Finding Text
Student Financial Assistance Cluster
U.S. Department of Education ALNs 84.268, 84.063
Federal Direct Student Loans - Award Year 2024
Federal Pell Grant Program - Award Year 2024
Criteria or Specific Requirement – Special Tests & Provisions: Enrollment Reporting (Pell 34 CFR Section 690.83(b)(2); FDL, 34 CFR Section 685.309). Federal regulations state that enrollment information must be reported to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) website within 30 days of whenever attendance changes for students, unless a complete roster will be submitted within 60 days. These changes include reductions or increases in attendance levels, withdrawals, graduations or approved leave of absence. Institutions are responsible for timely reporting, whether they report directly or via a third-party servicer. Additionally, institutions are required to accurately report the student's Campus-Level and Program-Level enrollment data.
Condition – The University did not ensure accurate and timely notification to the NSLDS of student status changes and program-level enrollment data.
Cause – Oversight by management.
Effect – Notification of student changes was not reported in a timely manner or was reported inaccurately.
Questioned Costs – None noted.
Context – Out of a population of 876 status changes, 40 changes were tested to ensure the University notified the NSLDS of student status changes in a timely manner and used accurate information. Out of these 40 status changes, there were 5 selected where the campus and program-level record information was not in agreement between the NSLDS and the campus level information. Out of these 40 status changes selected for testing, there were 9 instances in which the student's status change was reported after the 60 day requirement. The sample was not, and was not intended to be, a statistically valid sample.
Identification as a Repeat Finding – Yes, see prior year findings 2023-001, 2022-002, 2021-001, 2020-002 and 2019-003.
Recommendation – The University should implement monitoring policies and procedures to ensure that notifications are remitted timely and accurately.
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions – Management has hired a new Director of Institutional Research and provided training and is aware of the federal regulations surrounding enrollment information that must be reported to the NSLDS. Given the complexity of the reporting, management has established additional policies and procedures to address the errors related to enrollment reporting to the NSLDS in a timely and accurate manner.