Finding 1214661 (2025-001)

Material Weakness Repeat Finding
Requirement
N
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2025
Accepted
2026-05-14

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: Brigham Young University-Hawaii failed to accurately report student enrollment changes to the National Student Loan Data System, impacting compliance with federal requirements.
  • Impacted Requirements: The university did not update enrollment reports within the required timeframe, affecting students' eligibility for financial aid and loan deferments.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Continue implementing the corrective action plan to improve monitoring and accuracy of enrollment reporting.

Finding Text

BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY-HAWAII SCHEDULE OF FINDINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS for the year ended December 31, 2025 Section III – Federal Award Findings and Questioned Costs Finding 2025-001 - Non-Compliance with Accurate Student Enrollment Change Submissions to the National Student Loan Data System Grantor: U.S. Department of Education Program: Student Financial Assistance Cluster Assistance Listing #: 84.063, 84.268 Award Titles: Federal Pell Grant Program, Federal Direct Student Loan Program Award Years: 7/2024 – 6/2026 Criteria 34 CFR 685.309(b): (1) Upon receipt of an enrollment report from the Secretary, a school must update all information included in the report and return the report to the Secretary - (i) In the manner and format prescribed by the Secretary; and (ii) Within the timeframe prescribed by the Secretary. (2) Unless it expects to submit its next updated enrollment report to the Secretary within the next 60 days, a school must notify the Secretary within 30 days after the date the school discovers that - (i) 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 (ii) 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 Of the population of students who had a status change and received Pell Grants and/or Direct Loans during the period January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2025, 60 students were selected for enrollment reporting testing of the campus level and program level records. Of the 60 students selected, there were two exceptions noted during the Winter 2025 semester. In both instances, the students’ campus effective date of their withdrawal from classes was incorrectly reported to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) while their program effective date was correctly reported. Cause As part of the prior year corrective action plan, Brigham Young University-Hawaii (the University) was in the process of implementing a new review process to extract student data from PeopleSoft and transmit it to the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) and NSLDS. Both exceptions had a status change date prior to the execution of the prior year corrective action plan on May 31, 2025. Effect A student’s campus enrollment status determines eligibility for in-school status, deferment, and grace periods, as well as for payment of interest subsidies, all of which are impacted by inaccurate and untimely reporting. Questioned Costs None. Repeat Finding in the Prior Year Yes. Recommendation We recommend that the University continue to execute its prior year corrective action plan to monitor its enrollment reporting accuracy under its new review process. Management’s Views and Corrective Action Plan Management’s response is reported in management’s views and corrective action plan included at the end of this report.

Corrective Action Plan

MANAGEMENT’S VIEWS AND CORRECTIVE ACTION PLAN For the year ended December 31, 2025 Finding 2025-001 - Non-Compliance with Accurate Student Enrollment Change Submissions to the National Student Loan Data System Grantor: Program: Assistance Listing #: Award Titles: Award Years: U.S. Department of Education Student Financial Assistance Cluster 84.268, 84.063 Federal Direct Student Loan Program, Federal Pell Grant Program 7/2024 – 6/2026 Management agrees with the finding and proposes the following corrective action plan: Corrective Action Plan: Consistent with prior year's corrective action plan, on May 31, 2025, management implemented a new review process to extract student data from PeopleSoft and transmit it to the National Student Clearinghouse and National Student Loan Data System. Since the successful implementation of the corrective action plan, there have been no instances of non-compliance identified. Timing: The corrective action plan was implemented on May 31, 2025. Signed and Acknowledged Makoa Freitas Finance Director / Controller

Categories

Student Financial Aid Reporting

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 1214662 2025-002
    Material Weakness Repeat

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
84.063 FEDERAL PELL GRANT PROGRAM $3.52M
84.268 FEDERAL DIRECT STUDENT LOANS $873,125
84.379 TEACHER EDUCATION ASSISTANCE FOR COLLEGE AND HIGHER EDUCATION GRANTS (TEACH GRANTS) $13,640