Finding Text
Federal Program: Student Financial Assistance Cluster - Federal Direct Student Loan Program
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Education
Pass-Through Entity: Not applicable
Assistance Listing Number: 84.268
Federal Award Year: June 30, 2024
Criterion: Title IV regulations (34 CFR 685.309b) 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 discover 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 and Context: For four students out of 25 selected for testing, the College did not notify the NSLDS in a timely matter for a change in enrollment status. Our sample was not statistically valid.
Cause and Effect: The College failed to follow its procedures for reporting student status changes. 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 in NSLDS.
Recommendation: The College should implement a process and related to verify with NSLDS that all enrollment status information for all students is updated accurately and timely.
Management Response: Management agrees with the finding. The Director of Financial Aid will continue to work closely with the Registrar’s Office to resolve the data reporting process and to ensure accurate and timely reporting of student enrollment data.