Finding 1140702 (2024-001)

-
Requirement
N
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2024
Accepted
2025-06-09

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: Inaccurate enrollment data reported for one student at Los Angeles Valley College, specifically a mismatch in the effective date between Campus-Level and Program-Level records in the NSLDS.
  • Impacted Requirements: Compliance with federal enrollment reporting standards, which require accurate and timely updates to student enrollment statuses and effective dates.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Implement a review process to ensure accurate reporting and consider further modifications to the PeopleSoft system to prevent future discrepancies in enrollment data.

Finding Text

Finding FA 2024-001: Special Tests and Provisions: Enrollment Reporting: Inaccurate Enrollment Effective Date Reported in the Campus-Level Record Data of the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) Federal Program Information: Assistance Listing Number: ALN 84.063, 84.268 Federal Program Name: Student Financial Assistance Cluster; Federal Pell Grant Program, Federal Direct Student Loans Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Education Passed Through Entity: N/A Federal Award Number: P063P210036, P268K220036 Federal Award Year: July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024 Campuses: Los Angeles Valley College Compliance Requirement: Special Tests and Provisions – Enrollment Reporting Criteria or Specific Requirement: Per the Compliance Supplement, Enrollment Reporting – Compliance Requirements: 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. Institutions are responsible for accurately reporting all Campus-Level Record data elements. ED considers the following data elements to be high risk: OPEID Number, Enrollment Effective Date, Enrollment Status and Certification Date. Institutions are responsible for accurately reporting all Program-Level Record data elements. ED considers the following data elements to be high risk: OPEID Number, CIP Code, Credential Level, Published Program Length Measurement, Published Program Length, Program Begin Date, Program Enrollment Status, and Program Enrollment Effective Date. Identified Condition: Of the 20 students selected for testwork at Los Angeles Valley College, we noted 1 student that had an enrollment status change from half-time to three-quarter time that was inaccurately recorded in the “Campus -Level Record” data section in the NSLDS. While the District correctly reported the program enrollment effective date as 7/14/2024 in the “Program-Level Record” data section of the NSLDS, the enrollment effective date was inaccurately reported as 7/23/2024 in the “Campus-Level Record” data section in the NSLDS. Cause and Effect: The PeopleSoft enrollment reporting system, as delivered, did not provide a student status effective date (SSD) in cases of a change in student level load and National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) documentation states that provision of the SSD is not required. However, this condition contributed to a high volume of reporting errors, requiring manual error correction by the District’s college staff. To address this issue, the District developed a programming modification to automatically provide a date in the system for instances of a change in the student academic load. The date provided in the system, based on the NSC submission calendar, was the day prior to the file generation date (the day before the “As of Date” on the NSC submission calendar). This modification can, in some circumstances, lead to misalignment of student status effective date reported to the NSC and the effective date of the academic load change in the PeopleSoft student information system. Questioned Costs: Not applicable.

Categories

Student Financial Aid Reporting Matching / Level of Effort / Earmarking Special Tests & Provisions

Other Findings in this Audit

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
84.063 Federal Pell Grant Program $167.83M
84.268 Federal Direct Student Loans $19.78M
84.031 Higher Education Institutional Aid $5.57M
84.048 Career and Technical Education -- Basic Grants to States $4.69M
84.007 Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants $3.84M
17.268 H-1b Job Training Grants $3.18M
84.033 Federal Work-Study Program $2.96M
84.002 Adult Education - Basic Grants to States $2.86M
84.047 Trio Upward Bound $2.69M
84.116 Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education $2.46M
84.042 Trio Student Support Services $1.81M
93.558 Temporary Assistance for Needy Families $970,778
93.596 Child Care Mandatory and Matching Funds of the Child Care and Development Fund $926,131
93.575 Child Care and Development Block Grant $638,474
84.044 Trio Talent Search $542,401
10.558 Child and Adult Care Food Program $459,845
93.600 Head Start $423,864
17.261 Workforce Data Quality Initiative (wdqi) $408,794
10.561 State Administrative Matching Grants for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program $392,397
93.658 Foster Care Title IV-E $323,100
47.076 Stem Education (formerly Education and Human Resources) $275,926
84.335 Child Care Access Means Parents in School $246,332
84.066 Trio Educational Opportunity Centers $240,363
84.126 Rehabilitation Services Vocational Rehabilitation Grants to States $223,245
94.006 Americorps State and National 94.006 $186,224
93.493 Congressional Directives $111,022
84.305 Education Research, Development and Dissemination $93,702
84.334 Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs $92,037
84.425 Education Stabilization Fund $77,296
47.050 Geosciences $50,837
17.289 Community Project Funding/congressionally Directed Spending $49,596
84.038 Federal Perkins Loan Program $26,209
84.336 Teacher Quality Partnership Grants $24,923
10.310 Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (afri) $3,001
17.278 Wioa Dislocated Worker Formula Grants $1,786