Audit 328998

Finding 2024-001 – Student Financial Aid Cluster Enrollment Reporting Questioned Costs: Unknown Criteria: Institutions are responsible for accurately reporting all campus-level record data elements. Specifically, an institution determines how often it receives the enrollment reporting roster file with the default set as a minimum of every 60 days. The institution must update for changes in the data elements for the campus record and the program records, submit the changes electronically through a batch method, spreadsheet submittal, or the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) website in accordance with Pell, 34 CFR 690.839(b)(2) and Direct Loan, 34 CFR 685.309. If errors are identified, institutions have 10 days to correct the errors and resubmit to NSLDS. Condition: The College alongside its software vendor, Ellucian, adjusted enrollment reporting to isolate the needed students for data pulls to upload to NSLDS as required for student financial aid. the College’s adjusted reporting query did not accurately capture the appropriate student enrollment records during fiscal year 2024. Cause and Effect: During the College’s decustomization meetings with Ellucian consultants in late Spring 2023, the College made an update to their Clearinghouse enrollment reporting process to incorporate a saved list of student records rather than running through all student records as previously done. This significantly reduced the time it took to process the enrollment reporting and was said to be more efficient for the College. During the annual audit of the Student Financial Aid award activity, the College realized that the new process caused some students enrollment to be missed when reporting for Fall 2023 and Spring 2024. 4.8% of students enrolled for Fall 2023 were impacted, totaling 534 students. 5.9% of all students enrolled for Spring 2024 were impacted, totaling 588 students. As a result, the College was not in compliance with the required enrollment reporting requirements in accordance with 24 CFR 690.839(b)(2) and 34 CFR 685.309. Recommendation: AA recommends that after any significant process update, the College should perform a postimplementation review to assess the performance of the updated process and check for unintended consequences. Additionally, AA would recommend improving communication and training to ensure that all personnel understand the new process and report any anomalies in a timely manner. Management Response: To ensure this issue is fully resolved moving forward, we have implemented a more rigorous internal process, including thorough testing and random sampling. We now compare reported enrollment data against actual student enrollment for each semester, allowing us to verify that all students are accurately reported. These enhanced measures will safeguard against similar oversights in the future.

Finding 2024-001 – Student Financial Aid Cluster Enrollment Reporting Questioned Costs: Unknown Criteria: Institutions are responsible for accurately reporting all campus-level record data elements. Specifically, an institution determines how often it receives the enrollment reporting roster file with the default set as a minimum of every 60 days. The institution must update for changes in the data elements for the campus record and the program records, submit the changes electronically through a batch method, spreadsheet submittal, or the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) website in accordance with Pell, 34 CFR 690.839(b)(2) and Direct Loan, 34 CFR 685.309. If errors are identified, institutions have 10 days to correct the errors and resubmit to NSLDS. Condition: The College alongside its software vendor, Ellucian, adjusted enrollment reporting to isolate the needed students for data pulls to upload to NSLDS as required for student financial aid. the College’s adjusted reporting query did not accurately capture the appropriate student enrollment records during fiscal year 2024. Cause and Effect: During the College’s decustomization meetings with Ellucian consultants in late Spring 2023, the College made an update to their Clearinghouse enrollment reporting process to incorporate a saved list of student records rather than running through all student records as previously done. This significantly reduced the time it took to process the enrollment reporting and was said to be more efficient for the College. During the annual audit of the Student Financial Aid award activity, the College realized that the new process caused some students enrollment to be missed when reporting for Fall 2023 and Spring 2024. 4.8% of students enrolled for Fall 2023 were impacted, totaling 534 students. 5.9% of all students enrolled for Spring 2024 were impacted, totaling 588 students. As a result, the College was not in compliance with the required enrollment reporting requirements in accordance with 24 CFR 690.839(b)(2) and 34 CFR 685.309. Recommendation: AA recommends that after any significant process update, the College should perform a postimplementation review to assess the performance of the updated process and check for unintended consequences. Additionally, AA would recommend improving communication and training to ensure that all personnel understand the new process and report any anomalies in a timely manner. Management Response: To ensure this issue is fully resolved moving forward, we have implemented a more rigorous internal process, including thorough testing and random sampling. We now compare reported enrollment data against actual student enrollment for each semester, allowing us to verify that all students are accurately reported. These enhanced measures will safeguard against similar oversights in the future.