Regulatory Issues

The Federal Regulatory Committee supports the Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities (APSCU) in the oversight and engagement of the Association and the sector on federal regulatory issues affecting private sector institutions and the students they serve. The Regulatory committee also provides training and education to APSCU members to assist in maintaining regulatory compliance.

News and Updates

Negotiated Rulemaking – Program Integrity II Announcement

The Department of Education will announce the next round of negotiated rulemaking in the April 15, 2013 Federal Register.

The topics the Department is proposing for inclusion in this session of neg reg are fraud prevention and program integrity issues, including: cash management of funds provided under the title IV Federal Student Financial Aid programs; State authorization for programs offered through distance education or correspondence education; State authorization for foreign locations of institutions located in a State; clock-to- credit hour conversion; gainful employment; changes made by the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (VAWA Reauthorization), Public Law 113-4, to the campus safety and security reporting requirements in the HEA; and the definition of "adverse credit" for borrowers in the Federal Direct PLUS Loan Program.

Three public hearings will be held to gather information on the proposed optics. Those hearings will be:

• May 21; Washington, DC
• May 23; Minneapolis, MN
• May 30; San Francisco, CA
• [Added date] June 4; Atlanta, GA

Due to the topics for proposed negotiation, we anticipate the hearings will fill up quickly. As such, we strongly encourage you to sign up early if you wish to speak at a hearing. Note that the link for signing up to speak at a hearing will not be active until tomorrow. The Federal Register notice also contains information on how to file comments with the Department if you are unable to attend the public hearings, as well as more information on what information they are looking for in the proposed topics. Note: The deadline to submit written comments has been extended to June 4, 2013.

The Department states in the Federal Register notice that they intend to conduct, over the next several years, rulemakings related to the title IV Federal Student Aid programs. They expect to announce the formation of additional negotiated rulemaking committees to address more directly access to, and the affordability of, higher education and possible steps to improve the
quality of higher education in the United States and to better encourage students to complete their education. This long-term agenda will take several years to complete.

Department of Education Loan Counseling Tools 

The US Department of Education has released two new tools to assist students in managing their student loans: a Complete Counseling Web page and a new Repayment Estimator that lets borrowers compare what their monthly paymentamounts would likely be across all seven repayment plan options. The loan tools, available on www.studentloans.gov, are part of the Obama Administration's ongoing effort to make college costsmore transparent and help students make informed decisions at every step of the process. The studentloans.gov website is a student-centered "one-stop shop" for informationon the Federal aid programs. It includes direct loan entrance and exit counseling, information on the impact sequestration will have on the student aid programs, changes to the student loan programs, and tools to assist students in proactively managing and successfully repaying their federal student loans. The Department's press release on the new tools can be found here.