Finding Text
Finding 2022-001 Special Tests and Provisions - Enrollment Reporting Compliance and Internal Control (Significant Deficiency) U.S. Department of Education - Student Financial Assistance Cluster Federal Direct Student Loans (ALN 84.268) Federal Award Number: P268K211912 Federal Pell Grant Program (ALN 84.063) Federal Award Number: P063P201912 Federal Award Year: 2021-2022 Criteria: Under the Federal Pell Grant Program and U.S. Department of Education (?ED?) loan programs, institutions are required to report student enrollment information via the National Student Loan Data System (?NSLDS?) (OMB No. 1845-0035). The administration of the Title IV programs depends heavily on the accuracy and timeliness of the enrollment information reported by institutions. Institutions must review, update, and verify student enrollment statuses, program information, and effective dates that appear on the Enrollment Reporting Roster file or on the Enrollment Maintenance page of the NSLDS Professional Access website. The data on the institution?s Enrollment Reporting Roster, or Enrollment Maintenance page, is what NSLDS maintains as the most recently certified enrollment information. There are two categories of enrollment information; ?Campus Level? and ?Program Level,? both of which need to be reported accurately and have separate record types. The NSLDS Enrollment Reporting Guide provides the requirements and guidance for reporting enrollment details using the NSLDS Enrollment Reporting Process. Required campus-level data includes: ? Office of Postsecondary Education Identifier (?OPEID?); ? Enrollment status; and ? Enrollment effective date. Required program-level data includes, but is not limited to: ? Program enrollment status; ? Program enrollment effective date; ? Program begin date; ? Published program length and measurement; and ? Classification of Instructional Program (?CIP?) code. Context and Condition: From a selection of forty (40) students tested, we identified the following instance of noncompliance: 1) For 25 students, the program begin dates that were reported to the NSLDS did not reflect the first day of the earliest semester in which such students began attending the respective programs being reported. Cause: Due to the manner in which the College?s enrollment and financial aid system has been programmed to report such information, the identified students? program begin dates were inaccurately reported to the NSLDS. Effect: The program begin dates for 25 students were not properly reported to the NSLDS. Questioned Costs: None identified. Identified as a Repeat Finding: Yes. Recommendation: The College should implement procedures to ensure that students? program begin dates are reported to the NSLDS accurately and in accordance with the NSLDS Enrollment Guide. Views of Responsible Officials: College management agrees and understands the significance of accurate enrollment reporting to the NSLDS, including all campus-level and program-level enrollment data. Various departments at the College have been working collaboratively to correct the reporting of program begin dates to the NSLDS for all students.