Finding 58321 (2022-001)

Significant Deficiency Repeat Finding
Requirement
N
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2022
Accepted
2023-09-27
Audit: 55185
Organization: Herzing University, Ltd. (WI)
Auditor: Rsm US LLP

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: The University failed to report a student's enrollment status change to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS), which is a repeat finding from the previous year.
  • Impacted Requirements: Compliance with 34 CFR 685.309 and 2 CFR 200.303 is necessary for accurate and timely enrollment reporting to avoid federal funding risks.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: The University should review and improve its reporting processes to ensure timely and accurate submissions to NSLDS.

Finding Text

Finding 2022-001 Error in Reporting for National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) Repeat Finding Yes (2021-001) Federal Program Title U.S. Department of Education; Student Financial Assistance Cluster 84.007: Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants 84.063: Federal Pell Grant Program 84.268: Federal Direct Student Loans Award Year 2021-2022 Criteria The Code of Federal Regulations (34 CFR 685.309) requires enrollment status changes for students be reported to NSLDS within 30 days or within 60 days if the student with the status change will be reported on a scheduled transmission within 60 days of the change in status. Regulations require the status include an accurate effective date. According to the NSLDS Enrollment Reporting Guide, a student?s Program-Level enrollment status should be reported with the same enrollment status as that student?s campus-level enrollment status for all programs the student is enrolled in at that location, even if the student is not currently taking coursework that applies to a particular program. If the student has withdrawn or graduated from an academic program, a ?terminal enrollment status? of `W? or `G,? as appropriate, should be reported for that program, even if the student is still taking coursework applicable to other programs in which the student is enrolled. Uniform Grant Guidance (2 CFR 200.303) requires nonfederal entities receiving federal awards establish and maintain internal controls designed to reasonably ensure compliance with federal laws, regulations, and program compliance requirements. Effective internal controls should include procedures to ensure enrollment reporting is completed properly. Condition The University did not properly report the student enrollment change for a student who received federal student aid to the NSLDS. The University did not report a student?s Program-Level or Campus-Level enrollment status change to NSLDS. Out of the 60 students tested, we noted 1 student (1.7%) whose status change at the Program-Level and Campus-Level was not reported to NSLDS. Cause The error in Program-Level and Campus-Level enrollment reporting was due to the manual process required for reporting unofficial withdrawals to NSLDS. Effect Noncompliance with federal regulations could result in the loss of future federal funding. Context We tested 60 students who received federal student aid with enrollment changes. For each student tested, management provided documentation from NSLDS showing when the student?s status changed, and when it was reported. Out of the 60 students tested, we noted 1 student (1.7%) whose status change at the Program-Level and Campus-Level was not reported to NSLDS. Questioned Costs There were no questioned costs with respect to this finding. Recommendation We recommend the University review current processes for reporting to NSLDS and implement procedures to ensure submissions are reported timely and accurately. Views of responsible officials Management agrees with this finding. See corrective action plan.

Corrective Action Plan

FY 2022 SFA Audit Corrective Action Plan Audit Firm: RSM US LLP 30 S Wacker Drive, Suite 3300 Chicago, IL 60606 Audit Period: 1/1/2022 ? 12/31/2022 Comments on Findings and Recommendations: Finding 2022-001 ? Error in Reporting for NSLDS Finding: Herzing University did not properly report the student enrollment change for a student who received federal student aid to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS). Condition: The University did not report a student?s Program-Level or Campus-Level enrollment status change to NSLDS. Out of the 60 students tested, we noted 1 student (1.7%) whose status change at the Program-Level and Campus-Level was not reported to NSLDS. Action Taken: In this instance, the student identified was withdrawn from the University and was correctly reported to NSLDS as such through our standard enrollment reporting processes. The student then subsequently re-enrolled at the University in the subsequent academic period becoming an Active student, and then withdrew again prior to our next standard enrollment reporting process occurring (one month after the previously reported withdrawn status). At the point of the second standard enrollment reporting timeframe, the student status was once again withdrawn, therefore an update did not occur to their enrollment status. Our process did not have a mechanism to identify the student changing statuses in between those reporting periods so that the active enrollment status was reported and then changed back to withdrawn versus simply staying at a withdrawn status. In August 2022, Herzing University updated our enrollment reporting policy to send in enrollment reporting biweekly instead of monthly. This was done to ensure that each student?s enrollment status was accurately reported as soon as possible and to prevent issues that occur from delays in proper enrollment statuses being reported to NSLDS. This update inherently decreased the likelihood that status timing issues would occur given the condensed timeframe for reporting. In addition, as of May 1st, 2023 Herzing University has developed and implemented an exception reporting process that will identify any student that has status updates that occur but reverts back to the original status within the timeframe of the two enrollment reporting periods. Using the student identified in this finding as an example, if the student is at a withdrawn status at the first enrollment reporting period, then moves to an active status immediately after that but then withdraws again within that 2 week window and therefore goes back to a withdrawn status in the subsequent enrollment reporting period, while our standard reporting would still show the student withdrawn for both standard enrollment reporting timeframes, the exception report will flag that student for review since a status change occurred in between the two withdrawn statuses being reported out. Upon review of the exception report, all relevant status progressions will be correctly reported to NSLDS. The required corrective action for Finding 2022-001 listed in the SFA audit for the period 1/1/2022 ? 12/31/2022 was completed on 5/1/2023. The person responsible for completion of the corrective action was Kevin McShane, Vice President of Financial Aid & Compliance.

Categories

Student Financial Aid Matching / Level of Effort / Earmarking Reporting

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 58322 2022-001
    Significant Deficiency Repeat
  • 58323 2022-001
    Significant Deficiency Repeat
  • 634763 2022-001
    Significant Deficiency Repeat
  • 634764 2022-001
    Significant Deficiency Repeat
  • 634765 2022-001
    Significant Deficiency Repeat

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
84.268 Federal Direct Student Loans $82.92M
84.063 Federal Pell Grant Program $24.98M
84.007 Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants $1.61M
84.038 Federal Perkins Loan Program $1.31M
93.364 Nursing Student Loans $729,402
84.033 Federal Work-Study Program $543,966
93.732 Mental and Behavioral Health Education and Training Grants $410,081
17.280 Workforce Investment Act (wia) Dislocated Worker National Reserve Demonstration Grants $152,087
84.335 Child Care Access Means Parents in School $146,784
84.425 Education Stabilization Fund $72,910