built-in vpn (L2TP over IPSec) not working with Monterey

Please forgive me if I leave out crucial information in this post - it is my first to the community.

I just upgraded to the new 14" MacBook pro (M1 Pro), which is running macOS 12.0.1. I work in education, and my employer provides a VPN server to allow off-site access to certain resources. This was working fine on my old MacBook pro using the built-in VPN client (L2TP over IPSec).

On Monterey, I am still able to authenticate with the VPN server, and it shows that I am connected. However, when I try to access or even ping a resource that should be available via the VPN, it fails (Request timeout for a ping). The rest of the internet still functions as usual.

My IT department believes that iCloud private relay could be the issue. However, I do not use iCloud, and rather than having an "options button" in System Preferences -> Apple ID -> iCloud -> Private Relay I have an "upgrade" button. Everything is unchecked within Apple ID.

Any suggestions on how to get the built-in VPN client to function, or 3rd party alternatives that would allow me to connect via L2TP over IPSec, would be welcome.

[Edited by Moderator]