Finding Text
2022-002 Significant Deficiency: National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) Report (U.S. Department of Education, William D. Ford Direct Loan Program, ALN #84.268 and Federal Pell Grant Program, ALN #84.063) Criteria: In accordance with 34 CFR 685.309(b) and 34 CFR section 690.83(b)(2), for Direct Loans and Pell grants, respectively, unless it expects to submit its next updated enrollment report to the Secretary within the next 60 days, a school must notify the Secretary within 30 days after the date the school discovers that 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 school, 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. Statement of Condition: During the audit, it was noted that the University did not supply status updates to NSLDS in a timely manner, within the 60-day window. Questioned Costs: Such information is not applicable for this finding since it is nonmonetary in nature. Perspective Information: The audit included a detailed testing of 40 student files, of which this significant deficiency applies to 11, indicating an error rate of 27.50%. Cause and Effect: Due to employee turnover and lapses in communication between departments, in certain instances, the University provided NSLDS with updates to student enrollment statuses outside of a timeframe that is considered to be reasonably appropriate, resulting in delayed representation within the NSLDS system. Recommendation: The University should ensure that any updates to enrollment status be reported to NSLDS within 60 days of the effective date of change. View of Responsible Officials: The University concurs with this finding. Due to changeover in staffing and transition of systems, the data and personnel were limited to uploading the documentation in a timely manner. Now that majority of transition has occurred back to colleague, the system conversion should no longer be an issue as of this point forward. As for staffing personnel, the Director of Financial Aid shall upload the data to clearinghouse. Any further transition, and the Associate Director of Financial Aid shall immediately assume the responsibility of uploading the data upon notice of changeover of personnel.