Transcript Slide 1

Hot Off the Press
The Negotiated Rulemaking Process
and Final Regulations
Brendan Furey
American Student Assistance
Zack Goodwin
Harvard University
Today we will….
Outline the Negotiated Rulemaking
process
 Highlight the MASFAA Government
Relations Committee response to the
Program Integrity NPRM
 Provide a concise overview of each section
of the Final Rule
 Note available resources
 Respond to your questions and concerns

What is Negotiated Rulemaking?
“Neg Reg” is the process by which laws
passed by Congress are negotiated by
stakeholders and opened for public
comment before being implemented
formally through regulation
 “Neg Reg” may also entail the review of
regulations already in existence, to ensure
they are current and reflect administration
priorities

Huh?

“Neg Reg” is the process by which we
may be involved in the development
of regulation
Congress passes new law or
Administration requests regulatory review
Public hearings are held to determine
Rulemaking topics
Negotiation teams are selected
and Rulemaking meetings held
NPRM is published with a
solicitation for public comment
Department of Education reviews
comments and may make changes
Final Rule published
Master Calendar

Public comment period for NPRM is
typically 45 days

Final Rule must be published by
November 1 in order to require
implementation by July 1 of the
following year
2009-2010 Neg Reg
Timeline

June 2009: Public hearings held
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November 2009 – January 2010: Negotiating Team meetings
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August 2010: NPRM on Program Integrity public comment period
closed

September 2010: NPRM on Gainful Employment (New Programs) public
comment period closed

October 29, 2010: Final Rule published on Program Integrity Issues and
Gainful Employment (New Programs)
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---November 1, 2010: Final Rule on Foreign Institutions published
Program Integrity Issues
Definition of a Credit Hour
 State Authorization
 Repeated Coursework
 Written Agreements Between Institutions
 Incentive Compensation
 Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)
 High School Diploma
 Return of Title IV Funds: Compressed Courses
 Return of Title IV Funds: Taking Attendance
 Verification
 Misrepresentation
 Ability to Benefit
 Disbursements
 Gainful Employment: Disclosures/New Programs

MASFAA’s Response

On August 2, MASFAA’s Government Relations
Committee submitted a response to the Program
Integrity NPRM on 9 of 13 issues:
Definition of a Credit Hour
 Return of Title IV Funds: Compressed Courses
 Return of Title IV Funds: Taking Attendance
 Gainful Employment (Disclosures)
 State Authorization
 Verification
 Incentive Compensation
 Satisfactory Academic Progress
 Misrepresentation

Definition of a Credit Hour

An amount of work established by a school to
reasonably approximate to not less than 1 hour
of classroom or direct faculty instruction and a
minimum of 2 hours of out of class student work
each week for approximately:
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15 weeks for one semester or trimester
10 to 12 weeks for one quarter hour of credit, or
The equivalent amount of work over a different amount of
time
The amount of work may include laboratory
work, internships, practica, studio work, and
other academic work leading to the awarding of
credit hours
Definition of a Credit Hour
Accrediting and State Agency Procedures

Accrediting agencies must review and
evaluate the reliability and accuracy of the
school’s assignment of credit hours

This review must be part of the review for
initial accreditation or pre-accreditation or
renewal of accreditation
Definition of a Credit Hour
Clock to Credit Hour Conversion

The method of converting clock hours to
credit hours has been updated so that:
A semester or trimester hour must include at
least 37.5 clock hours of instruction
 A quarter hour must include at least 25 clock
hours of instruction
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State Authorization
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Generally, no mandate requiring a state
licensing agency

However, if a state licensing agency or
requirement exists, then schools must
comply with the state licensing process in
order to have access to Federal aid
Repeated Coursework

Repeated coursework in a term-based
program may be counted in the student’s
enrollment status
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However, it can not be counted if it
reflects more than one repetition of
previously passed courses, or repetition of
a previously passed course due to the
student failing other coursework
Written Agreements
Between Institutions
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Creates a distinction between written
agreements between affiliated and
unaffiliated schools
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Also requires schools with written
agreements to provide a description of
their arrangement to enrolled and
prospective students
Incentive Compensation

Merit-based compensation for financial aid or
admissions staff is still allowed
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However, no commission, bonus, or other
incentive payments may be directly or indirectly
paid based on success in securing enrollments or
financial aid to any persons or entities involved
in student recruiting or admissions activities, or
in making decisions about the awarding of
student financial assistance
Satisfactory Academic Progress
(SAP)

SAP regulations have been consolidated
into one section of regulations

Confirms that SAP must be evaluated—
At the end of each payment period if the
educational program is equal to or shorter
than an academic year, or
 At the end of each payment period or at least
annually for all other programs (greater than
an academic year)

High School Diploma
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If there is reason to believe that the high school
diploma is not valid or was not obtained from
an entity that provides secondary school
education, then the validity of the high school
diploma must be evaluated
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Schools must develop procedures to evaluate
high school completion for these situations
Return of Title IV Funds:
Compressed Courses
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For modules/compressed courses, a student
who would otherwise be considered to have
withdrawn is not considered to have withdrawn
if the school obtains written confirmation at the
time of withdrawal that he or she will attend a
module that begins later in the same payment
period

However, for a nonterm or nonstandard-term
program, that module must begin no later than
45 days after the end of the module the student
ceased attending
Return of Title IV Funds:
Taking Attendance
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An “institution that is required to take
attendance” includes not only an institution that
is required to take attendance by an outside
entity, but also an institution that itself requires
its faculty to take attendance in certain
circumstances
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An “institution that is required to take
attendance” must use its attendance records to
determine the withdrawal date
Verification
Policies
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The school must have written Verification
policies and procedures that include the:
 Time
frame for an applicant providing
documentation
 Consequences of failure to provide documentation
 Method a school uses to notify students of results
of Verification
 Procedures to make any necessary changes to
FAFSA data
Verification
Selection

The Department will publish each year a list of data items
that may need to be verified, and will ‘target’ Verification
items for each student selected
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Schools must verify all applicants selected for Verification
by the CPS, except if the applicant:
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Dies
Does not receive Title IV aid
Receives only unsubsidized student financial assistance
Transfers from another school and the new school obtains a letter
from the prior school stating that Verification was completed and
listing the transaction number of the applicable ISIR
No Verification is required for parental or spousal
information if the parents/spouse reside outside the U.S.
and cannot be contacted via normal means
Verification
Acceptable Documentation
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To verify AGI:
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A signed copy of the income tax return or a joint
return signed by one of the filers
IRS Form W–2, or
An acceptable reason for the tax return to not be able
to be provided
To verify the number of family members:
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A signed statement (dependent student must have
both the applicant and one of the applicant’s parents)
Statement must list name, age, and the relationship of
each family member
Verification
Interim Disbursements
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Schools may make interim disbursements prior
to receipt of an updated ISIR to alleviate a
hardship caused by the delay in receiving
financial aid, provided that corrections have
already been sent to ED for reprocessing

However, if a corrected ISIR/SAR is not
received by the required deadlines, the school
must reimburse the applicable program(s) using
institutional funds
Verification
Consequences of Revised FAFSA Information

The school must adjust the aid package
based on the revised ISIR/SAR
The Pell award must be recalculated based on
the revised EFC and any additional funds paid
 However, if the Pell award is reduced as a result
of Verification, the school must either:

 Adjust
subsequent disbursements
 Require the applicant to repay the overpayment, or
 Pay the amount from institutional funds
Misrepresentation

If ED determines a school engaged in
substantial misrepresentations, then ED
may:
Revoke the Participation Agreement
 Impose limitations on the school’s
participation in Title IV programs
 Deny Participation applications
 Initiate legal proceedings against the school

Ability to Benefit

Clarifies Ability to Benefit regulations to provide
that a student is eligible for Title IV funds after
successfully completing six credits of college
work, or the equivalent

The coursework completed may be part of any
eligible program offered by the school
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The aid may be disbursed after the end of the
payment period during which the student
successfully completed the requisite coursework
Disbursements
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The school must provide a way for Pell
Grant-eligible students to obtain or
purchase required books and supplies by
no later than the 7th day of the payment
period if, 10 days before the payment
period:
The school could disburse the student’s funds,
and
 Disbursing those funds would result in a
credit balance
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Gainful Employment
Disclosures
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Schools must report and disclose the:
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Occupations the program prepares students for
On-time completion rate
The full cost of attendance for the program
Placement rate based on methodology from the
accrediting agency or State, until the National Center
for Education Statistics (NCES) begins publishing a
placement rate
The median loan debt for students
Schools must provide this information on the
program's home page and promotional materials
in a simple and meaningful manner
Gainful Employment
New Programs
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Schools wishing to offer new programs leading
to gainful employment must apply for
recognition of each program
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Schools will submit notices 90 days prior to
offering a new program that include:
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Narrative explanation of how the program was developed
and how it meets market needs
Documentation of accreditor approval of the program
Approval process may changed in the future, in
consideration of Negotiated Rulemaking on
gainful employment performance measures
(metrics)
Gainful Employment
Metrics

Repayment Rate
 The
percentage of the outstanding principal balance
of the Federal loans taken by the academic
program’s former students who entered repayment
in the previous four years that has been repaid

Debt-to-Earnings Ratio
 For
the academic program’s completers, the average
educational loan payments (Federal, private, and
institutional financing plans) as a proportion of the
borrower’s income (either discretionary income or
average annual earnings). Loan payment amount
based on a 10-year amortization schedule at 6.8
percent
When must these regulations be
implemented?
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All regulations must be implemented by
July 1, 2011
EXCEPT
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Verification
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State Authorization
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July 1, 2012
July 1, 2012 or 2013 -- only with approved extensions
Gainful Employment: New Programs
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July 1, 2011 or later pending release of OMB Control Number
Help!?
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U.S. Department of Education Negotiated
Rulemaking website:
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http://www2.ed.gov/policy/highered/reg/hearulemaking
/2009/negreg-summerfall.html
U.S. Department of Education Federal Register
website:
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http://www2.ed.gov/news/fedregister/index.html
Help!?
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National Association of Student Financial Aid
Administrators (NASFAA):
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National Association of College and University Business
Officers (NACUBO):
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www.nacubo.org
National Association of Independent Colleges and
Universities (NAICU):
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www.nasfaa.org
www.naicu.org
Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU):
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www.aplu.org
Questions?
Contact us
Brendan Furey
Zack Goodwin
Manager of Compliance
American Student Assistance
[email protected]
Director of Financial Aid
Harvard University
Division of Continuing
Education
[email protected]
Thank you!