Finding 1173139 (2025-001)

Identification of the Federal Program - Student Financial Aid Cluster - Assistance Listing Nos 84.007, 84.033, 84.038, 84.063, and 84.268. Criteria - Institutions are required to report enrollment information under the Pell grant and the Direct loan program via the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS). The administration of the Title IV programs depends heavily on the accuracy and timelines of the enrollment information reported by institutions. Institutions must review, update, and verify student enrollment statuses, program information, and effective dates reported to NSLDS. Institutions are responsible for accurate reporting. According to 34 CFR 685.309(2), the University is required to notify the Department of Education via the NSLDS if a “student has ceased to be enrolled on at least a half-time basis for the period for which the loan was intended”. Changes to status are required to be reported within 30 days of becoming aware of the status change, or with the next schedule transmission of statuses if the scheduled transmission is within 60 days. Condition - A sample of 40 students were selected from the population of all students who received federal student financial aid during the year ended September 30, 2025. We obtained the student records and tested compliance with federal regulations for the specific loans and grants. For 1 student selected for NSLDS Reporting testing, the student’s status change was not accurately reported to NSLDS. For the same student, the status change effective date was not accurately reported to NSLDS. Cause - The College’s processes of internal controls for reporting student status changes to NSLDS were not adequate. Effect - Student status changes were not accurately reported to NSLDS. Identification of Repeat Finding - Repeat finding of prior year finding 2024-002. Recommendation - We recommend the College revise its processes for reporting student status changes to NSLDS. The College should implement a process to review, update, and verify student enrollment statuses that appear on the Enrollment Reporting roster files. We also recommend that management implement controls to ensure reported changes are correctly reported to the NSLDS. Views of Responsible Officials - Management agrees with the finding. Errors were caused by a coding error within their reporting system. Upon discovery, the errors were promptly reviewed and corrected subsequent to year-end. The necessary adjustments were made to the enrollment data, and the corrected information was submitted to the appropriate federal and state agencies in compliance with reporting requirements. Corrective Action Plan – A withdrawal process was put in place after this issue was identified as a finding in the prior year’s audit. The Financial Aid Director and Registrar will work closely together and continue to monitor the withdrawal process.