Audit 392102

Finding 2025-001 Federal Program Information: Federal Direct Student Loan Program (ALN#: 84.268), Federal Pell Grant Program (ALN#: 84.063) Criteria or Specific Requirement: N. Special Tests and Provisions – Campus Level Enrollment Reporting Institutions are required to report enrollment information under the Pell grant and the Direct and FFEL loan programs via the NSLDS (OMB No. 1845-0035), although FFEL loans are no longer made or a part of the SFA Cluster, a student may have a FFEL loan from previous years that would require enrollment reporting for that student (Pell, 34 CFR 690.83(b)(2); FFEL, 34 CFR 682.610; Direct Loan, 34 CFR 685.309; Perkins 34 CFR 674.19(f)). The administration of the Title IV programs depends heavily on the accuracy and timeliness of the enrollment information reported by institutions. Institutions must review, update, and certify student enrollment statuses, program information, and effective dates that appear on the Enrollment Reporting Roster file or on the Enrollment Maintenance page of the NSLDS Professional Access (NSLDSFAP) website which the financial aid administrator can access for the auditor. The data on the institution’s Enrollment Reporting Roster, or Enrollment Maintenance page, is what NSLDS has as the most recently certified enrollment. 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. Condition: The University failed to report student enrollment for 1 out of 40 selections. Cause: Insufficient administrative oversight with respect to Campus Level enrollment reporting compliance requirements. Effect or Possible Effect: The University was not in compliance with the Campus Level enrollment reporting compliance requirements. Questioned Costs: None. Context: The University failed to report student enrollment for 1 out of 40 selections. Identification of Repeat Finding: There was a similar finding, 2024-002, identified during the prior year. Recommendation: We recommend the University enhance its procedures to ensure Campus Level enrollment reporting is submitted. Views of Responsible Officials: To prevent future occurrences of missing campus‑level student enrollment reporting, both the University Registrar and Assistant Registrar will participate in the upcoming NSClearinghouse Academy on Thursday, March 26. This session will provide a refresher on enrollment compliance reporting requirements and offer opportunities to connect with peers and Clearinghouse staff to discuss best practices. Additionally, I will begin collaborating with the MU Database Administrator, Mary Hupp, to compile and review all monthly enrollment reports prior to submission to the National Student Clearinghouse. As part of this strengthened workflow, we will implement a two‑person sign‑off to ensure that both the data extraction and the TXT file mapping are jointly reviewed and verified before transmission. This added step ensures a second review of both the database and the TXT file before transmission, strengthening accuracy, and reducing the likelihood of future omissions. Before the next reporting cycle, the Registrar’s Office will also review and update the current enrollment reporting process documentation in collaboration with Mary Hupp to ensure that all steps, and system validation points are clearly defined and consistently followed.

Finding 2025-002 Federal Program Information: Federal Direct Student Loan Program (ALN#: 84.268) Criteria or Specific Requirement: Special Tests and Provisions – Disbursements to or on Behalf of Students – Federal Student Aid (“FSA”) Credit Balances - Where disbursements created a credit balance in the student account and the student or parent did not provide an authorization for the institution to retain funds, the institution must provide the credit balance amount to the student within 14 days of the date the balance was created (34 CFR 668.164(h)). Condition: Instance was identified where the University did not return a credit balance within the required timeframe. Cause: Administrative oversight with respect to disbursement to or on behalf of students. Effect or Possible Effect: The University was not in compliance with disbursement to or on behalf of students. Questioned Costs: None. Context: For 1 of 40 students selected for testing, the University did not return a credit balance within the required 14 days. Identification of Repeat Finding: There was a similar finding, 2024-003, identified during the prior year. Recommendation: We recommend the University complete a timely review of credit balances in order to return all credit balances with respect to FSA credit balances within the required timeframe. Views of Responsible Officials: The current refund report used to monitor Title IV refunds has limitations that affected the completeness of data reviewed. Reports rely on manual batch postings, which can delay or omit certain transactions at the time of report generation. This created gaps in monitoring and potential human error. The institution is transitioning to a new system. The new program is expected to improve the accuracy and completeness of refund monitoring. System implementation and staff training are currently underway, with full adoption beginning with the 2026-2027 academic year.