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
November 2009 – January 2010: Negotiating Team meetings
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)
---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:
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
State Authorization
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
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
Creates a distinction between written
agreements between affiliated and
unaffiliated schools
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
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
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
Schools must develop procedures to evaluate
high school completion for these situations
Return of Title IV Funds:
Compressed Courses
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
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
An “institution that is required to take
attendance” must use its attendance records to
determine the withdrawal date
Verification
Policies
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
Schools must verify all applicants selected for Verification
by the CPS, except if the applicant:
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
To verify AGI:
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:
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
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
The aid may be disbursed after the end of the
payment period during which the student
successfully completed the requisite coursework
Disbursements
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
Gainful Employment
Disclosures
Schools must report and disclose the:
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
Schools wishing to offer new programs leading
to gainful employment must apply for
recognition of each program
Schools will submit notices 90 days prior to
offering a new program that include:
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?
All regulations must be implemented by
July 1, 2011
EXCEPT
Verification
State Authorization
July 1, 2012
July 1, 2012 or 2013 -- only with approved extensions
Gainful Employment: New Programs
July 1, 2011 or later pending release of OMB Control Number
Help!?
U.S. Department of Education Negotiated
Rulemaking website:
http://www2.ed.gov/policy/highered/reg/hearulemaking
/2009/negreg-summerfall.html
U.S. Department of Education Federal Register
website:
http://www2.ed.gov/news/fedregister/index.html
Help!?
National Association of Student Financial Aid
Administrators (NASFAA):
National Association of College and University Business
Officers (NACUBO):
www.nacubo.org
National Association of Independent Colleges and
Universities (NAICU):
www.nasfaa.org
www.naicu.org
Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU):
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!