Audit Peak Season Is Here: How to Find the Answers You Need

The Clearinghouse’s Audit Resource Center (ARC) is hard at work during this peak audit season. As many of our participating schools are currently undergoing their annual A-133 compliance audit, the ARC is fielding inquiries as quickly as possible and with urgency. However, because this is the peak summer season, our response time may be delayed by three business days. Therefore, we wanted to provide some helpful resources to you that you can use to answer your compliance- and audit-related questions.

  • Review our Audit Guide and the Clearinghouse’s most recent annual audit. Our annual audit is currently underway, so we’ve also provided you with a bridge letter you can use until it is completed and published on our website.
  • Visit our Preparing for an Audit knowledge base article. This article reviews the steps in the audit process and potential auditor requests.
  • Log onto our secure online portal to view:
    • Student Reporting Details, including:
      • Transmission History
      • NSLDS Reporting (Enrollment Reporting to NSLDS)
    • Student Look-Up Details:
      • Enrollment reporting history, including the information your school submitted for the student, as well as the information sent to NSLDS for the student
  • Understand the 60-day, timely reporting requirement. Per the Department of Education (ED), “accurate and timely reporting” requires Title IV aid recipient enrollment to be certified every 60 days, at a minimum. ED’s requirement aligns with that of the Code of Federal Regulations to report students who “ceased to be on at least a half-time basis,” as stated in regulations 610/685.309.
    • Therefore, to comply with federal reporting requirements, you must submit a Student Status Confirmation Report (SSCR) a minimum of every 60 days. On your behalf, the Clearinghouse complies with this requirement by scheduling an SSCR every month of the year.
  • Count the 60 days from the Date of Determination. Per federal requirements, after a student ceases to be enrolled at least half-time, an institution has 60 days from the date of determination to report the student’s enrollment to NSLDS. The date of determination is the date your institution became aware of the student’s enrollment status change. Typically, the date of determination is subsequent to the effective date of the enrollment status.
  • Select the most comprehensive search options when reviewing student information on NSLDS.In order to confirm your reporting timeliness, make sure you choose the optimal selections from the “Advanced Display Options” drop-down menus on the NSLDS “Enrollment Detail” screen.
    • Select all active and inactive records for all schools, then click “Apply.” These search conditions will yield the most comprehensive details, including the first instance when NSLDS accepted an enrollment status and its corresponding effective date.

Thank you for your continued collaboration as we work together to create another incredibly successful academic year. For any other questions, please contact auditresource@studentclearinghouse.org.

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