Finding 1173799 (2025-001)

Material Weakness Repeat Finding
Requirement
N
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2025
Accepted
2026-02-16
Audit: 387449
Organization: College of Idaho (ID)
Auditor: EIDE BAILLY LLP

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: The College failed to report changes in student enrollment status accurately and within the required 60-day timeframe.
  • Impacted Requirements: Compliance with 34 CFR 690.83(b)(2) and 34 CFR 685.309 regarding timely enrollment reporting.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: The Enrollment Services Office should improve practices and controls to ensure accurate and timely reporting to NSLDS.

Finding Text

2025-001 U.S Department of Education Student Financial Assistance Cluster Federal Financial Assistance Listing Number(s): 84.063, 84.007, 84.268, 84.033 Compliance Requirement(s): Special Tests and Provisions – Enrollment Reporting Material Weakness in Internal Control over Compliance Criteria: 34 CFR 690.83(b)(2) and 34 CFR 685.309 states that Institutions are responsible for timely and accurate reporting of a student’s enrollment status and changes in those enrollment statuses, whether they report directly or via a third-party servicer. When an Institution is made aware of a change in a student’s enrollment status, the Institution has 60 days to update the change in enrollment status via NSLDS. Condition: During our testing of compliance for Enrollment Reporting, there were 6 instances out of 6 where the College did not report a student’s change in enrollment status accurately or within the required time frame of 60 days from the effective date of the student’s change in enrollment status. Cause: Enrollment Services was not able to run accurate reports from their student information system, causing delays and accuracy issues with being able to accurately and timely report when students graduated or had a change in enrollment status. Effect: The student’s change in enrollment status was not accurately reported in NSLDS and/or was not reported timely. Questioned Costs: None reported. Context/Sampling: A nonstatistical sample of 6 participants out of 39 students who had a change in enrollment status were selected for testing. Repeat Finding from Prior Year(s): No Recommendation: The Enrollment Services Office should review their current practices and controls over reporting changes in student’s enrollment statuses to ensure any change to a student’s enrollment status is reported both accurately and timely to NSLDS. Views of Responsible Officials: Management agrees with the finding.

Corrective Action Plan

Finding Number: 2025-001 Federal Program: U.S. Department of Education – Student Financial Assistance Cluster Assistance Listing Numbers: 84.063, 84.007, 84.268, 84.033 Compliance Requirement: Special Tests and Provisions – Enrollment Reporting Finding Summary: The College agrees with the audit finding and is committed to strengthening internal controls over enrollment status reporting to ensure continued compliance with federal requirements. During management’s review of the audit results, the Registrar’s Office was unable to reproduce the specific enrollment status reporting errors identified during audit testing and could not definitively determine how the errors occurred. Notwithstanding this, the College recognizes that weaknesses in monitoring and documentation contributed to the inability to detect and prevent the reporting discrepancies in a timely manner. Accordingly, management has developed the following corrective actions. The College will enhance coordination among Registrar’s Office, Financial Aid, and Information Technology to ensure enrollment status changes including graduation, withdrawal, and changes in enrollment status are identified promptly and reported accurately to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) within the required 60-day timeframe in accordance with 34 CFR 690.83(b)(2) and 34 CFR 685.309. For over 20 years, the College of Idaho has been a member of the National Student Clearinghouse (NSCH). One of the many advantages of membership to the NSCH is that the NSCH serves as a conduit to NSLDS and sends reports to the NSLDS for the college. Ellucian Colleague has written a series of reports that result in a .txt file that is uploaded to NSCH who in turn uploads to NSLDS. The College of Idaho submits regular transmissions to NSCH so that the 60-day timeframe is met. Corrective Action Plan: • Process Review and Clarification of Roles The Registrar’s Office will review and formalize procedures related to enrollment status determination and reporting. Roles and responsibilities for identifying enrollment changes, preparing NSLDS files, and submitting updates will be clearly documented to ensure accountability and continuity. • Student Information System Reporting Improvements The College will refine and validate student information system (SIS) reports used for enrollment reporting to ensure accurate capture of enrollment status changes and effective dates. Reports will be reviewed regularly to confirm continued reliability. • Internal Review and Oversight Controls Prior to submission to NSCH, enrollment status reports will be reviewed by the Registrar supervisory personnel to confirm accuracy and completeness. Evidence of review will be retained in accordance with institutional record retention practices. • Established Reporting Timeline A recurring reporting calendar will be implemented to ensure enrollment status updates are submitted within required federal timeframes. Backup personnel will be identified to support continuity during staff absences. • Training and Ongoing Communication Staff involved in enrollment reporting will receive periodic training on federal enrollment reporting requirements and institutional procedures. Regular communication between Enrollment Services and Financial Aid will support timely identification and resolution of discrepancies. Responsible Official(s): Mark Heidrich (Registrar/Associate Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness), in coordination with Stephanie House (Director of Financial Aid) and Imad Sweidan (Chief Information Officer), as appropriate. Anticipated Completion Date: June 30, 2026 Current Status: Corrective action is in progress. Management expects these actions to be fully implemented prior to the next audit period and believes the strengthened controls will prevent recurrence of this finding.

Categories

Special Tests & Provisions Student Financial Aid Material Weakness Reporting Internal Control / Segregation of Duties

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 1173796 2025-001
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1173797 2025-001
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1173798 2025-001
    Material Weakness Repeat

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
84.268 FEDERAL DIRECT STUDENT LOANS $3.81M
84.063 FEDERAL PELL GRANT PROGRAM $1.90M
47.083 INTEGRATIVE ACTIVITIES $267,288
84.007 FEDERAL SUPPLEMENTAL EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY GRANTS $131,540
93.859 BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH AND RESEARCH TRAINING $103,946
84.033 FEDERAL WORK-STUDY PROGRAM $62,938
47.074 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES $56,882
10.170 SPECIALTY CROP BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM - FARM BILL $16,093
47.049 MATHEMATICAL AND PHYSICAL SCIENCES $5,619
45.162 PROMOTION OF THE HUMANITIES TEACHING AND LEARNING RESOURCES AND CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT $2,425