Don’t Blink: Keeping your Eye on Regulatory Changes that Impact your Institution, Students, and Bottom Line

1. Don’t Blink:Keeping your Eye on Regulatory Changes that Impact your Institution, Students, and Bottom Line Presented by: Jamie Morley, Ph.D. Spring Zutes

2. Session Agenda • Satisfactory Progress • ATB • Equivalent to HS Diploma • Verification of High School Graduation • 90/10 • Definition of Credit Hour and course retakes • Department of Education Approval for New Programs • Gainful Employment Disclosure Requirements • Title IV Consumerism Requirements • Top Audit, Program Review and Accreditation findings • A butterfly means that there is material or a form available at • www.educationconsultingsolutions.com for free download. • Earn one eyeball by asking a question or sharing an ah-ha moment!

3. Don’t Blink Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) • New rules governing SAP are much more friendly to our students, but the requirements of policy development and the consistent application of the policy are more rigorous. • 1. Financial Aid Warning is the original “probation” and is only available to schools who measure progress by payment period. • 2. Financial Aid Probation requires the student to file an appealon the basis of injury or illness, the death of a relative, or other special circumstances. The policy must describe the information the student must submit to support the appeal, including why the student failed to make satisfactory academic progress, and what may have changed in the student’s situation that will allow the student to demonstrate SAP at the next evaluation. • 3. Allowance for an Individual Academic Plan provides the opportunity for a student to continue in a probationary status up through program completion.

4. Don’t Blink Ability-To-Benefit (ATB) test Effective with the 2012-2013 award year, new students who do not have a high school diploma, or an equivalent such as a GED, and who did not complete secondary school in a homeschool setting are not eligible for Title IV funds. Such students can no longer become eligible by passing an approved “ability-to-benefit” test or by satisfactorily completing at least six credit hours or 225 clock hours of college work that is applicable to a degree or certificate offered by the student’s postsecondary institution. However, students who were enrolled in an eligible educational program of study before July 1, 2012 may continue to be considered Title IV eligible under either the ATB test or credit hour standards.

5. Don’t Blink Equivalents to a high school diploma (600.2) The Department recognizes several equivalents to a high school diploma: • A GED; • A certificate demonstrating that the student has passed a state-authorized examination (for example, the California High School Proficiency Exam) that the state recognizes as the equivalent of a high school diploma; • An academic transcript of a student who has successfully completed at least a two-year program that is acceptable for full credit toward a bachelor’s degree; or • For a student who enrolls in a program that leads at least to an associate’s degree or its equivalent, before completing high school, a transcript indicating the student has excelled in high school. The student must no longer be enrolled in high school and must satisfy your school’s written policy for admitting such students.

6. Don’t Blink Verification of High School Graduation The Chicken and the Egg: Attestation and Validation Final regulations published on October 29, 2010 (75 FR 66832), require institutions to develop and apply procedures to evaluate the validity of a student’s high school diploma if the institution or the Department has reason to believe that the diploma is not valid or was not obtained from an entity that provides secondary school education (34 CFR 668.16(p)). When would an institution have reason to believe that there is an issue with the student’s high school diploma? ED tells you The financial aid office knows there is a problem Another office at the institution, such as admissions, has identified an issue Sample policy

7. Don’t Blink Verification of High School Graduation A student may self-certify on the FAFSA that he has received a high school diploma or GED or that he has completed secondary school through homeschooling as defined by state law. If a student indicates that he has a diploma or GED, your school isn’t required to ask for a copy (except as noted below), but if your school requires a diploma for admission, then you must rely on that copy of the diploma or GED and not on the student’s certifica­tion alone.

8. Don’t Blink 90/10….and talk of 85/15 • Two consecutive years and you are branded ineligible! • What are some options? • Purchase a non eligible title IV Schools so that their revenue can be added to yours. • Partnering with extern sites – you pay them to accept your students and they contribute to the students tuition expense. • Partner with Employers for tuition assistance in continuing education opportunities. • Offer short programs or seminars to increase non title IV revenue. • Hold your deposits of Title IV towards the end of the year knowing at minimum you will be violating cash management regulations. • Scholarships….we haven’t heard of any that are school based that pass the test.

9. Don’t Blink Definition of Credit Hour Credit hour (600.2): Except as provided in 34 CFR 668.8(k) and (l), a credit hour is an amount of work represented in intended learning outcomes and verified by evidence of student achievement that is an institutionally established equivalency that reasonably approximates not less than— (1) One hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction and a minimum of two hours of out of class student work each week for approximately fifteen weeks for one semester or trimester hour of credit, or ten to twelve weeks for one quarter hour of credit, or the equivalent amount of work over a different amount of time; or (2) At least an equivalent amount of work as required in paragraph (1) of this definition for other academic activities as established by the institution including laboratory work, internships, practical, studio work, and other academic work leading to the award of credit hours.

10. Don’t Blink • Gainful Employment Regulations • On June 30, 2012, a U.S. District Court vacated most of the gainful employment regulations • Court’s decision was based on ED’s rationale for setting the Repayment Rate failure threshold. Because of the interrelationship of the gainful employment requirements, the Court vacated most of the gainful employment regulations – GE Metrics, GE Reporting, Adding New GE Programs.Court left in place GE Disclosure requirements. • ED Statement in Response to Decision: • "The court upheld our authority to regulate career college programs while urging a clearer rationale for standards around repayment rates.  We are reviewing our legal and policy options to move forward in a way that best protects students and taxpayers while advancing our national goal of helping more Americans get the skills they need to compete in the global economy."

11. Don’t Blink • Title IV Consumerism Requirements • Why recreate the wheel! USDOE did a great job creating templates for each of the following requirements: • Institutional and Financial Assistance Information for Students • Drug & Alcohol Prevention • Student Right-to-Know Act • Clery/Campus Security Act • FERPA • Safeguarding Customer Information • Misrepresentation • Loan Disclosures • And ECS created a checklist to keep you on track: • Title IV Consumer Information Checklist

12. Don’t Blink BEWARE: The number of Program Reviews being conducted are on the rise Message: Be Proactive! When we asked a Program Review Specialist with the Department of Education what we should communicate to schools, the answer was: “Ensure the processes and procedures are in place for problem resolution. Failure to resolve student issues at the school level is an express invitation for a program review.”

13. Don’t Blink Top Financial Aid Program Review Findings Identified at the July 2012 DE Conference R2T4 calculation errors Verification violations Entrance/Exit counseling deficiencies Crime awareness requirements not met Student credit balance deficiencies Satisfactory Academic Progress policy not adequately developed/monitored R2T4 funds made late Pell Grant overpayments/ underpayments Account records inadequate/not reconciled Inaccurate recordkeeping Lack of administrative capability Information in student files missing/ inconsistent

14. Don’t Blink Findings on Both Audit and Program Review Lists July 2012 • R2T4 calculation errors • R2T4 funds made late • Pell Grant overpayment/underpayment • Verification violations • Student credit balance deficiencies • Entrance/Exit counseling deficiencies

15. Don’t Blink Retaking Courses The new regulations related to retaking coursework only apply to the definition of full-time for undergraduate students You may include any repetition of the program in a student's enrollment status for a term as long as the student has never passed the course. If the student passes the course, you may include one repetition after passing the course. Any second or subsequent repetition of the passed course may not be included in the student's enrollment status for purposes of the title IV, HEA, programs.

16. Don’t Blink Thank you for your time! QUESTIONS-?