Finding 626672 (2022-001)

-
Requirement
N
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2022
Accepted
2023-03-23
Audit: 41300
Organization: Williams College (MA)

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: Williams College failed to report accurate enrollment status for two students who graduated in December 2021, delaying updates to the NSLDS until March 2022.
  • Impacted Requirements: Institutions must report enrollment changes within 60 days, as per federal regulations for Pell and Direct Loan programs.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Implement a manual process to ensure timely and accurate submission of all enrollment changes to the National Student Clearinghouse.

Finding Text

Grantor: U.S. Department of Education Program Name: Student Financial Assistance Cluster Award Names: Federal Pell Grant Program and Federal Direct Loan Program Award Year: 7/1/21 ? 6/30/22 Award Number: Not applicable Assistance Listing Numbers: 84.063 and 84.268 Criteria: In accordance with 34 CFR 690.83(b)(2) and 685.309, institutions are required to report enrollment information under the Federal Pell Grant (?Pell?) and Federal Direct Loan (?Direct Loan?) programs through the National Student Loan Data System (?NSLDS?). The enrollment information, including Campus Level and Program Level data, must be reviewed, updated, and validated by the institution promptly. Furthermore, specific to the Direct Loan program, for a student that received a Direct Loan and was enrolled or accepted for enrollment at the institution, and the student had 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, the institution must report the change within 60 days from which the change was identified. Condition: We tested a sample of seventeen students enrolled at Williams College who received either Pell and/or Direct Loans and had a change of enrollment status during the fiscal year. Of the seventeen students tested, two students met the requirements for graduation in December 2021 and their enrollment status was not accurately reported to the NSLDS until March 2022. Questioned Costs: None Cause: Williams College utilizes the National Student Clearinghouse (?NSC?) to submit enrollment information to NSLDS. Once a student has a change in enrollment, Williams College updates the enrollment information in its student information system. For graduates, an automated student information system process generates a report at the completion of each semester that is uploaded to the NSC to report the change in enrollment to the NSLDS. These students, who had extended their enrollment due to the pandemic, completed their degree requirements in December, and were not included in the process as their degree was not conferred by Williams College until June 2022. There was no manual process in place to validate that those students who completed their degree after the automated report was generated were reported to NSC or NSLDS. The change in enrollment for these two students was reported in March when the subsequent process had been completed for the spring semester, and again when degrees were conferred in June. Effect: A student?s enrollment status determines eligibility for in-school status, deferment, and grace periods, as well as for the payment of interest subsidies, all of which are impacted by inaccurate and late reporting. Recommendation: We recommend Williams College include a manual process to validate all student enrollment changes were appropriately submitted to the NSC accurately and timely. Management?s Response: Management?s Views and Corrective Action Plan is included at the end of this report after the summary schedule of prior audit findings and status.

Categories

Student Financial Aid Reporting Eligibility Matching / Level of Effort / Earmarking

Other Findings in this Audit

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
84.425 Education Stabilization Fund $2.10M
84.063 Federal Pell Grant Program $2.07M
84.268 Federal Direct Student Loans - Plus $1.65M
84.268 Federal Direct Student Loans $1.50M
84.038 Federal Perkins Loan Program, Outstanding Loans As of July 1, 2021 $938,830
47.074 Biological Sciences $608,019
84.007 Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants $468,845
47.RD Ipa Assignment $342,395
84.033 Federal Work-Study Program $234,784
93.859 Biomedical Research and Research Training $223,401
47.075 Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences $98,385
43.001 Science $49,745
10.253 Consumer Data and Nutrition Research $43,161
47.041 Engineering $41,180
47.070 Computer and Information Science and Engineering $32,272
10.310 Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (afri) $30,150
47.050 Geosciences $28,358
47.078 Polar Programs $27,690
93.847 Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research $10,079
47.049 Mathematical and Physical Sciences $1,030