Finding Text
Identification of Federal Program – 84.063 Federal Pell Grant; Department of Education; P063P211643 and 84.268 Federal Direct Student Loan Program; Department of Education; P268K221643
Criteria – The College is to notify the Department of Education of changes in student enrollment information at the Campus Level and Program Level in a timely and accurate manner. (34 CFR section 690.2 and section 685.309)
Condition – During the audit, we selected 25 students that had status changes during the 2022-2023 fiscal year, specifically for the time frame after February 28, 2023 due to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) conversion issues occurring through that date. The following items were noted during out testing: 1) for three students in our sample (2 Pell and 1 Direct Student Loan), the status change date documented by the College did not agree with the status change date reported by NSLDs; 2) for one student in our sample (Direct Student Loan), the status change date was March 30, 2023 but the National Student Clearinghouse reported September 5, 2023, indicating that the notification of status change was
not timely (within 60 days of status change); and 3) for one student in our sample (Direct Student Loan), the status change did not appear to have been reported to NSLDS.
Cause – This condition is a result of a review not being performed to ensure that student status changes are reported accurately and timely.
Effect – The student’s status changes are not being reported to NSLDS accurately or timely and may cause over/under federal funding in subsequent years.
Context – During our audit procedures, we verified that changes in the student status were reported accurately and timely to the NSLDS. For three students, we were unable to determine the accurate date of the status change, for one student the status change was not reported timely, and for one student the status change was not reported. College management was not able to provide an explanation why the status change dates were different, late, and not reported.
Recommendation – We recommend the College establish a review process to ensure that all status changes are reported accurately and timely to the NSLDS.
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions – The Registrars Office and Financial Aid Office are reviewing all current processes to ensure that status changes are being reported accurately. This includes students who may have requested a Refund Exception Appeal, which could have an impact on the date of determination the withdrawal occurred.