statutory, Regulatory
or Other Citation):
N. Special Tests and Provisions – Return of Title IV Funds: The
amount of earned Title IV grant or loan assistance is
calculated by determining the percentage of Title IV grant or
loan assistance that has been earned by the student and
applying that percentage to the total amount of Title IV grant
or loan assistance that was or could have been disbursed to
the student for the payment period or period of enrollment
as of the student’s withdrawal date. A student earns 100
percent if his or her withdrawal date is after the completion
of 60 percent of (1) the calendar days in the payment period
or period of enrollment for a program measured in credit
hours, or (2) the clock hours scheduled to be completed for
the payment period or period of enrollment for a program
measured in clock hours (34 CFR 668.22(e)(2)). Otherwise,
the percentage earned by the student is equal to the
percentage (60 percent or less) of the payment period or
period of enrollment that was completed as of the student’s
withdrawal date. The percentage of Title IV grant or loan
assistance that has not been earned by the student is the
complement of one of these calculations. Standard termbased
institutions must always use the payment period as the
basis for the determination.
The unearned amount of Title IV assistance to be returned is
calculated by subtracting the amount of Title IV assistance
earned by the student from the amount of Title IV aid that
was disbursed to the student as of the date of the institution’s
determination that the student withdrew (34 CFR 668.22(e)).
Condition: For certain students identified through our testing, the
University did not properly calculate the amounts to be
returned to the ED.
Cause: Administrative oversight with respect to return of Title IV
fund calculations.
Effect or Potential Effect: The University is not in compliance with the return of Title IV
funds requirements.
Questioned Costs: None.
Context: For 1 of 2 students selected for testing, the University did not
properly calculate the amount of Title IV aid to be returned
to the ED. The amount returned to the ED was greater than
the amount owed based upon the student’s withdrawal date.
Identification of Repeat Finding: No similar findings noted in the prior year.
Recommendation: We recommend the University enhance its procedures over
the return of Title IV fund calculations to ensure that returns
of funds are calculated accurately, in accordance with
federal regulations.
Views of Responsible Officials and
Planned Corrective Actions:
The issue has been addressed and reviewed. Going forward
the Director of Financial Aid will set up and review all periods
of enrollment and dates in the return of funds calculation on
COD prior to the start of the academic year.
Federal Program Information: Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (ALN:
84.007), Federal Pell Grant Program (ALN: 84.063), Federal
Direct Student Loans (ALN: 84.268)
Criteria or Specific Requirement
(Including Statutory, Regulatory
or Other Citation):
N. Special Tests and Provisions – Return of Title IV Funds: The
amount of earned Title IV grant or loan assistance is
calculated by determining the percentage of Title IV grant or
loan assistance that has been earned by the student and
applying that percentage to the total amount of Title IV grant
or loan assistance that was or could have been disbursed to
the student for the payment period or period of enrollment
as of the student’s withdrawal date. A student earns 100
percent if his or her withdrawal date is after the completion
of 60 percent of (1) the calendar days in the payment period
or period of enrollment for a program measured in credit
hours, or (2) the clock hours scheduled to be completed for
the payment period or period of enrollment for a program
measured in clock hours (34 CFR 668.22(e)(2)). Otherwise,
the percentage earned by the student is equal to the
percentage (60 percent or less) of the payment period or
period of enrollment that was completed as of the student’s
withdrawal date. The percentage of Title IV grant or loan
assistance that has not been earned by the student is the
complement of one of these calculations. Standard termbased
institutions must always use the payment period as the
basis for the determination.
The unearned amount of Title IV assistance to be returned is
calculated by subtracting the amount of Title IV assistance
earned by the student from the amount of Title IV aid that
was disbursed to the student as of the date of the institution’s
determination that the student withdrew (34 CFR 668.22(e)).
Condition: For certain students identified through our testing, the
University did not properly calculate the amounts to be
returned to the ED.
Cause: Administrative oversight with respect to return of Title IV
fund calculations.
Effect or Potential Effect: The University is not in compliance with the return of Title IV
funds requirements.
Questioned Costs: None.
Context: For 1 of 2 students selected for testing, the University did not
properly calculate the amount of Title IV aid to be returned
to the ED. The amount returned to the ED was greater than
the amount owed based upon the student’s withdrawal date.
Identification of Repeat Finding: No similar findings noted in the prior year.
Recommendation: We recommend the University enhance its procedures over
the return of Title IV fund calculations to ensure that returns
of funds are calculated accurately, in accordance with
federal regulations.
Views of Responsible Officials and
Planned Corrective Actions:
The issue has been addressed and reviewed. Going forward
the Director of Financial Aid will set up and review all periods
of enrollment and dates in the return of funds calculation on
COD prior to the start of the academic year.
Federal Program Information: Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (ALN:
84.007), Federal Pell Grant Program (ALN: 84.063), Federal
Direct Student Loans (ALN: 84.268)
Criteria or Specific Requirement
(Including Statutory, Regulatory
or Other Citation):
N. Special Tests and Provisions – Return of Title IV Funds: The
amount of earned Title IV grant or loan assistance is
calculated by determining the percentage of Title IV grant or
loan assistance that has been earned by the student and
applying that percentage to the total amount of Title IV grant
or loan assistance that was or could have been disbursed to
the student for the payment period or period of enrollment
as of the student’s withdrawal date. A student earns 100
percent if his or her withdrawal date is after the completion
of 60 percent of (1) the calendar days in the payment period
or period of enrollment for a program measured in credit
hours, or (2) the clock hours scheduled to be completed for
the payment period or period of enrollment for a program
measured in clock hours (34 CFR 668.22(e)(2)). Otherwise,
the percentage earned by the student is equal to the
percentage (60 percent or less) of the payment period or
period of enrollment that was completed as of the student’s
withdrawal date. The percentage of Title IV grant or loan
assistance that has not been earned by the student is the
complement of one of these calculations. Standard termbased
institutions must always use the payment period as the
basis for the determination.
The unearned amount of Title IV assistance to be returned is
calculated by subtracting the amount of Title IV assistance
earned by the student from the amount of Title IV aid that
was disbursed to the student as of the date of the institution’s
determination that the student withdrew (34 CFR 668.22(e)).
Condition: For certain students identified through our testing, the
University did not properly calculate the amounts to be
returned to the ED.
Cause: Administrative oversight with respect to return of Title IV
fund calculations.
Effect or Potential Effect: The University is not in compliance with the return of Title IV
funds requirements.
Questioned Costs: None.
Context: For 1 of 2 students selected for testing, the University did not
properly calculate the amount of Title IV aid to be returned
to the ED. The amount returned to the ED was greater than
the amount owed based upon the student’s withdrawal date.
Identification of Repeat Finding: No similar findings noted in the prior year.
Recommendation: We recommend the University enhance its procedures over
the return of Title IV fund calculations to ensure that returns
of funds are calculated accurately, in accordance with
federal regulations.
Views of Responsible Officials and
Planned Corrective Actions:
The issue has been addressed and reviewed. Going forward
the Director of Financial Aid will set up and review all periods
of enrollment and dates in the return of funds calculation on
COD prior to the start of the academic year.
Federal Program Information: Federal Pell Grant Program (ALN: 84.063), Federal Direct
Student Loans (ALN: 84.268), Teacher Education Assistance
for College and Higher Education Grants (ALN: 84.379)
Criteria or Specific Requirement
(Including Statutory, Regulatory
or Other Citation):
N. Special Tests and Provisions - Enrollment Reporting: The
University is required to update students’ statuses on the
National Student Loans Data System (“NSLDS”) website if they
graduate, withdraw or have an increase/decrease in
attendance level during the year within 60 days of the date
the University becomes aware of the change in enrollment
status. There are two categories of enrollment information;
“Campus Level” and “Program Level,” both of which need to
be reported accurately and have separate record types.
Institutions are responsible for accurately reporting the
significant data elements under the Campus-Level Record and
Program-Level Record that ED considers high risk.
Additionally, institutions are responsible for timely reporting,
whether they report directly or via a third-party servicer. As
with any school/servicer arrangement for the administration
of the Title IV programs, if the school uses a third party to
meet the NSLDS enrollment reporting requirements it is the
school that must ensure that enrollment information is
submitted timely, accurately, and completely.
Per the Federal Student Aid Handbook, schools are required
to certify enrollment for all students who are included on
their roster file scheduled at least every two months, and
within 15 days of the date that NSLDS sends a roster file to
the school or its third-party servicer. Any errors identified
and returned by NSLDS in an Error/Acknowledgement file
should be corrected and resubmitted within 10 days.
Condition: The University did not submit an accurate status change
notification or timely notification to the NSLDS website for
certain students who graduated, withdrew, or had an
increase/decrease in attendance level during the year.
Additionally, the University’s fiscal year SCHER1 report
included multiple instances in which error records were not
corrected within the required timeframe.
Cause: Administrative oversight with respect to enrollment reporting
compliance requirements.
Effect or Potential Effect: The University is not in compliance with enrollment reporting
compliance requirements. Failure to promptly report
accurate and timely changes in enrollment status may
adversely impact the repayment status for student loan
borrowers.
Questioned Costs: None.
Context: We noted the following exceptions as a result of our
procedures:
• For 1 of 40 students sampled whose status changed
during the year, the University failed to accurately
report all significant data elements under the Campus-
Level Record in a timely notification to the NSLDS
website.
• For 4 of 25 students sampled whose status changed
during the year, the University failed to accurately
report all significant data elements under the
Program-Level Record in a timely notification to the
NSLDS website.
• For 5 of 6 Error Reports tested, error records identified
in Error/Acknowledgment files were not corrected
within the required timeframe.
Identification of Repeat Finding: This is a repeat finding from prior year. This was reported as
Finding 2022-003 in the prior year schedule of findings and
questioned costs.
Recommendation: We recommend that the University properly follow its policies
and procedures over enrollment reporting to ensure that all
status changes are submitted to the NSLDS website within the
required timeframe and that error records are corrected and
submitted timely, consistent with federal regulations.
Views of Responsible Officials and
Planned Corrective Actions:
With regards to Error #2023-007, some of the findings were
related to incorrect reporting of graduation status,
graduation date, and program begin date. We identified that
some dates had not been correctly entered. We are working
with our student information system software consultants and
National Student Clearinghouse personnel to ensure that all
staff understand reporting requirements, and we have taken
steps to correct errors before we submit reports.
Another finding was that error records were not corrected
within the required timeframe. There has been a change in
staffing in the office since the time periods of the audit
findings, so a different person is now correcting error records.
That individual has been made aware of the audit findings and
has committed to work with office personnel and National
Student Clearinghouse on correcting reported errors
promptly.
Federal Program Information: Federal Pell Grant Program (ALN: 84.063), Federal Direct
Student Loans (ALN: 84.268), Teacher Education Assistance
for College and Higher Education Grants (ALN: 84.379)
Criteria or Specific Requirement
(Including Statutory, Regulatory
or Other Citation):
N. Special Tests and Provisions - Enrollment Reporting: The
University is required to update students’ statuses on the
National Student Loans Data System (“NSLDS”) website if they
graduate, withdraw or have an increase/decrease in
attendance level during the year within 60 days of the date
the University becomes aware of the change in enrollment
status. There are two categories of enrollment information;
“Campus Level” and “Program Level,” both of which need to
be reported accurately and have separate record types.
Institutions are responsible for accurately reporting the
significant data elements under the Campus-Level Record and
Program-Level Record that ED considers high risk.
Additionally, institutions are responsible for timely reporting,
whether they report directly or via a third-party servicer. As
with any school/servicer arrangement for the administration
of the Title IV programs, if the school uses a third party to
meet the NSLDS enrollment reporting requirements it is the
school that must ensure that enrollment information is
submitted timely, accurately, and completely.
Per the Federal Student Aid Handbook, schools are required
to certify enrollment for all students who are included on
their roster file scheduled at least every two months, and
within 15 days of the date that NSLDS sends a roster file to
the school or its third-party servicer. Any errors identified
and returned by NSLDS in an Error/Acknowledgement file
should be corrected and resubmitted within 10 days.
Condition: The University did not submit an accurate status change
notification or timely notification to the NSLDS website for
certain students who graduated, withdrew, or had an
increase/decrease in attendance level during the year.
Additionally, the University’s fiscal year SCHER1 report
included multiple instances in which error records were not
corrected within the required timeframe.
Cause: Administrative oversight with respect to enrollment reporting
compliance requirements.
Effect or Potential Effect: The University is not in compliance with enrollment reporting
compliance requirements. Failure to promptly report
accurate and timely changes in enrollment status may
adversely impact the repayment status for student loan
borrowers.
Questioned Costs: None.
Context: We noted the following exceptions as a result of our
procedures:
• For 1 of 40 students sampled whose status changed
during the year, the University failed to accurately
report all significant data elements under the Campus-
Level Record in a timely notification to the NSLDS
website.
• For 4 of 25 students sampled whose status changed
during the year, the University failed to accurately
report all significant data elements under the
Program-Level Record in a timely notification to the
NSLDS website.
• For 5 of 6 Error Reports tested, error records identified
in Error/Acknowledgment files were not corrected
within the required timeframe.
Identification of Repeat Finding: This is a repeat finding from prior year. This was reported as
Finding 2022-003 in the prior year schedule of findings and
questioned costs.
Recommendation: We recommend that the University properly follow its policies
and procedures over enrollment reporting to ensure that all
status changes are submitted to the NSLDS website within the
required timeframe and that error records are corrected and
submitted timely, consistent with federal regulations.
Views of Responsible Officials and
Planned Corrective Actions:
With regards to Error #2023-007, some of the findings were
related to incorrect reporting of graduation status,
graduation date, and program begin date. We identified that
some dates had not been correctly entered. We are working
with our student information system software consultants and
National Student Clearinghouse personnel to ensure that all
staff understand reporting requirements, and we have taken
steps to correct errors before we submit reports.
Another finding was that error records were not corrected
within the required timeframe. There has been a change in
staffing in the office since the time periods of the audit
findings, so a different person is now correcting error records.
That individual has been made aware of the audit findings and
has committed to work with office personnel and National
Student Clearinghouse on correcting reported errors
promptly.
Federal Program Information: Federal Pell Grant Program (ALN: 84.063), Federal Direct
Student Loans (ALN: 84.268), Teacher Education Assistance
for College and Higher Education Grants (ALN: 84.379)
Criteria or Specific Requirement
(Including Statutory, Regulatory
or Other Citation):
N. Special Tests and Provisions - Enrollment Reporting: The
University is required to update students’ statuses on the
National Student Loans Data System (“NSLDS”) website if they
graduate, withdraw or have an increase/decrease in
attendance level during the year within 60 days of the date
the University becomes aware of the change in enrollment
status. There are two categories of enrollment information;
“Campus Level” and “Program Level,” both of which need to
be reported accurately and have separate record types.
Institutions are responsible for accurately reporting the
significant data elements under the Campus-Level Record and
Program-Level Record that ED considers high risk.
Additionally, institutions are responsible for timely reporting,
whether they report directly or via a third-party servicer. As
with any school/servicer arrangement for the administration
of the Title IV programs, if the school uses a third party to
meet the NSLDS enrollment reporting requirements it is the
school that must ensure that enrollment information is
submitted timely, accurately, and completely.
Per the Federal Student Aid Handbook, schools are required
to certify enrollment for all students who are included on
their roster file scheduled at least every two months, and
within 15 days of the date that NSLDS sends a roster file to
the school or its third-party servicer. Any errors identified
and returned by NSLDS in an Error/Acknowledgement file
should be corrected and resubmitted within 10 days.
Condition: The University did not submit an accurate status change
notification or timely notification to the NSLDS website for
certain students who graduated, withdrew, or had an
increase/decrease in attendance level during the year.
Additionally, the University’s fiscal year SCHER1 report
included multiple instances in which error records were not
corrected within the required timeframe.
Cause: Administrative oversight with respect to enrollment reporting
compliance requirements.
Effect or Potential Effect: The University is not in compliance with enrollment reporting
compliance requirements. Failure to promptly report
accurate and timely changes in enrollment status may
adversely impact the repayment status for student loan
borrowers.
Questioned Costs: None.
Context: We noted the following exceptions as a result of our
procedures:
• For 1 of 40 students sampled whose status changed
during the year, the University failed to accurately
report all significant data elements under the Campus-
Level Record in a timely notification to the NSLDS
website.
• For 4 of 25 students sampled whose status changed
during the year, the University failed to accurately
report all significant data elements under the
Program-Level Record in a timely notification to the
NSLDS website.
• For 5 of 6 Error Reports tested, error records identified
in Error/Acknowledgment files were not corrected
within the required timeframe.
Identification of Repeat Finding: This is a repeat finding from prior year. This was reported as
Finding 2022-003 in the prior year schedule of findings and
questioned costs.
Recommendation: We recommend that the University properly follow its policies
and procedures over enrollment reporting to ensure that all
status changes are submitted to the NSLDS website within the
required timeframe and that error records are corrected and
submitted timely, consistent with federal regulations.
Views of Responsible Officials and
Planned Corrective Actions:
With regards to Error #2023-007, some of the findings were
related to incorrect reporting of graduation status,
graduation date, and program begin date. We identified that
some dates had not been correctly entered. We are working
with our student information system software consultants and
National Student Clearinghouse personnel to ensure that all
staff understand reporting requirements, and we have taken
steps to correct errors before we submit reports.
Another finding was that error records were not corrected
within the required timeframe. There has been a change in
staffing in the office since the time periods of the audit
findings, so a different person is now correcting error records.
That individual has been made aware of the audit findings and
has committed to work with office personnel and National
Student Clearinghouse on correcting reported errors
promptly.