Finding Text
Finding 2023-001: Material Weakness in Internal Control Over Compliance
Federal Program: Student Financial Assistance Cluster, Federal Direct Student Loans
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Education
Compliance Requirement: Special Tests and Provisions
Assistance Listing Number: 84.268
Federal Award Year: June 30, 2023
Criteria: Title IV regulations (34 CFR Section 685.309(b)) require that upon receipt of an enrollment 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/Context: The College did not notify the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) in a timely manner for 24 students with status changes in our sample of 25 students. The sample was not a statistically valid sample.
Questioned Costs: There are no questioned costs associated with this finding.
Cause: The College’s procedures for reporting all students were not designed appropriately in order to allow for timely reporting to the NSLDS.
Effect: The accuracy of Title IV student loan records depends heavily on the accuracy of the enrollment information reported by schools. If an institution does not review, update and verify the students enrollment status, effective dates of the enrollment status and the anticipated completion dates, then the Title IV student loan records will be inaccurate.
Recommendation: We recommend that the College review its procedures for student status changes and NSLDS notifications to ensure there are follow-up and review procedures being performed for all students with status changes at the College.
Management Response: Management concurs with the finding.