I’m sure you have probably heard about the Final Rules published in October. I’m sure you may also be wondering (or already exploring, or perhaps are already anxious about) how these regulations will impact you and your institution…so, I’d like first to provide some history of how these rules came to be.
Early in 2009, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced that it would be conducting a new Negotiated Rulemaking process. Through this process a number of issues of ‘Title IV program integrity’ were discussed by stakeholders in the financial aid community, before implementing changes formally through revising existing regulation and creating new rules. These program integrity rules are numerous and expansive, ranging from establishing a definition of a credit hour to tightening how schools monitor satisfactory academic progress. Unlike most Negotiated Rulemaking, the 2009 process was not conducted because of a law enacted by Congress (for example, a Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act), but as a means to strengthen management of the Title IV programs, and to update existing regulation to better fit current guidance, technologies, and ED priorities.
Public hearings were held in June 2009, at which interested parties voiced concerns on program integrity issues. Negotiated Rulemaking teams, with participants nominated by stakeholders and selected by ED, met multiple times from November 2009 to January 2010. In June 2010, upon considering the content and outcome of the teams’ meetings, ED published a formal Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on which all interested parties could comment.
After collecting and reviewing thousands of comments – including those submitted by MASFAA’s Government Relations Committee -- ED published Final Rules on October 29, 2010. Most of these rules will become effective on July 1, 2011 – only about seven months away!
Since the Rules are extensive, only some notable highlights are discussed here. Sources of more comprehensive information are listed at the end of this article, and are accessible via links embedded in it, when you’re ready to read more.
Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)
- The Rules strengthen current SAP regulations by requiring that most schools review student SAP at least annually. If a student is not making progress at the end of a year, then s/he can not continue to receive Title IV aid unless an appeal is submitted to the school and approved.
- Schools who review SAP more frequently, such as after each payment period, may opt to permit students an intermediate ‘warning’ period during which they may continue to receive federal aid without submitting a formal appeal.
Return of Title IV Funds: Taking Attendance
- The Rules expand the definition of ‘institutions that are required to take attendance’ to include those schools who have policies requiring faculty to take attendance in some circumstances, even if the schools are not required by an outside agency, such as an accreditor, to take attendance. These attendance records must be used when determining a student’s withdrawal date.
Early Disbursements
- The Rules require that schools provide a means for Pell-eligible students to obtain or purchase books and supplies by no later than the 7th day of a payment period, if the school could disburse the student’s federal aid 10 days prior to the payment period, and such a disbursement would result in a credit balance.
Gainful Employment: Disclosures
- The Rules require that schools offering non-degree programs such as certificates, regardless of school type or educational level, must make a number of new disclosures, including the completion and placement rates for students attending these programs. These new disclosures must also be made for all programs offered at vocational or proprietary schools, except for liberal arts bachelor's degree programs.
Verification (EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2012)
- The Rules note that ED will publish each year a comprehensive list of data items that may need to be verified for any given applicant, and will then target specific Verification items for each student selected.
- Schools must now verify all applications selected; the 30% cap will be eliminated.
- All corrections made to a student’s ISIR must be submitted to ED’s Central Processing System (CPS), even for students not receiving Pell Grant funds.
Since the issues above are really only the tip of the iceberg, I hope you will find the following resources helpful in outlining all the new regulations, so that steps may be taken to comply in the coming months:
Federal resources
Professional resources
And don’t forget that MASFAA’s Government Relations Committee can be a resource if you have questions! |
