Finding 388288 (2023-008)

Material Weakness Repeat Finding
Requirement
N
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2023
Accepted
2024-03-28

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: The Seminary failed to report enrollment information on time, missing the 15-day deadline for four out of five rosters.
  • Impacted Requirements: Institutions must report enrollment changes within 60 days and complete the Enrollment Reporting roster accurately as per federal guidelines.
  • Recommended Follow-up: Enhance policies to ensure timely and accurate enrollment reporting, especially during peak periods like graduation.

Finding Text

Federal Assistance Listing Number: 84.268 Name of Program or Cluster: Federal Direct Student Loans (Student Financial Aid Cluster) Agency: Department of Education Criteria: Institutions are required to report enrollment information under the Federal Pell Grant and Federal Direct Student Loans programs via the National Student Loan Data System (“NSLDS”). Institutions must complete and return the Enrollment Reporting roster placed in their Student Aid Internet Gateway mailboxes sent by the U.S. Department of Education via NSLDS within 15 days of receipt of the roster. Additionally, institutions are required to report changes in student enrollment status via NSLDS within 60 days. Condition: We noted that four of five Enrollment Reporting Rosters that were selected for testing were not returned within the 15 period as required. In addition, the date of three of five students’ enrollment status changes were not recorded accurately to NSLDS during the year ended June 30, 2023. Cause: Due to turnover in the Seminary’s Registrar department, enrollment reporting during high volume periods such as graduation were delayed due limits in work capacity of the staff available during the fiscal year. Effect: The Seminary was not in compliance with enrollment reporting requirements. Questioned Costs: None. Repeat Finding: Yes, see prior year finding 2022-009.Recommendation: We recommend that the Seminary enhance existing policies to comply with enrollment reporting requirements. This policy should include a method for ensuring both timely enrollment updates as well as accuracy of the data reported. Views of Responsible Officials: See corrective action plan attached.

Corrective Action Plan

This Repeat Finding has been acknowledged. Union has completed its implementation of our Corrective Action Plan for this item, which involved entering into a Master Service Agreement with the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) to perform enrollment and educational financial industry reporting, as well as education verification and authentication services. National Clearinghouse is the leading provider of educational reporting and data exchange, reporting on 97% of post-secondary student enrollments in the US. Union will be using a secure FTP process to send our enrollment data to NSC for timeline and consistent reporting to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS). As of January 2024, Union has completed the set-up and configuration of the new services. The new system will be managed by the school Registrar, with back-up responsibilities handled by the Assistant Dean, Director of Financial Aid, and the Vice President of Admissions and Financial Aid. This back-up involves both the Academic and Financial Aid offices in order to improve our ability to address issues brought about by staff absences and/or turnover. UTS has completed enrollment reporting submissions via the NSC master service agreement on 12/20/23, 1/10/24, 2/05/24, 2/20/24 and 3/10.24 . Subsequent transmissions will continue to take place according to a pre-set schedule. This process includes email communication from NSC the week prior to an enrollment submission, confirmation of a successful submission and notification of potential errors. Union’s new Registrar, who has 17 years of experience, is also working directly with NSLDS to address errors found in past submissions and working with internal stakeholders in the Academic Office, Financial Aid Office, Bursar’s Office and IT Department to ensure that all student records accurately and correctly configured.

Categories

Student Financial Aid Matching / Level of Effort / Earmarking Reporting

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 964730 2023-008
    Material Weakness Repeat

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
84.268 Federal Direct Student Loans $1.99M
84.038 Federal Perkins Loan Program $669,569
84.033 Federal Work-Study Program $34,631