Finding Text
Federal Program Federal PELL Grant Program ALN 84.063 Federal Direct Student Loan Program (DL) ALN. 84.268 Name of Federal Agency U.S. Department of Education (USDE) Pass-through Entity N/A Finding Type Material Weakness in Internal Control over Compliance Criteria According to 34 CFR 685.309 (b)(2)(ii) states that unless it expects to submit its next updated enrollment report to the Secretary within the next sixty (60) days, a school must notify the Secretary within thirty (30) days after the date the school discovers that; a loan under title IV of the Act was made to or on behalf of a student who was enrolled or accepted for enrollment at the school, and the student has ceased to be enrolled on at least a half-time basis or failed to enroll on at least a half-time basis for the period for which the loan was intended; or a student who is enrolled at the school and who received a loan under title IV of the Act has changed his or her permanent address. Condition As part of our testing of 9 students who graduated and/or withdrew during 2025, we noted the following instances of non-compliance: 1. Four (4) students for which the University did not report to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) the student status changes. 2. One (1) student for which the University did not report to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) the student status changes within the required 60 days’ period. 3. Two (2) students for which the University did not report the correct student status changes to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS).Cause The Institution did not establish and maintain adequate internal controls to ensure and document compliance with the Enrollment Reporting requirement Effect Failure to timely and accurately report enrollment status information may result in: • Inaccurate student loan status records. • Improper grace periods, deferments, or repayment status determinations. • Noncompliance with federal regulations. • Increased risk of regulatory sanctions or other administrative action by the U.S. Department of Education. Questioned Cost None Identification of a Repeat Finding This is a repeat finding from the immediate previous year’s audit (Finding No. 2024-001). Context Of the 41 status changes for 2025, we selected 9 students for testing and noted 7 instances in which the University did not comply with the enrollment reporting requirements. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions The University management agrees with this finding. Responsible Official Francisco Ortiz, President (787) 761-0640. Please refer to the corrective action plan on pages 40. Recommendation Management should reassess the process and timeframe in which the University submits the information to the National Student Loan Data System and monitoring to ensure they comply with the reporting timeframe. We recommend that the Institution: 1. Develop and implement formal written procedures for Enrollment Reporting. 2. Assign clear responsibility to designated personnel. 3. Maintain documentation evidencing each submission and confirmation of acceptance by NSLDS. 4. Implement periodic supervisory review to ensure reporting occurs at least every 60 days in accordance with federal requirements. The University should enhance both electronic and manual procedures to ensure enrollment status changes are timely and accurately reported to the National Student Loan Data System.