Finding 1170762 (2025-001)

Material Weakness Repeat Finding
Requirement
N
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2025
Accepted
2026-01-27
Audit: 383985
Organization: Metropolitan Community College (MO)

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: The College failed to report student enrollment changes to NSLDS within the required 30-day timeframe.
  • Impacted Requirements: Compliance with federal regulations under 34 CFR Section 690.83(b)(2) and 34 CFR Section 685.309 regarding timely enrollment reporting.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Enhance monitoring policies and procedures to ensure timely reporting of student status changes; management has acknowledged the issue and is implementing a corrective action plan.

Finding Text

Student Financial Assistance Cluster U.S. Department of Education 84.268 - Federal Direct Student Loans - Award Year 2024/2025 84.063 - Federal Pell Grant Program - Award Year 2024/2025 Criteria or Specific Requirement – Special Tests & Provisions: Enrollment Reporting Pell 34 CFR Section 690.83(b)(2); FDL, 34 CFR Section 685.309. Federal regulations state that enrollment information must be reported to the NSLDS website within 30 days of whenever attendance changes for students, unless a complete roster will be submitted within 60 days. These changes include reductions or increases in attendance levels, withdrawals, graduations or approved leave of absence. Institutions are responsible for timely reporting, whether they report directly or via a third-party servicer. Condition – Enrollment information was not submitted within the required timeframe by the College. Cause – Lack of oversight by management. Effect or potential effect – Notification of student changes was not reported in a timely manner. Questioned Costs – None noted. Context – Out of a population of 333 student enrollment status changes, a sample of 40 student status changes was selected for testing. Out of the 40 selected for testing, 13 students that had status changes were not communicated to NSLDS on a timely basis. The sample was not, and was not intended to be, a statistically valid sample. Identification as a Repeat Finding – Yes, see 2024-001 Recommendation – The College should improve monitoring policies and procedures to ensure student status changes are reported timely to NSLDS. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions – Management agrees with the stated finding and has implemented a corrective action plan.

Corrective Action Plan

Enrollment information was not submitted within the required timeframe by the College. Personnel Responsible for Corrective Action: Dena Norris, Associate Vice Chancellor of Student Financial Services, and Tara Dettmer, Director of Financial Aid – Fiscal Operations Anticipated Completion Date: Corrective action plan will be implemented by June 30, 2026. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Action Plan: Despite best efforts by the College to correct the errors in enrollment reporting, the College experienced turnover among staff, and as a result, was unable to shift staffing resources or quickly hire replacement staff to correct the finding. Metropolitan Community College (MCC) is in the process of hiring additional staff dedicated to enrollment and compliance reporting. MCC will make a random selection of 10-15 students each month to verify data was correctly transmitted to National Student Clearinghouse (NSC). A secondary check of these students will be done to ensure the data is also transmitted to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS). MCC will also ensure error reports and other data issues are resolved in a timely manner to ensure reporting of students is completed within the regulatory timeframe. Due to the implementation of a new Enterprise Resource Planning system MCC is also validating and correcting any submission errors.

Categories

Student Financial Aid Special Tests & Provisions Subrecipient Monitoring Reporting

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 1170761 2025-001
    Material Weakness Repeat

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
84.063 FEDERAL PELL GRANT PROGRAM $24.02M
84.268 FEDERAL DIRECT STUDENT LOANS $4.00M
93.493 CONGRESSIONAL DIRECTIVES $1.69M
84.048 CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION -- BASIC GRANTS TO STATES $1.06M
84.007 FEDERAL SUPPLEMENTAL EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY GRANTS $710,572
84.066 TRIO EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY CENTERS $536,672
84.042 TRIO STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES $507,589
84.033 FEDERAL WORK-STUDY PROGRAM $378,238
10.561 STATE ADMINISTRATIVE MATCHING GRANTS FOR THE SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM $96,125
93.558 TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES $94,319
93.426 THE NATIONAL CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH PROGRAM $54,200
21.027 CORONAVIRUS STATE AND LOCAL FISCAL RECOVERY FUNDS $30,626
43.001 SCIENCE $19,941
47.076 STEM EDUCATION (FORMERLY EDUCATION AND HUMAN RESOURCES) $3,277