Finding Text
Finding 2022-005 - Material Weakness - Enrollment Reporting
Repeat of Prior Year Finding 2021-003
Federal Program: Student Financial Assistance Cluster - Federal Pell Grant Program, Federal Direct Student Loans
Federal Agency: Department of Education
Assistance Listing Number: 84.063, 84.268
Federal Award Year: June 30, 2022
Criteria: An institution is required to update students' changes in status on the National Student Loans Data System (NSLDS) website within 30 days of the date the institution becomes aware of the change in enrollment status for students that graduate, withdraw, or have an increase or decrease in attendance during the fiscal year (34 CFR 685.309).
Condition: For certain students selected for testing who graduated or withdrew during the year, the University did not submit an appropriate and/or timely status change notification to the NSLDS website. A group of graduated students were erroneously reported as 'withdrawn' from the University.
Cause: Lack of competency and turnover in the financial aid office contributed to the University not properly reporting status changes to NSLDS.
Effect: The University was not in compliance with the required reporting requirements of student status changes.
Questioned Costs: There are no questioned costs associated with this finding.
Context: For 25 of the 25 students selected for testing, the University did not submit status change notifications within the required time frames. The sample was not a statistically valid sample.
For 3 of the 25 students selected for testing, the University did not submit a campus level status change notification. The sample was not a statistically valid sample.
For 185 graduates, the University did not report the proper status change to NSLDS.
Recommendation: The University should revise its procedures for reporting student status changes to ensure that status changes are reported timely and accurately to NSLDS.
Management's Response: Management agrees with this finding and has recognized their need for a qualified individual who is knowledgeable about financial aid requirements.