Audit Checklist For Your School

1. Don't Panic: An audit is a cooperative process. The auditors are looking for information that shows you are in compliance with institutional policies and federal regulations related to the delivery of federal student aid. The key to a successful audit is presenting information to the auditor in an organized manner with appropriate narratives.
2. Provide the auditors with a copy of the Clearinghouse's audit report.This document shows that the our processes have been reviewed by independent auditors and are in compliance with the federal audit guide," Audits of the Federal Student Financial Assistance Programs at Participating Institutions and Institution Servicers."
3. Inform the Clearinghouse that auditors are coming to your campus by emailing us at auditresource@studentclearinghouse.org.
4. The auditors will request a sample population of your students who have received financial aid, which you will need to provide to them. With this sample, they will compare the enrollment information maintained in your system to the information you reported to the Clearinghouse and the information's subsequent reporting to the student loan organizations. The auditors will also confirm that your NSLDS SSCRs were processed within 30 days.
   
   You can access the information you reported to the Clearinghouse via our secure Web site.
   • From the "Student Look-Up" tab, you can print the following information for each student:
     • Enrollment History
     • Enrollment Data Reported to Lenders, Servicers, and Guarantors
     • NSLDS SSCR Notification History
   • From the "Student Reporting" tab, you can print the following information for your institution:
     • History of Transmissions Processed by the Clearinghouse
     • History of NSLDS SSCRs Processed by the Clearinghouse

   If you don't have access to our secure Web site, email us at auditresource@studentclearinghouse.org.

5. The auditors will create an event timeline that includes the following information:
   • Enrollment status
   • Effective date of an enrollment status change
   • Date you determined that an enrollment status change occurred
   • Date you reported the enrollment status change to the Clearinghouse
   • Enrollment status and effective date you reported to the Clearinghouse which should match the information in your system
   • Date the student loan organizations were notified of the enrollment status change
6. The timeline will allow the auditors to determine that:
   • You are accurately capturing when a student ceases to be enrolled on at least a half-time basis in accordance with institutional policies and federal regulations.
   • You are reporting the information to the Clearinghouse in a timely fashion.
   • The Clearinghouse is maintaining the information you reported accurately.
   • The Clearinghouse is reporting the information to the appropriate student loan organizations in accordance with the federal regulations.
7. If you provided the auditors with the information above and they still have questions, email auditresource@studentclearinghouse.org to request assistance from a member of our Audit Resource Team.
8. Let the Clearinghouse know how the audit goes. Your feedback will help us improve the information we provide you to make future audits as easy and pain-free as possible.