The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released a new resource, Frequently Asked Privacy-Related Questions About Filing a Complaint with OCR. The resource provides details on how information will be used by OCR when investigating a complaint, the ways in which a complaint can be filed, who is informed when a complaint has been filed, and protections for individuals who submit a complaint.
Topics:
Accreditation, Authorizations, & Higher Education Act | Higher Education Act (HEA)
The American Council on Education (ACE) sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Education asking for additional clarification regarding the process for meeting the Department’s financial value transparency (FVT) and gainful employment (GE) reporting requirements. The letter further requests an additional extension beyond the initially granted extension deadline of January 15, 2025. The letter also suggests a webinar Q&A to support institutions and ensure clarity and compliance.
Topics:
Accreditation, Authorizations, & Higher Education Act | Program Integrity & Gainful Employment
The American Council on Education (ACE) sent a letter to the Speaker of the House and Minority Leader of the House offering support for H.R. 8932, the FAFSA Deadline Act. The proposed bill would move up the statutory deadline for the annual release of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) from January 1 to October 1 each academic year. The letter cites overall first-year enrollment declines of 5% this year, which it attributes, at least in part, to issues with the 2024-25 FAFSA.
Topics:
Accreditation, Authorizations, & Higher Education Act | Financial Aid, Scholarships, & Student Loans | Higher Education Act (HEA) | Students
The American Council on Education (ACE) sent a letter to the Senate Majority Leader and Minority Leader expressing support for the Stop Campus Hazing Act (the Act) and proposing certain technical adjustments to the Act to strengthen the legislation. Specifically, the letter seeks clarification regarding the definitions for “hazing” and “student organization,” and also asks that the bill be amended to reduce the Campus Hazing Transparency Report (CHTR) to a once per year requirement.
Topics:
Accreditation, Authorizations, & Higher Education Act | Higher Education Act (HEA) | Student Conduct | Student Organizations | Students
The American Council on Education (ACE) sent a letter to Chairman Rogers, Ranking Member Smith, Chairman Reed, and Ranking Member Wicker of the Armed Services Committee expressing concerns regarding the House draft of the NDAA, which includes provisions that could restrict academic collaborations with institutions in other countries and further impose career restrictions on researchers who engage in U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) projects. The letter expressed additional concerns with Section 220 of the Senate draft of the bill as it would allow the DOD to withhold funding from institutions that violate Title VI, a measure that would both duplicate and complicate existing enforcement by the U.S. Department of Education.
Topics:
Accreditation, Authorizations, & Higher Education Act | Export Controls | Higher Education Act (HEA) | International Ventures | Research
The U.S. Department of Education (the Department) is soliciting comments addressing Fire Safety Reporting. Current Department regulations require institutions to collect statistics on fires occurring in on-campus student housing facilities, including the number and cause of each fire, the number of injuries related to each fire that required treatment at a medical facility, the number of deaths related to each fire, and the value of property damage caused by each fire. The Department is collecting comments regarding the requirement regarding: (1) if the collection is necessary to the proper functions of the Department; (2) will it be processed and used in a timely manner; (3) is the estimate of burden accurate; (4) how the Department might enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (5) how the Department can minimize the burden of this collection on the respondents, including through the use of information technology. Comments are due on or before January 7, 2025.
Topics:
Accreditation, Authorizations, & Higher Education Act | Campus Police, Safety, & Crisis Management | Higher Education Act (HEA)
The U.S. Department of Education (the Department) published guidance on permitted and prohibited access, disclosure, and use of personally identifiable information (PII) from FAFSA by institutions of higher education, state grant agencies, and their respective contractors that receive this information beginning with the 2024-25 FAFSA cycle. The Department wrote that the data in this guidance does not include federal tax information (FTI) and stated that a separate electronic announcement will come in the near future, which provides guidance on permitted and prohibited access, disclosure, and use of FTI by institutions of higher education and state grant agencies. The guidance also reviews what is and is not considered FAFSA data and details by application, award and administrative aid, consent requirements, means-tested benefits, scholarships, support services; FAFSA data in meeting legal requirements; FAFSA data for research; and in response to subpoena.
Topics:
Accreditation, Authorizations, & Higher Education Act | Financial Aid, Scholarships, & Student Loans | Higher Education Act (HEA) | Students
The U.S. Department of Education created supplemental training resources for the Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment (FVT/GE) process in response to feedback and commonly asked questions from schools. The resources offer additional assistance and guidance for complying with the reporting requirements and a review of the FVT/GE Completers List via the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS).
Topics:
Accreditation, Authorizations, & Higher Education Act | Financial Aid, Scholarships, & Student Loans | Higher Education Act (HEA) | Program Integrity & Gainful Employment | Students
Summary from the National Association of College and University Business Officers on legislative and regulatory actions that occurred from October 30-November 4, 2024. This summary highlights an update from the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) on its list of frequently asked questions regarding requirements of the new Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment regulations; an announcement from the Office of Federal Student Aid reminding schools and third-party servicers to validate their assigned TG/FT numbers and user accounts by December 10; a list of tools to assist institutions, state aid agencies, software providers, and students and families with the 2025-26 FAFSA process from the Department; a brief on endowments published by the American Council on Education; and that registration is open for NACUBO’s post-election recap and insights webinar scheduled for November 19, 2024.
Topics:
Accreditation, Authorizations, & Higher Education Act
The U.S. Department of Education proposes to amend the regulations related to the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide the waiver of certain student loan debts. The proposed regulations would clarify the use of the Secretary’s authority to waive all, or part of any student loan debts owed to the Department based on the Secretary’s determination that a borrower has experienced or is experiencing hardship related to such a loan. Comments regarding the proposed rule impact the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program (Direct Loans), the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program, the Federal Perkins Loan (Perkins) Program, and the Health Education Assistance Loan (HEAL). Comments regarding the proposed rule must be made on or before Dec. 2, 2024, and via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov.
Topics:
Accreditation, Authorizations, & Higher Education Act | Financial Aid, Scholarships, & Student Loans | Higher Education Act (HEA) | Students
