Finding Text
2024-001 - Untimely submissions of Accurate Student Enrollment Change to the National Student
Loan Data System (NSLDS)
Grantor: U.S. Department of Education
Program Name: Student Financial Assistance Cluster
Award Names: Federal Pell Grant Program and Federal Direct Loan Program
Award Year: 7/1/2023 - 6/30/2024
Award Number: Not applicable
Assistance Listing Numbers: 84.063 and 84.268
Criteria:
In accordance with 34 CFR 690.83(b)(2) and 685.309, institutions are required to report enrollment
information under the Federal Pell Grant and Federal Direct Loan programs through NSLDS. The
enrollment information, inclusive of Campus Level and Program Level data, must be reviewed, updated
and validated by the institution in a timely manner. Furthermore, specific to the Federal Direct Loan
program, for a student that received a Direct Loan and was enrolled or accepted for enrollment at the
institution, and the student had 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, the institution must report the
change within 60 days from which the change was identified.
Condition:
We reviewed a sample of twenty-five students enrolled at the University who received either Pell and/or Direct Loans and had a change of enrollment status during the fiscal year. Of the twenty-five students
tested, we identified four students whose campus level statuses were certified after the required 60-day timeframe.
Questioned Costs:
None
Cause:
The University experienced a student information system update which resulted in errors in the enrollment reporting file. When the errors were identified, the University manually submitted Off-cycle “Degree Verify” files to mitigate the impact and allow for the earliest possible date of submission. This strategy was not effective in all cases, which resulted in a delay in NSC processing the enrollment reporting files.
Effect:
A student’s enrollment status determines eligibility for in-school status, deferment, and grace periods, as well as for the payment of interest subsidies all of which are impacted by inaccurate and late reporting.
Recommendation:
We recommend the University review its policies, procedures, and controls for accurate and timely enrollment reporting. We also recommend that the University review the records of all students whose enrollment status could have been affected by the system update to ensure that their status is properly reported.