Finding Text
2023-003 – National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) Reporting
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Education
Federal Program Title: Federal Pell Grant Program; Federal Direct Loan Program
Federal Assistance Listing Number: 84.063 and 84.268
Award Period: 7/1/2022 – 6/30/2023
Type of Finding: Significant Deficiency in Internal Control Over Compliance, Other Matters
Criteria or specific requirement: Per U.S. Department of Education (ED) regulations, all schools participating (or approved to participate) in the Federal Student Aid programs must have an arrangement to report student enrollment data to the NSLDS through a roster file. The school is required to report enrollment status at both the school and program level. The school is required to report changes in the student’s enrollment status, the effective date of the status and an anticipated completion date. An academic program is defined as the combination of the school’s Office of Postsecondary Education Identification (OPEID) number and the program’s Classification of Instructional Program (CIP) code, credential level, and published program length. ED requires the University to report changes in enrollment status and indicate the date that the changes occurred (34 CFR 685.309).
Changes in enrollment status must be reported within 30 days. However, if a roster file is expected within 60 days, you may provide the date on that roster file. In addition, regulations require that an institution make necessary corrections and return the records within 10 days for any roster files that don’t pass the NSLDS enrollment reporting edits. ED requires the University to report changes in enrollment status within 30 or 60 days that the University determined the changes occurred (34 CFR 682.610).
Condition: Certain students’ enrollment information was not reported accurately or timely to the NSLDS.
Questioned costs: None.
Context: During our testing, we noted:
-One student out of a sample of 40 students tested was reported to the NSLDS with an enrollment status of Full-time but was never updated subsequently to an enrollment status of Graduated for graduating from the University. This effected both the campus-level and program-level records in the NSLDS.
-One student out of the sample of 40 students tested was reported to the NSLDS with the incorrect effective date on the campus-level and program-level in NSLDS.
-Three students out of a sample of 40 students tested were not reported to the campus-level record in the NSLDS in a timely manner.
Cause: The University's system for which the information is pulled and sent to the NSLDS was not updated for the proper enrollment information per the University's records that are outside of the system.
Effect: Inaccurate reporting to the NSLDS can result in incorrect determination of when the students’ grace period should begin.
Repeat finding: Yes, 2022-003.
Recommendation: We recommend the University review its policies and procedures on reporting enrollment information to the NSLDS to ensure that all relevant information is being captured accurately and reported timely in accordance with applicable regulations.
Views of responsible officials: Management agrees with the finding.