Education Dept. to Rewrite Rules on Gainful Employment and State Authorization
April 16, 2013
The U.S. Department of Education announced on Monday new hearings on rulemaking that are designed to ensure that colleges and universities are providing students with a high quality education that prepares them for the workforce and lifelong success, according to a notice in the Federal Register.
The May hearings intend to engage the higher education community in conversations about cash management and the regulations governing institutional management of federal student aid funds; state authorization for distance education programs; state authorization for foreign locations of domestic institutions; clock to credit hour conversion; how to define “gainful employment”; campus safety and security reporting requirements; and the definition of “adverse credit” for the direct PLUS loan program.
Based on the comments gathered at the hearings, the department will draft a list of topics to be considered by rulemaking committees. Negotiations would likely begin this fall.
In its notice, the department says it plans to hold additional rulemaking sessions on college affordability and quality, as part of a “long-term agenda” that “will take several years to complete.”
Traditionally, changes to help students afford, attend and graduate from college would be enacted within the Higher Education Act, which is set to expire at the end of the year. Some observers suggested that the intent to pursue a long-term agenda of new regulations belied a lack of confidence from the administration in a deeply divided Congressäós ability to accomplish reauthorization, not necessarily a lack of interest from the administration in pursuing legislative change, reports Inside Higher Ed.
Related Links:
The Federal Register
Inside Higher Ed
Michelle Cormier Mott
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