Audit 390545

Finding 2025-002: Enrollment Reporting Federal Program: Federal Direct Student Loan Program, Federal Pell Grant Program Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Education Pass-Through Entity: Not applicable Assistance Listing Number: 84.268, 84.063 Federal Award Year: June 30, 2025 Repeat Finding: 2024-001 Criteria: Title IV regulations (34 CFR 685.309(b)) require that upon receipt of an enrollment report from the Department of Education Office of the Secretary (Secretary), institutions must update all information included in the report and return the report to the Secretary: (i) in the manner and format prescribed by the Secretary; and (ii) within the timeframe prescribed by the Secretary. Unless it expects to submit its next updated enrollment report to the Secretary within the next 60 days, an institution must notify the Secretary within 30 days after the date the institution discovers that: (i) a loan under Title IV of the Act was made to or on behalf of a student who was enrolled or accepted for enrollment at the institution, and the student has ceased to be enrolled on at least a half-time basis or failed to enroll on at least a half-time basis for the period for which the loan was intended; or (ii) a student who is enrolled at the institution and who received a loan under Title IV of the Act has changed his or her permanent address. Condition: The change in student status for 1 of the 25 students tested was not reported to the National Student Loan Data Systems (NSLDS) within 30 days or included in a response to a roster file within 60 days. However, these students were ultimately reported to the NSLDS. The sample was not a statistically valid sample. Cause: The College did not update their student financial aid system to reflect the appropriate status of the student upon withdrawal and therefore, despite being reported accurately at that time, that status was overridden to full time in their next roster submission to NSLDS. The change to withdrawn was not reflective until next month's submission which fell outside of the 60 day reporting requirement. Effect: The accuracy of Title IV student loan records depends heavily on the accuracy of the enrollment information reported by the College. If an institution does not review, update and verify student enrollment statuses, effective dates of the enrollment status and the anticipated completion dates, then the Title IV student loan records will be inaccurate and could affect student loan repayments. Questioned Costs: None. Recommendation: The College should review their policy on enrollment reporting to NSLDS to ensure all status changes during the year are reported in a timely and accurate manner. The student financial aid system should be updated timely to reflect the students' current status with College to avoid overriding the accurate reported status to NSLDS in the next roster submission. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions: The Registrar's Office remains committed to adhering to the College's established reporting guidelines. To ensure compliance with federal requirements, especially during times of employee turnover, the College will submit enrollment data to the National Student Clearinghouse at least every 30 days, maintaining timely and accurate reporting to the National Student Loan Data System.