Finding 970211 (2023-001)

Enrollment Reporting Cluster: Student Financial Assistance Cluster Sponsoring Agency: Department of Education (ED) Award Names: Federal Pell Grant Program; Federal Direct Student Loans Assistance Listing Title: Federal Pell Grant Program; Federal Direct Student Loans ALN Number: 84.063 and 84.268 Award Period: 2022-2023 Pass-through Entity: Not applicable Criteria: 34 CFR section 690.83(b)(2); 34 CFR section 674.19; 34 CFR 685.309 Enrollment reporting process. (1) Upon receipt of an enrollment report from the Secretary, an institution 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 specified by the Secretary. (2) 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 school discovers that— (i) A loan under title IV of the HEA or the Act was made to 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 HEA or the Act has changed his or her permanent address. Condition: In testing the University’s conformity with compliance requirements for enrollment reporting, 5 of the 25 students sampled had a status of “withdrawn” instead of “graduated” on the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) site. Cause: The University utilizes the services of National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) to assist in the reporting of enrollment status changes to the NSLDS. For students that had a gap in enrollment and subsequently graduated, the University reported the students to NSC as graduated. However, the NSC system recognized these students as withdrawn regardless of whether they withdrew or graduated. When the reporting from NSC to NSLDS occurred, it was based on the information recognized by NSC, and as such these students were reported as withdrawn rather than graduated. The University did not have controls in place to identify that the incorrect status was reported by NSC. Effect: Changes in student statuses may not be updated accurately. As the student status determines loan eligibility and repayment status, the student loan limits and repayment status may not be updated accurately. Questioned Costs: None. Recommendation: We recommend the University implement a control to confirm that the information included on the NSLDS site is both accurate and timely when submitted by their third party servicer. Management’s Views and Corrective Action Plan: Management’s response is included in “Management’s Views and Corrective Action Plan” included at the end of this report.