Finding Text
Criteria: Title IV regulations (34 CFR 685.309(b)) require that upon receipt of an enrollment report from the 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 half-time 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 Condition: For 3 of 25 students included in our sample, the enrollment status of withdrawn were reported late (61 days after the determination date of separation). The sample was not a statistically valid sample. Cause: The College?s procedures for reporting students? enrollment statuses at the end of the fall semester did not get included in the preliminary reporting for the spring semester and then did get included in the final reporting at the beginning of the spring semester however that was just beyond the 60 days timeframe requirement. Effect: The accuracy of Title IV student loan records depends heavily on the accuracy of the enrollment information reported by institutions. If an institution does not review, update, and verify student enrollment statuses, effective dates of the enrollment status, and the anticipated completion dates, then the Title IV student loan records will be inaccurate. Questioned Costs: Not applicable Context: Not applicable. Recommendation: It is recommended that policies and procedures are put in place to ensure that the correct enrollment status dates and enrollment statuses are reported to the NSLDS within the required timeframes. Management?s Response: Management considers this to be an isolated incident, however, additional controls will be put in place in order to prevent this from happening in the future. Beginning in September 2022, a second Registrar?s Office staff member will complete an additional review of the National Student Clearinghouse status for all students withdrawing after a particular semester. This secondary review will be completed at the end of January and at the end of June in order to ensure the 60-day reporting period is met.