Feb 21 -- Federal Student Aid (FSA), Department of Education (ED), invites comments by April 22, 2024 regarding proposed Gainful Employment/Financial Value Transparency Reporting Requirements.
On January 18, 2022, the Department of Education (the Department) convened a negotiated rulemaking committee to consider proposed regulations for the Federal Student Aid programs authorized under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, (title IV, HEA). In the Final Rule, published on October 10, 2023 (88 FR 70004) the Secretary issued new regulations to promote transparency, competence, stability, and effective outcomes for students in the provision of postsecondary education.
The regulations in § 668.408 in Subpart Q – Financial Value Transparency, establish reporting requirements for postsecondary institutions who participate in the title IV, HEA programs to report on their students who enroll in, complete, or withdraw from a gainful employment (GE) program or an eligible non-GE program in specified award years. The new regulations also define the timeframes for institutions to report the required information.
This is a request for a new collection to allow the Department to obtain the required information and assess the burden on institutions.
Federal Student Aid (FSA), an office of the Department, is charged with collecting the required information from institutions which is used to calculate debt-to-earnings (D/E) and earnings premium measures for GE and eligible non-GE programs. This will be accomplished by using existing FSA data collection systems including Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) System; the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS), the Enterprise Data Management and Analytics Platform Services (EDMAPS) and any successor systems. The metrics could result in loss of Federal student aid eligibility for GE programs and, in certain cases, mandate student acknowledgements prior to enrollment in failing non-GE programs. The information obtained will also be used by Department staff to support analyses of current and future policies related to the administration of the title IV, HEA programs and to provide students, their families, and the general public additional information about the price and outcomes associated with specific postsecondary programs at participating institutions.
Final Regulations: Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment:
https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/library/federal-registers/2023-10-10/final-regulations-financial-value-transparency-and-gainful-employment
Draft data collection instrument and technical documentation:
https://www.regulations.gov/docket/ED-2024-SCC-0030/document
FRN:
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2024-03512