Finding 1181934 (2025-001)

Material Weakness Repeat Finding
Requirement
N
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2025
Accepted
2026-03-23
Audit: 393210
Organization: Spartanburg Methodist College (SC)

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: The College failed to report student attendance changes to NSLDS within the required 60 days.
  • Impacted Requirements: Compliance with NSLDS reporting criteria for student status changes.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Review and adjust NSLDS submission calendar to align with academic dates for timely reporting.

Finding Text

Finding 2025-001 - Student Financial Aid Cluster, CFDA# 84.007, 84.033, 84.063, 84.268 Compliance Requirement: Special Tests and Provisions – NSLDS Reporting Criteria: The College is required to send changes in attendance levels of students, including students who, graduated, withdrew, dropped out, or enrolled, to the National Student Loan Data System (“NSLDS”) within 60 days of the change. Condition: For some of the students included in our sample, the College did not send changes in attendance levels of students, including students who graduated, withdrew, dropped out, or enrolled, to the NSLDS within 60 days of the change. Cause: The College did not report changes in the status of its May 2025 graduates until its Fall 2025 reporting resulting in their status change reporting being greater than 60 days after the status change date. Effect: The College did not report status changes to the NSLDS timely Questioned Costs: None Context: Of the 25 students tested, 11 of them were May 2025 graduates whose NSLDS status changes were reported more than 60 days after the status change date. Recommendation: The College should review the planned submission dates on its NSLDS submission calendar to ensure the scheduled submission dates occur after academic dates that result in status changes of students. Views of Responsible Officials: See attached management’s corrective action plan.

Corrective Action Plan

The institution acknowledges the reporting discrepancy related to Spring 2025 enrollment reporting. While the final Spring 2025 enrollment file should have been submitted prior to the start of the Summer 2025 term, it was instead submitted on May 29, 2025, after the Summer term began on May 20, 2025. As a result, the file was processed with summer enrollment data rather than final spring enrollment data, including the appropriate graduation statuses. Although a Graduation (DegreeVerify) file was submitted on May 15, 2025, this file updates the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) degree database for verification purposes only and does not update the enrollment database used for reporting to NSLDS unless specific services are enabled. At the time, the institution was not participating in NSC’s “G from Degree” functionality, which would have facilitated the automatic application of graduation statuses to the enrollment database. Additionally, delays and inaccuracies in Fall 2025 First of Term reporting (including incorrect term begin dates in files submitted on August 25 and September 15, 2025) further delayed the accurate reporting of raduated students. The corrected file was successfully processed on October 14, 2025. During Fall 2025, the institution was also engaged in FVT/GE reporting corrections. These corrections triggered system-generated enrollment updates, which ultimately resulted in the reporting of affected graduates to NSLDS; however, this occurred later than required. The institution recognizes that timely and accurate enrollment reporting is critical to ensuring that borrowers do not incorrectly enter repayment or lose in-school deferment status. Corrective Action Plan To prevent recurrence, the institution has implemented the following corrective actions: 1. Established Reporting Calendar and Internal Deadlines A formal enrollment reporting calendar has been implemented requiring: o End-of-Term files to be submitted after final grades are posted and degrees conferred, but prior to the start of the next term. o First-of-Term files for the fall and spring semesters must be submitted to NSC no later than three (3) business days before month-end. This timeline allows sufficient time to identify and resolve errors prior to NSLDS reporting. For the summer semester, First-of- Term file submission may extend through mid-June, which is acceptable given that student enrollment during a summer term is not required. 2. Implementation of NSC “G from Degree” Functionality As of February 11, 2026, the institution is actively utilizing NSC’s “G from Degree” service to ensure that graduation records submitted through DegreeVerify are evaluated and, when eligible, automatically applied to the enrollment database. 3. Review of “G Not Applied” Reports A required reconciliation process has been established: o After each DegreeVerify submission, staff will review the “G Not Applied” report. o Any students not automatically assigned a graduation status will be manually reviewed and, if appropriate, reported correctly on the next enrollment file. 4. Data Validation Controls Prior to Submission The Registrar’s Office has implemented a pre-submission validation checklist that includes: o Verification of term begin and end dates o Confirmation of degree conferral status o Review of enrollment status accuracy Files will not be submitted until all validation steps are completed. 5. Monitoring and Quality Assurance o Enrollment reporting submissions will be logged and reviewed each term for timeliness and accuracy. o Any errors identified will be documented and addressed through corrective follow-up. 6. Staff Training and Documentation Staff responsible for enrollment reporting have received updated training on: o NSC reporting requirements o NSLDS timing expectations o Use of NSC tools including DegreeVerify and “G from Degree” Written procedures have been updated and standardized. Responsible Official: Jill Johnson, Registrar (864) 587-4232 johnsoj@smcsc.edu

Categories

Special Tests & Provisions Student Financial Aid Reporting Matching / Level of Effort / Earmarking

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 1181931 2025-001
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1181932 2025-001
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1181933 2025-001
    Material Weakness Repeat

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
84.063 FEDERAL PELL GRANT PROGRAM $4.95M
84.268 FEDERAL DIRECT STUDENT LOANS $2.91M
84.007 FEDERAL SUPPLEMENTAL EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY GRANTS $115,760
84.033 FEDERAL WORK-STUDY PROGRAM $43,034