Finding Text
Federal Program Information: Student Financial Assistance Cluster: Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants (Assistance Listing #84.007), Federal Work-Study Program (Assistance Listing #84.033), Federal Pell Grant Program (Assistance Listing #84.063), Federal Direct Loan Program (Assistance Listing #84.268)
Criteria or Specific Requirement: N. Special Tests and Provisions – Enrollment Reporting: Federal regulation 34 CFR 685.309 states that the institution shall accurately report a change in a student’s enrollment status directly to the lender or guarantee agency within 30 days if a student has graduated, withdrawn, or ceased to be enrolled (or failed to enroll) at least half-time and the school does not expect its next Roster File to NSLDS within 60 days.
Condition: The University did not report students’ status changes accurately and within the required timeframe.
Cause: Administrative oversight.
Effect or Possible Effect: The University was not in compliance with required federal guidelines.
Questioned Costs: None.
Context: Program Level: Based on a sample of 40 students, 38 students’ enrollment status were not accurately reported to the NSLDS.
Campus Level: Based on a sample of 40 students, 16 students selected were not reported to the NSLDS within the required timeframe.
Identification of Repeat Finding: This is a repeat of prior year finding 2023-001.
Recommendation: The University should implement procedures to ensure that student status changes are reported in a timely manner.
Views of Responsible Officials: The University experienced significant turnover of staff in the Registrar’s Office in late fiscal year 2023 through fiscal year 2024. This turnover unfortunately was the catalyst for untimely student status change submissions to the NSLDS. This was identified during the 2023 fiscal year-end audit; however, the situation was not able to be rectified until well into the 2024 fiscal year.
The University has hired three new permanent staff and an interim registrar, as we search for a permanent registrar. This group has been working with the clearinghouse personnel to work out errors, and reporting is now being addressed in a timely manner.