Audit 396003

Finding 2025-002: Significant Deficiency - Enrollment Reporting Program: Student Financial Assistance Cluster Assistance Listing Number: 84.268 Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Education Federal Award Identification Number: P268K230130 Federal Award Year: June 30, 2025 Repeat of prior year finding 2024-002 Criteria: Title IV regulations (34 CFR 685.309(b)) require that upon receipt of an enrollment report from the 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/Context: The change in student status for 2 of 25 students tested was not reported to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) timely when the student withdrew or changed status during the fiscal year. The change in student status for an additional 2 of 25 students tested was not reported to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) accurately when the student graduated during the fiscal year. The sample was not a statistically valid sample. Questioned Costs: Not applicable. Cause: The Registrar's data collection was not reviewed after submission to National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) by another responsible individual to ascertain the accuracy of graduate, withdrawal and status change dates of students being reported. The College received a response from NSC of no errors, therefore the withdrawn student in question was not reported in a timely manner. Effect: The accuracy of Title IV student loan records depends heavily on the accuracy of the enrollment information reported by schools. 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. Recommendation: It is recommended that the College review policies and procedures in place to resolve reporting issues with the third-party servicer in a timely manner or implement an alternative reporting method to facilitate compliance with Title IV regulations. Management’s Response: The Registrar will run a report on the 15th of the month to verify any students that have exited the institution from the prior two submission periods (last two months) have valid exit dates in the National Student Loan Clearinghouse. The Assistant Registrar will review the work of the Registrar and verify any discrepancies between Coe's records and those stored in the National Student Clearinghouse for correction. The Registrar will then ensure timely and accurate submission of student records from the Clearinghouse to NSLDS after all the data has been reviewed. For fiscal year 2025, this error again occurred during a turnover of staff in the Office of the Registrar. When there are staffing changes in the future that impact a person on the staff in the Office of the Registrar who has been responsible for the verification and reporting of valid exit dates in the National Student Loan Clearinghouse, it is the responsibility of the Registrar, unless the Registrar has left, in which case it shall be the responsibility of the Assistant Registrar, to appoint another specific staff member in the Office of the Registrar to take the actions required by the written policy for the verification and reporting of this data.