Finding Text
2023–006: National Student Loan Database System (NSLDS) Reporting
Federal agency: U.S. Department of Education
Federal program title: Student Financial Aid Cluster
Assistance Listing Numbers: 84.063, 84.268
Award Period: July 1, 2022 through June 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 College to report changes in enrollment status and indicate the date that the changes occurred (34 CFR 685.309).
Condition:
Certain students’ enrollment information was not reported accurately to the NSLDS.
Questioned costs:
None.
Context:
7 out of 28 students tested were reported with the incorrect effective date on the program-level in NSLDS.
Cause:
The College's student information system was pulling the effective dates incorrectly for the reports sent to the third-party servicer who report to the NSLDS for which are used for the program-level of the NSLDS.
Effect:
Inaccurate reporting to the NSLDS can result in incorrect determination of when the students’ grace period should begin.
Repeat Finding:
No
Recommendation:
We recommend the College evaluate its procedures and review regulations set by the Department of Education around NSLDS to ensure the College understands the definitions for each enrollment information that gets reported.
Views of responsible officials:
There is no disagreement with the finding.