Finding Text
2023-001 Enrollment Reporting
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Education
Federal Program Names: Federal Pell Grant Program; Federal Direct Student Loans
Assistance Listing Numbers: 84.063; 84.268
Federal Award Identification Number and Year: Federal Pell Grant Program 2023 – P063P232128, P063P222128, P063Q222128; Federal Direct Student Loans 2023 – P268K247031, P268K247015, P268K242128, P268K237031, P268K237015, P268K232128, P268K227031, P268K227015, P268K222128.
Award Period: 7/1/2022 – 6/30/2023
Type of Finding: Significant Deficiency in Internal Control over Compliance, Other Matters
Criteria or Specific Requirement: Per U.S. Department of Education (ED) regulations, all schools participating (or approved to participate) in the Federal Student Aid programs must have an arrangement to report student enrollment data to the NSLDS through a roster file.
The school is required to report enrollment status at both the school and program level. The school is required to report changes in the student’s enrollment status, the effective date of the status and an anticipated completion date. An academic program is defined as the combination of the school’s Office of Postsecondary Education Identification (OPEID) number and the program’s Classification of Instructional Program (CIP) code, credential level, and published program length. ED requires the University to report changes in enrollment status and indicate the date that the changes occurred (34 CFR 685.309).
Changes in enrollment status must be reported within 30 days. However, if a roster file is expected within 60 days, you may provide the date on that roster file. ED requires the institution to report changes in enrollment status within 30 or 60 days that the institution determined the changes occurred (34 CFR 682.610).
Condition: Certain students’ enrollment information was not reported accurately or timely to the NSLDS.
Questioned Costs: None.
Context: During our testing, we noted the following:
• In our sample of 40 students tested, 14 students were reported with the incorrect published program length per program-level NSLDS.
• In our sample of 40 students tested, 1 student were not reported to the campus-level record in the NSLDS in a timely manner.
Cause: Published program length set by the University is based on the 45-week academic year in place for graduate programs. However, when this information is reported to NSLDS, NSLDS bases this calculation on the typically 30-week academic year, causing the incorrect program length to be reflected in NSLDS.
Effect: Inaccurate reporting to the NSLDS can result in incorrect determination of when the students’ grace period should begin.
Repeat Finding: No.
Recommendation: The University should review its policies and procedures on reporting of enrollment status changes to NSLDS to ensure that all status changes are being reported accurately to be in compliance with regulations.
Views of responsible officials: There is no disagreement with the audit finding.