Finding Text
Finding 2022-02 ? Enrollment Reporting ALN: 84.268 Federal Direct Loan Program; 84.063 Federal Pell Grant Program Award Year: July 1, 2021 - June 30, 2022 Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Education Pass Through Entity: Not applicable Criteria: Title IV regulations (34 CFR 685.309(b)) require that upon receipt of an enrollment report from the Secretary of Education (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 timeframe 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 halftime 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: The change in student status for one of twenty-five students tested 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. However, the student was ultimately reported to the National Student Data Loan System. Cause: For this student who withdrew from the University, the University?s procedures for reporting the change in status were not designed appropriately in order to allow for timely reporting to the NSLDS. Effect: The accuracy of Title IV student loan records depends heavily on the accuracy of the enrollment information reported by schools. If an institution does not review, update, and verify student enrollment statuses, effective dates of the enrollment status, and the anticipated completion dates, the Title IV student loan records will be inaccurate. Questioned Costs: None. Recommendation: The University should revise its procedures to ensure accurate enrollment information is sent to the NSLDS within the required timeframe for all students and that notifications between departments are communicated timely. Management Response: As of the date that this student withdrew, the Registrar's office was working with the Information Technology (IT) department to implement a process of receiving automatic email notifications when a student has been determined as withdrawn in the student management system (Colleague). At the beginning of calendar year 2022, these notifications were implemented and are now sent to the Registrar?s Office, Student Billing Office, Residence Life Office, and the Financial Aid Office, notifying them when a student is withdrawn from all of their courses. These notifications will now help mitigate the risk of untimely reporting. Additionally, the University has created a weekly report that is pulled by the Registrar?s Office to find students who are active but not enrolled or listed as on Leave Of Absence (LOA) but are not enrolled in a future class.