Finding Text
2023-006 – Last Date of Attendance at an Academically Related Activity (Significant Deficiency) Department of Education, SFA Cluster, Special Tests and Provisions Criteria: If an institution is not required to take attendance, the withdrawal date is (1) the date, as determined by the institution, that the student began the withdrawal process prescribed by the institution; (2) the date, as determined by the institution, that the student otherwise provided official notification to the institution, in writing or orally, of his or her intent to withdrawal; (3) if the student ceases attendance without providing official notification to the institution of his or her withdrawal, the midpoint of the payment period or, if applicable, the period of enrollment; or (4-6) other special circumstances as documented by the institution. An institution that is not required to take attendance at an academically related activity may use, as the withdrawal date, the last date of attendance at an academically related activity as documented by the institution (34 CFR 668.22(c)). Condition: From a population of 163 students that officially or unofficially withdrew, we tested nineteen students and noted that documentation of the last date of attendance could not be provided for six students that unofficially withdrew and six students that officially withdrew. Cause: Controls are not functioning properly. Effect: Since documentation of the last date of attendance could not be provided, it could not be determined whether students that unofficially withdrew attended through the end of the period or students that officially withdrew had the correct date of last attendance. Repeat Finding from a Prior Year: Not a repeat finding. Recommendation: We recommend the University implement a policy to document the last date of attendance for students that unofficially withdrawal. In addition, we recommend the University maintain student-initiated withdrawal documentation for students that officially withdrawal. Management Response: The University acknowledges the deficiency in documenting the last dates of attendance for students who withdrew and has taken corrective actions to strengthen compliance with 34 CFR 668.22(c). To address this issue, the following steps have been implemented: 1)Revised Withdrawal Procedures: The University has formalized and updated its withdrawal procedures to require consistent documentation of the last date of attendance at an academically related activity for both official and unofficial withdrawals. Faculty are now required to report the last date a student participated in an academically related activity when submitting final grades or withdrawal notifications. 2) Mandatory Faculty Participation: Training will be provided to faculty and department chairs, emphasizing the importance of recording the last date of attendance for all students who cease attendance. The Registrar’s Office will incorporate this requirement into end-of-term processes and will enforce compliance before grade submission is finalized. 3) Retention of Student-Initiated Withdrawal Forms: A centralized and secure repository has been implemented to retain all student-initiated withdrawal requests. The Registrar’s Office is now responsible for maintaining this documentation and conducting periodic audits to ensure proper archiving. 4) Ongoing Monitoring: The Financial Aid and Registrar’s Offices will initiate a joint term-by-term reconciliation process to identify discrepancies in withdrawal reporting and verify the completeness of documentation.