Finding Text
2024 – 002: Special Tests and Provisions – NSLDS Enrollment & Reporting
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Education
Federal Program Name: Student Financial Aid Cluster
Assistance Listing Number: 84.063, 84.268
Federal Award Identification Number: P063P233052, P063P223052, P268K243052, P268K233052
Award Period: July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024
Type of Finding: Significant Deficiency in Internal Control over Compliance, Other Matters
Criteria or specific requirement:
Internal Control – Per 2 CFR section 200.303(a), a non-Federal entity must: Establish and maintain effective internal control over the Federal award that provides reasonable assurance that the non-Federal entity is managing the Federal award in compliance with Federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the Federal award. These internal controls should be in compliance with guidance in “Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government” issued by the Comptroller General of the United States or the “Internal Control Integrated Framework”, issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO).
Compliance – The Code of Federal Regulations, 34 CFR 685.309(b), states that: Institutions must have some arrangement to report student enrollment data to NSLDS through an enrollment roster file. The institution is required to report changes in the enrollment status, the effective date of the status, and an anticipated completion date. Also, the Code of Federal Regulations, 34 CFR 682.610, states that institutions must report accurately the enrollment status of all students regardless of if they receive aid from the institution or not.
Condition: During testing of the enrollment status reporting, we noted that the incorrect enrollment status and effective date was reported in NSLDS.
Questioned Costs: None
Context:
• The enrollment status was incorrectly reported for 6 out of 40 students.
• The enrollment effective date was incorrectly reported for 4 out of 40 students.
Cause: These errors are a result of issues with the student information system.
Effect: Student enrollment status was not reported accurately and/or timely to NSLDS.
Repeat Finding: No
Recommendation: The institution should evaluate their procedures and policies related to reporting status changes and effective dates to NSLDS and enhance as deemed necessary to ensure that accurate information is reported to NSLDS.
Views of responsible officials: There is no disagreement with the audit finding.