Finding Text
Criteria: In accordance with CFR section 685.309(b)(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 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."
Condition: We reviewed a sample of 40 students who received financial aid during the fiscal year. Of the 40 students tested, two students withdrew and were not accurately reported to the NSLDS within the required 60-day period. One student was never reported as withdrawn, and the other was reported after the 60-day requirement.
Population and Sample Size:
Number
Dollars Questioned Cost
Population 572 $ N/A $ N/A
Sample 40 N/A N/A
Not in compliance 2 N/A N/A
Effect: A student's enrollment status determines eligibility for in-school status, deferment, and grace periods, as well as for the payment of interest subsidies, all of which are negatively impacted by inaccurate and late reporting.
Cause: The student who was never reported as withdrawn was enrolled less than half-time in an 8-week course rather than a full semester course. When the student dropped the class, the withdrawal was not picked up by the system. The College has since discontinued these 8-week course offerings. The student who was withdrawn was not reported due to a technical error in the reporting system.
Recommendation: We recommend that at each NSLDS upload date, management review the NSLDS enrollment reporting upload to ensure student withdrawals during the period are appropriately reported in a timely manner.
Views of the responsible official and planned corrective actions:
The Clarendon College Registrar’s Office will establish a review process to ensure that all classes in which a student fully withdrawing from the institution were enrolled are dropped promptly and that the student's enrollment status matches the status reported to NSLDS.