Finding 519366 (2024-001)

2024-001 Special Tests and Provisions Program Name: Student Financial Assistance Cluster Federal Assistance Listing Number: 84.007, 84.033, 84.063, and 84.268 Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Education (ED) Direct funded by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) Criteria or Specific Requirements OMB Compliance Supplement, OMB No. 1845-0035 – Institutions are required to report enrollment information under the Pell grant and the Direct and FFEL loan programs via the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS). Institutions are responsible for accurately reporting the following significant data elements under the Campus-Level Record that ED considers high risk: • OPEID Number – This is the OPEID for the location that the student is attending. • Enrollment Effective Date – The date that the current enrollment status reported for a student was first effective. • Enrollment Status – The student’s enrollment status as of the reporting date; fulltime (F), three-quarter time (Q), half-time (H), less than half-time (L), leave of absence (A), graduated (G), withdrawn (W), deceased (D), never attended (X) and record not found (Z) • Certification Date – The date enrollment was certified by the District. At a minimum, schools are required to certify enrollment every 60 days. Institutions are responsible for accurately reporting the following significant data elements under the Program-Level Record that ED considers high risk: • OPEID Number – This is the OPEID for the location that the student is attending. • CIP Code – The code that defines the student’s field of study. • CIP Year – The year that corresponds with the CIP Code. • Credential Level – The level of a credential the student will receive for the program the student is attending. • Published Program Length Measurement – How the program length is measured by the institution whether it be in days, weeks, or years. • Published Program Length – The time it takes to complete a program as determined by the College. • Program Begin Date – The date the student first began attending the program being reported. • Program Enrollment Status – The student’s enrollment status as of the reporting date; full-time (F), three-quarter time (Q), half-time (H), less than half-time (L), leave of absence (A), graduated (G), withdrawn (W), deceased (D), never attended (X) and record not found (Z) • Program Enrollment Effective Date – The date when the student’s current program status first took effect. Institutions are responsible for timely reporting, whether they report directly or via a third-party servicer. Condition Significant Deficiency in Internal Control over Compliance – During our review of the enrollment reporting requirements we observed the following: • For 1 out of 60 students who had a change in their enrollment status during the period subject to audit, the District did not accurately report the effective date of the change. • For 3 out of 60 students tested, the students’ enrollment and program level information were not reported within NSLDS. Questioned Costs There are no questioned costs associated with this finding. Context During the 2023-2024 fiscal year, the District distributed student financial aid to approximately 9,500 students. Effect The District is not in compliance with Federal requirements described in the OMB Compliance Supplement. Cause The District did not accurately report enrollment information for students under the Pell grant and Direct loan programs via NSLDS. Repeat Finding (Yes or No) No. Recommendation The District should implement a process to review, update, and verify student enrollment information that appear on the Enrollment Reporting Roster file or on the Enrollment Maintenance page of the NSLDS Professional Access (NSLDSFAP) website.