Finding Text
Federal Agency: Department of Education Federal Program Title: Student Financial Assistance Cluster Assistance Listing Number: 84.038, 84.268, 84.033, 84.007, 84.063, 84.379, 93.264 Award Period: July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025 Type of Finding: Significant Deficiency in Internal Control Over Compliance Other Matter Criteria or Specific Requirement: The Code of Federal Regulations, 34 CFR 682.610, states that institutions must report accurately the enrollment status of all students regardless of whether they receive aid from the institution. This includes the enrollment effective date and related enrollment status, which must be reported for both the Campus-Level and the Program-Level. In addition, at a minimum, schools are required to certify enrollment every 60 days, and respond within 15 days of the date that NSLDS sends a Roster file to the school or its third-party servicer. Condition: During our testing of the Direct Loan and Pell Grant programs, we selected a sample of 40 students to test for accuracy and timeliness of reporting student status changes to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS). During our testing, we noted that 1 out of 40 students did not have their enrollment status timely reported. We noted 1 out of 40 students had a discrepancy in Program-level enrollment status, and 1 out of 40 students had a discrepancy in enrollment effective date. In both instances the University’s records did not match what was reported to NSLDS. Questioned Costs: None reported Context: During our testing, we noted the University did not have proper procedures in place to verify the reports sent to NSLDS are timely and accurate. Cause: The University processes and controls did not ensure that student status changes were properly reported to NSLDS. The effective date should reflect the student's last date of attendance and academically-related activity. In addition, students’ enrollment status should be certified every 60 days and the program begin date should be the first day attended at the University. Effect: The NSLDS system is not updated with the correct student information, which can cause a student to not properly enter the repayment period. Repeat Finding: Yes, see finding 2024-001. Recommendation: We recommend the University review its reporting procedures to ensure that students’ statuses are accurately and timely reported to NSLDS as required by regulations. Views of Responsible Officials: There is no disagreement with the audit finding.