Finding Text
Finding Number: 2022-005 Information on the Federal Program: Federal Agency: ED Program Name: Student Financial Assistance Cluster AL: 84.063 - Federal Pell Grant Program 84.268 - Federal Direct Student Loans Federal Award Identification Number: N/A Federal Award Year: Year Ended June 30, 2022 Specific Requirement: Under the Pell Grant and Direct Loan programs, an institution must notify NSLDS within 30 days after the date that the institution discovers that a Direct loan 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 (PELL, 34 CFR section 690.83(b)(2), and Direct Loans, 34 CFR section 685.309). Conditions Found: Based on our sample, which was determined using a non-statistically based methodology, two of the 25 students tested were not reported to the NSDLS within the required timeframe. Context: The two students who were not reported timely informed the Student Financial Aid department during the Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 semesters that they would not be returning to the University for the Spring 2022 and Fall 2022 semester, respectively. It is our understanding the University?s process for all students who submit a withdrawal request to be effective for a specific date is to report them as withdrawn as of the specified effective date and not as of the last day of enrollment when the University is aware the student will not be returning. As a result of further inquiry and testing, we noted that there were a total of 52 students that withdrew during the months of November, April and May. Questioned Costs: None. Cause and Effect: Currently, the University has a process that when a student informs the University at the end of a semester they will be withdrawing from the University, the University will wait until the start of the next semester to confirm the student did not enroll in the upcoming semester. By doing so, the University would report students to the NSLDS outside of the 60-day requirement. The effect of the noted condition results in an inaccurate last date of attendance reported to NSLDS which is used to determine the date a student is to be placed into repayment status and begin making payments on student loans. Identification as a Repeat Finding, if Applicable: A repeat of prior year finding 2021-003 and 2020-001 Recommendation: We recommend the University review the system generated report to verify all students are included in addition to implementing a quality control review process to be completed monthly to ensure all student changes are reviewed in a timely manner to ensure compliance with the 60-day requirement. Views of a Responsible Official and Corrective Action Plan: Management agrees with the finding and the recommendation. See Corrective Action Plan.