FAC Explorer

Finding 521061 (2024-002)

Significant Deficiency
Requirement
N
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2024
Accepted
2025-02-03
Audit: 340969
Organization: Watertown School District No. 14-4 (SD)
Auditor: Eide Bailly LLP

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: There are significant deficiencies in internal controls over compliance related to enrollment reporting for Federal Direct Student Loans.
  • Impacted Requirements: Compliance with 34 CFR 685.309, which outlines the necessary administrative and fiscal controls for accurate enrollment reporting.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Implement monthly spot checks on enrollment changes and review any unusual situations on the NSLDS site to ensure accurate reporting.

Finding Text

2024-002 Department of Education Student Financial Aid Cluster Federal Financial Assistance Listing #84.268 – Federal Direct Student Loans, Award Year 2024 Special Tests and Provisions – Enrollment Reporting Significant Deficiency in Internal Controls over Compliance and Compliance Criteria: 34 CFR 685.309 sets forth the criteria for administrative and fiscal control and accounting requirements for schools participating in the Federal Direct Loan Program in regard to enrollment reporting requirements. Condition: The following was noted in testing: 1) One student was not properly reported as graduated in 2024, 2) three students had an incorrect program start date reported (off by 5 days), and 3) one student had an incorrect withdrawn date (off by 1 day). Cause: For errors 1 and 2 noted above, the School properly reported in a timely manner the dates to the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) and NSC did not report those dates to NSLDS. For the last reporting issue, an error in entry of the date was made into the system which is used to report to NSLDS, so the date was incorrectly reported. Effect: The errors in reporting resulted in reporting dates incorrectly or not reported to NSLDS. Questioned Costs: None reported Context/Sampling: A nonstatistical sample of 60 students with a change in status out of 625 students with a change in status were selected for enrollment reporting requirements. Repeat Finding from Prior Year(s): No Recommendation: We recommend a spot check be completed on a monthly basis of changes to ensure those changes are properly reported. We specifically recommend any known, unusual situations be reviewed on the NSLDS site to ensure they were properly reported. Views of Responsible Officials: Management agrees with the finding.

Corrective Action Plan

Finding 2024-002 Federal Agency Name: Department of Education Assistance Listing Number: #84.268 Program Name: Federal Direct Student Loans Finding Summary: 1 of the 60 students selected for testing the reporting of student status changes were reported with the incorrect enrollment status based on NSLDS Enrollment Reporting guidance. 3 of the 60 students selected for testing the reporting of student status changes were reported to NSLDS with incorrect program begin dates based on NSLDS Enrollment Reporting guidance. 1 of the 60 students selected for testing the reporting of student status changes were reported to NSLDS with an incorrect status effective date based on NSLDS Enrollment Reporting guidance. Corrective Action Plan: LATC currently runs a SQL database script against the enrollment file before sending it to NSC. This script checks for missing and erroneous data (race/ethnicity, nondegree seeking majors, anticipated grad dates, etc.) in the file and updates it to correct values. The Director of Enrollment will work with the Database Administrator to regularly update these tables and review to ensure accurate information is being imported. The Registrar’s office will manually investigate these records and (if necessary) updated before sending the file to NSC. Every 30 days, representatives from the Financial Aid and the Registrar’s departments will pull 10 randomly selected student files to compare information in National Student Clearinghouse, PowerFaids, and NSLDS. The Director of Enrollment will work the error reports that the National Student Clearinghouse sends to LATC after every enrollment file upload with the assistance of the Database Administrator to ensure data submitted is compliant with DOE regulations. The Director of Financial Aid will review NSLDS to ensure corrections submitted by the Director of Enrollment are being properly recorded. Responsible Individual(s): Eric Schultz, Director of Enrollment and Kayla Bossly, Director of Financial Aid Anticipated Completion Date: Corrections complete by December 31, 2024. New process is ongoing.

Categories

Student Financial Aid Special Tests & Provisions Matching / Level of Effort / Earmarking Internal Control / Segregation of Duties Period of Performance Reporting Significant Deficiency

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 1097503 2024-002
    Significant Deficiency

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
84.268 Federal Direct Student Loans $5.90M
84.063 Federal Pell Grant Program $3.09M
84.027 Special Education Grants to States $1.22M
10.555 National School Lunch Program $828,464
11.611 Manufacturing Extension Partnership $822,597
84.048 Career and Technical Education -- Basic Grants to States $786,160
84.010 Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies $743,623
84.038 Perkins Loan Program $304,093
84.367 Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants (formerly Improving Teacher Quality State Grants) $246,375
10.553 School Breakfast Program $145,498
84.424 Student Support and Academic Enrichment Program $91,187
84.033 Federal Work-Study Program $76,276
84.007 Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants $65,000
10.558 Child and Adult Care Food Program $32,618
84.365 English Language Acquisition State Grants $31,062
84.173 Special Education Preschool Grants $18,391
47.076 Stem Education (formerly Education and Human Resources) $18,312
84.425 Education Stabilization Fund $18,141