Universidad Central de Bayamon, Inc

Finding No. 2023–001 – Special Tests and Provisions – Disbursement to or on behalf students Title IV, HEA credit balances Federal Program ALN 84.063, Federal Pell Grant Program (PELL), Student Financial Assistance Programs Name of Federal Agency U.S. Department of Education (USDE) Category Internal Control/Compliance Compliance Requirement Special Tests and Provisions Criteria According to the 34 CFR 668.164(h)(2)(i) A title IV, a HEA credit balance must be paid directly to the student or parent as soon as possible, but no later than fourteen (14) days after the balance occurred, if the credit balance occurred after the first day of class of a payment period. Condition During our examination, we noted one (1) instance, which based on the regulation mentioned above, the credit balance was not paid to the student in the required time frame.Cause The student credit balance was not paid in the required time frame as a result of a processing delay. Effect As a result of this condition, the USDE may issue warnings and/or impose penalties to the University. Context Of the 1,426 participants of Student Financial Aid Program, we examined forty (40) participants of PELL and in one (1) case credit balance refund was performed late. The composition of the audit samples for the Pell grant and Direct Loans programs and the population from which eligibility samples were as follows:Identification of a repeat finding This is not a repeat finding from the immediate previous audit. Questioned cost None Recommendation The management of UCB should reinforce its internal control and procedures to ensure the return of credit balances to the students in the required time frame. Views of Responsible Officials of the Auditee and Planned Corrective Actions Management of the University agrees with this finding. Please refer to the corrective action plan on page 54.

Finding No. 2023–001 – Disbursement to or on behalf students Title IV, HEA credit balances Name of Contact Person: Dr. Ismael A. Velez de la Rosa Corrective Action Plan The University affirms its understanding of its obligation to submit disbursement according to the 34 CFR 668.164(h)(2)(i) A title IV, a HEA credit balance must be paid directly to the student or parent as soon as possible, but no later than fourteen (14) days after the balance occurred, if the credit balance occurred after the first day of class of a payment period. Due to an error in the system, within institutional officials in charge of managing this process, one disbursement was not submitted on a timely basis. UCB will reinforce their policies and procedures to satisfy all applicable requirements specified in 668.164 (h) and due a doble verification of the process to make sure every student no later than fourteen (14) days after the balance occurred. As of the date of the auditors’ report, the University request all of the institution’s officials to work in the school premises and the communication between officials has been improve, making easier the tracking of the disbursements on a timely basis to students. Anticipated completion date: Immediately.

Finding No. 2023–002 – Special Tests and Provisions – Enrollment Reporting Federal Program Name Federal Pell Grant Program (PELL), ALN 84.063 Federal Direct Student Loan Program (DL) ALN 84.268 Name of Federal Agency U.S. Department of Education Pass-through Entity N/A Criteria The National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) is the U.S. Department of Education’s central database for federal student aid disbursed under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA), as amended. Among other things, NSLDS monitors the programs of attendance and the enrollment status of Title IV aid recipients. The institution determines how often it receives the Enrollment Reporting roster file with the default set at a minimum of every 60 days. Once received, the institution must update for changes in student status, report the date the enrollment status was effective, enter the new anticipated completion date, and submit the changes electronically through the batch method or the NSLDS website, as stated in 34 CFR 690.83 (b) (2) for Federal Pell Grant Program and 34 CFR section 685.309 for Federal Direct Student Loan Program. A student’s enrollment status determines eligibility for in-school status, deferment, and grace periods, as well as for the payment of interest subsidies to FFEL Program loan holders by USDE. Enrollment Reporting in a timely and accurate manner is critical for effective management of the programs. Enrollment information must be reported within 30 days whenever attendance changes for students, unless a roster will be submitted within 60 days. These changes include reductions or increases in attendance levels, withdrawals, graduations, or approved leaves-of- absence. Condition During our examination of the enrollment reporting test, from twenty-five (25) cases of students examined, we found that in two (2) cases, the University did not report to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) the change in status of the students within the required 60 days’ period. Cause The registrar reported the students graduated status within the required time frame to the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC), but the NSC exceeded the timeframe agreed with the University to report the student status changes to the NSDLS. Effect As a result of this condition, the USDE was prevented the use of accurate reporting data, which is critical for the effective administration of the Direct Loan Program and for USDE budgetary policy analysis. Questioned Cost None Context Of the 235 status changes for 2023, we selected 25 students for testing and noted 2 instances in which the University did not comply with the enrollment reporting requirements. Identification of a Repeat Finding This is not a repeat finding from the immediate previous audit. Recommendation Management should reassess the timeframe in which the University submits the information to the NSC and reinforce its monitoring of NSC to ensure they comply with the agreed upon reporting timeframe. The University should enhance both electronic and manual procedures to ensure enrollment status changes are timely and accurately reported to NSDLS. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions The University management agrees with this finding. Please refer to the corrective action plan on page 54.

Finding No. 2023–002 – Enrollment Reporting Name of Contact Person: Dr. Kendra Ortiz, Registrar Corrective Action Plan UCB recognizes its obligation to report enrollment data to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) at least every 60 days. The Registrar's Office reports enrollment data to NSLDS on a monthly basis. To ensure that the University comply with the 60-day requirement, we have established an additional notification procedure. The Financial Aid Office will forward report of all Title IV student recipients classified as withdrawn to the Registrar's Office, this process consists of a reconciliation of the data. The Registrar's office will report the enrollment change of this cases to NSLDS within 60 days required. Anticipated completion date: Immediately.