Finding 542030 (2024-002)

Federal Program: U.S. Department of Education Federal Direct Loan Program, Federal Assistance Listing 84.268 Criteria: The University is required to comply with 36 CFR Section 685.309(b). Condition: During our testing of 40 students for eligibility, we noted three students in which the students' status change was not timely reported to the National Student Loan Database System (NSLDS). Cause: The University did not have controls in place to ensure students' classification were being properly reported to the NSLDS in a timely manner. Effect: Student status changes were not reported within the required timeframe under federal regulations. The provisions of 34 CFR Section 685.309(b) were not followed and thus three students were not reported timely and subsequently not placed into loan repayment status in a timely manner. Questioned Costs: There were no questioned costs associated with this finding. Recommendation: We recommend that the University implement a control to ensure data is being reviewed for accuracy by the appropriate personnel before roster files are submitted to the NSLDS. In addition, we recommend that the University submit roster files on a regular basis. Views of responsible officials and planned corrective actions: For the year ended June 30, 2024, three students were reported late to NSLDS. Each student, after being identified, were then reported to NSLDS with the correct status and date. The Office of Institutional Research will work with the Registrar’s Office to ensure that students are reported in a timely manner. The Director of Institutional Research has provided the following steps that will be taken when a student is reported as withdrawn: 1. View the student's transcript in Ellucian to see if he/she withdrew or is back-dated as never enrolling. 2. Update Excel file for the term enrollment accordingly. 3. Update National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) file that will be submitted on the next due date. 4. Manually update the student's enrollment in National Student Clearinghouse 5. Manually update the student's enrollment in NSLDS