Finding 1175244 (2025-001)

Finding 2025-001 – N. Special Tests and Provisions – National Student Loan Data System Reporting Identification of the Federal Program(s) – Federal Direct Student Loan Program (Federal Assistance Listing #84.268) Criteria or Specific Requirement - Institutions are required to report enrollment information under the Pell grant and the Direct and Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) loan programs via the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) (OMB No. 1845-0035), although FFEL loans are no longer made or a part of the SFA Cluster, a student may have a FFEL loan from previous years that would require enrollment reporting for that student (Pell, 34 CFR 690.83(b)(2); FFEL, 34 CFR 682.610; Direct Loan, 34 CFR 685.309; Perkins 34 CFR 674.19(f)). The administration of the Title IV programs depends heavily on the accuracy and timeliness of the enrollment information reported by institutions. Institutions must review, update, and certify 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 which the financial aid administrator can access for the auditor. The data on the institution’s Enrollment Reporting Roster, or Enrollment Maintenance page, is what NSLDS has as the most recently certified enrollment. There are two categories of enrollment information, “Campus Level” and “Program Level,” both of which need to be reported accurately and have separate record types. The NSLDS Enrollment Reporting Guide provides the requirements and guidance for reporting enrollment details using the NSLDS Enrollment Reporting Process. Campus Level: Institutions are responsible for accurately and timely reporting certain significant data elements under the Campus-Level Record that the U.S. Department of Education considers high risk, including enrollment status, which is the student’s enrollment status as of the reporting date; full-time (F), three-quarter time (Q), half-time (H), less than half-time (L), leave of absence (A), graduated (G), withdrawn (W), deceased (D), never attended (X) and record not found (Z). At a minimum, institutions are required to certify enrollment every 60 days or every other month. Program Level: Institutions are responsible for accurate and timely reporting of certain significant data elements under the Program Level Record that the U.S. Department of Education considers high risk, including OPEID number, CIP code, CIP year, credit level, program enrollment status, program enrollment effective date, program length, and program begin date. Condition – The University did not accurately report a student’s significant data elements under the Program-Level record on the NSLDS website. Cause – Administrative oversight over NSLDS reporting requirements. Effect or Potential Effect – The University was not in compliance with the NSLDS reporting requirements. Questioned Costs – None. Context – 1 of 40 students selected for Program-Level testing. Indication of Repeat Finding – This was reported as finding 2024-001 in the prior year. Recommendation – We recommend that the University enhance its procedures over NSLDS reporting requirements to ensure that Program-Level data elements are properly reported. Views of Responsible Officials – Management acknowledges the finding regarding the inaccurate reporting of student data elements under the Program-Level record on the NSLDS website. We also acknowledge that this is technically a repeat finding from the prior year; however, the finding identified for one student out of the forty students selected was prior to the implementation of the University’s Corrective Action Plan on January 31, 2025. The University previously addressed this issue and implemented a corrective action plan that included updating our reporting frequency and enhancing our data review processes as follows: Updated Reporting Frequency: As of January 2025, the University now includes the non-compulsory terms, summer 1 and winter sessions, in its reporting. The previous institutional practice did not include reporting program-level data for these terms given that said terms do not involve federal financial aid. This change ensures that all program-level data, regardless of federal financial aid involvement, is accurately reported. Secondary Check Process: Each month, the Compliance Officer reviews a sample of 100 students from NSLDS to verify significant data elements, including program enrollment effective dates. After the initial review, the Compliance Officer summarizes the findings and shares them with the Associate Registrar and Registrar for a secondary review. Any necessary edits are made, followed by a review of an additional 25 students to ensure accuracy. We believe the corrective action steps are critical in ensuring accurate reporting and preventing this issue in the future, and we believe they have been effectively implemented. We believe that the fact that only one of forty students selected was reported incorrectly is an indication that our corrective action plan has been effective.