Finding Text
Finding 2022-001: Significant Deficiency - Enrollment Reporting Repeat Finding 2021-002 Program: Federal Direct Student Loans CFDA Number: 84.268 Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Education Federal Award Identification Number: P268K221689 Federal Award Year: June 30, 2022 Criteria: Title IV regulations (34 CFR 685.309(b)) require that upon receipt of an enrollment report from the Secretary, institutions must update all information included in the report and return the report to the Secretary: (i) in the manner and format prescribed by the Secretary; and (ii) within the time frame prescribed by the Secretary. Unless it expects to submit its next updated enrollment report to the Secretary within the next 60 days, an institution must notify the Secretary within 30 days after the date the institution discovers that: (i) a loan under Title IV of the Act was made to or on behalf of a student who was enrolled or accepted for enrollment at the institution, and the student has ceased to be enrolled on at least a half-time basis or failed to enroll on at least a half-time basis for the period for which the loan was intended; or (ii) a student who is enrolled at the institution and who received a loan under Title IV of the Act has changed his or her permanent address. Condition: A total of twenty students were sampled and tested. The sample was not a statistically valid sample but was determined using Chapter 21 - Audit Sampling Considerations of Uniform Guidance Compliance Audits of the Government Auditing Standards and Single Audit Guide. A summary of the exceptions identified are as follows: ? For two students, the program and campus level enrollment information was not reported to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) within 30 days or included in a response to a roster file within 60 days. ? For one student, the effective date between the program and campus level enrollment detail did not match and was not corrected within the required time frame. ? For four students, their graduated status was never reported to the NSLDS; however, three out of the four students were reported to the Clearinghouse. Cause: Institution failed to follow its procedures for reporting student status changes accurately and timely. Effect: The accuracy of Title IV student loan records depends heavily on the accuracy of the enrollment information reported by institutions. If an institution does not review, update, and verify student enrollment statuses, effective dates of the enrollment status, and the anticipated completion dates, then the Title IV student loan records will be inaccurate. Questioned Costs: Not applicable. Context: Not applicable. Recommendation: It is recommended that policies and procedures are put in place to verify that the correct program level effective dates and enrollment statuses are reported to the NSLDS within the required time frames after the information has been submitted through the servicer (NSC). This could include a review of withdrawal or graduation dates compared to the effective dates and enrollment statuses reported to the NSLDS to make sure they are accurate.