Finding 1168653 (2024-002)

Federal agency: Department of Education Federal program title: Student Financial Assistance Cluster Assistance Listing Numbers: 84.063 – Federal Pell Grant Program 84.268 – Federal Direct Student Loans Award Period: July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024 Type of Finding: Other Matters Finding related to Compliance within Uniform Guidance and Significant Deficiency in Internal Controls over Compliance. Criteria or specific requirement: Institutions are required to report enrollment information under the Pell grant and the Direct loan programs via the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) (OMB No. 1845-0035) (Pell, 34 CFR 690.83(b)(2); Direct Loan, 34 CFR 685.309). Institutions must review, update, and verify 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. There are two categories of enrollment information with separate record types;“"Campus Level" and "Program Level,"”both of which need to be reported accurately and timely. The NSLDS Enrollment Reporting Guide provides the requirements and guidance for reporting enrollment details using the NSLDS Enrollment Reporting Process. Institutions must report enrollment changes within 30 days; however, if a roster file is expected within 60 days, you may provide the updated data on that roster file. Additionally, the College is required to ensure adequate internal controls over compliance are established and maintained in accordance with 2 CFR 200.303. Condition: During our testing of the Direct Loan and Pell Grant programs, we selected a sample of 40 students to test for timeliness and accurate reporting of student status changes to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS). 10 Students had one or more noncompliant reporting elements noted below. - 2 Instances where a student’s campus-level and program level enrollment effective date did not match the institution’s records. - 9 Instances where students campus level enrollment was not certified every 60 days to NSLDS during active enrollment period. - 3 Instances in which Program Level Program Begin Date per the NSLDS Program Enrollment Detail did not agree to institutional records. Questioned costs Known: None. Context: Out of a sample of 40 enrollment changes selected for testing for the requirement noted above, we noted 10 students with exceptions. 4 students had multiple instances of noncompliance. Cause: Turnover within the registrar department and lack of structured review and approval process. Effect: The NSLDS system is not updated with the student information in time which can cause over awarding should the student transfer to another institution and the students may not properly enter the repayment period. Repeat Finding: Yes, 2023-001. Recommendation: We recommend that the College continue to enhance its policies and procedures regarding enrollment reporting including additional monitoring over the third-party service provider to ensure that reporting is completed accurately and timely. Views of responsible officials and planned corrective actions: There is no disagreement with the audit finding. Management has addressed their corrective action plan in a separately issued letter.