Finding 1165416 (2025-001)

Material Weakness Repeat Finding
Requirement
N
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2025
Accepted
2025-12-18
Audit: 376103
Organization: Buena Vista University (IA)

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: The University failed to notify the NSLDS about student enrollment status changes accurately and on time.
  • Impacted Requirements: Compliance with NSLDS reporting regulations, specifically 34 CFR 685.309(b), regarding timely updates of student enrollment data.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Implement a review process for reporting procedures and establish regular reconciliations to ensure accuracy and compliance moving forward.

Finding Text

Student Financial Assistance Cluster U.S. Department of Education Federal Student Direct Loans CFDA 84.268 Federal Pell Grant Program 84.063 Award Year: 7/1/2024 - 6/30/2025 Criteria or Specific Requirement – Special Tests and Provisions: NSLDS Reporting 34 CFR 685.309(b) states that upon receipt of an enrollment report from the Secretary, a school must update all information included in the report and return the report to the Secretary in the manner and format prescribed by the Secretary and 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, a school must notify the Secretary within 30 days after the date the school discovers that 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 school, 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. Condition – The University did not ensure accurate and timely notification to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) of student status changes and program-level enrollment data. Cause – Management oversight during a status update report submission. Effect – The NSLDS was not notified of the student enrollment status or program-level records on a timely and accurate basis. Questioned Costs – None noted. Context – Out of a population of 239 student enrollment status changes requiring notification, a sample of 24 students were selected for testing. Out of these 24 students, there were two selected where the campus and program-level record information was not in agreement between the NSLDS and the campus level information. Out of these 24 students selected for testing, there were five instances in which the student's status change was reported after the 60 day requirement. The sample was not, and was not intended to be, a statistically valid sample. Identification as a Repeat Finding – Not a repeat finding. Recommendation – The University should review and update its processes and controls to ensure student status changes for program-level records are reported to the NSLDS in a timely and accurate manner. Additionally, we recommend that a formal reconciliation process is completed to validate the procedure is completed on a regular basis. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions – Enrollment reports are generated directly from our student information system and we identified a system setting that controls whether or not withdrawn courses should be included in these reports. That setting has been updated and the Registrar is manually reviewing all records for students that withdrew from one or more courses during the term before finalizing and submitting the reports to NSC-NSLDS. Records affected during the 2024-25 academic year were all manually reviewed and updated by the Registrar at NSLDS. Staff will review software system settings regularly to ensure they stay set the correct way for future reporting.

Corrective Action Plan

Finding Reference Number 2025-001 Contact Person: Mindi Thompson, Registrar Current Status: When a student withdrew from a course or two during a term but still remained a part-time student for that term, those withdrawn courses were being counted in the enrollment intensity levels by the student information system for the purpose of generating enrollment level reporting for NSC-NSLDS. Views of Responsible Officials & Planned Corrective Action: Enrollment reports are generated directly from our student information system and we identified a system setting that controls whether or not withdrawn courses should be included in these reports. That setting has been updated and the Registrar is manually reviewing all records for students that withdrew from one or more courses during the term before finalizing and submitting the reports to NSC-NSLDS. Records affected during the 2024-25 academic year were all manually reviewed and updated by the Registrar at NSLDS. Staff will review software system settings regularly to ensure they stay set the correct way for future reporting. Anticipated Completion Date: Prior records with issues have already been corrected and ongoing monitoring is taking place.

Categories

Student Financial Aid

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 1165415 2025-001
    Material Weakness Repeat

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
84.268 FEDERAL DIRECT STUDENT LOANS $13.14M
84.063 FEDERAL PELL GRANT PROGRAM $4.80M
84.031 HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONAL AID $534,372
84.038 FEDERAL PERKINS LOAN PROGRAM $386,177
84.033 FEDERAL WORK-STUDY PROGRAM $177,498
84.007 FEDERAL SUPPLEMENTAL EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY GRANTS $148,044
84.379 TEACHER EDUCATION ASSISTANCE FOR COLLEGE AND HIGHER EDUCATION GRANTS (TEACH GRANTS) $118,300