Office of Postsecondary Education - U.S. Department of Education

WReier-Aviles on DSKGBLS3C1PROD with RULES266832 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 209 / Friday, October 29, 2010 / Rules and RegulationsDEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION34 CFR Parts 600, 602, 603, 668, 682,685, 686, 690, and 691[Docket ID ED–2010–OPE–0004]RIN 1840–AD02Program Integrity IssuesAGENCY: Office of PostsecondaryEducation, Department of Education.ACTION: Final regulations.SUMMARY: The Secretary is improvingintegrity in the programs authorizedunder title IV of the Higher EducationAct of 1965, as amended (HEA), byamending the regulations forInstitutional Eligibility Under the HEA,the Secretary’s Recognition ofAccrediting Agencies, the Secretary’sRecognition Procedures for StateAgencies, the Student AssistanceGeneral Provisions, the Federal FamilyEducation Loan (FFEL) Program, theWilliam D. Ford Federal Direct LoanProgram, the Teacher EducationAssistance for College and HigherEducation (TEACH) Grant Program inpart 686, the Federal Pell GrantProgram, and the AcademicCompetitiveness Grant (AGC) andNational Science and MathematicsAccess to Retain Talent Grant (NationalSmart Grant) Programs.DATES: These regulations are effectiveJuly 1, 2011 with the exception of therevision of subpart E of part 668,Verification and Updating of StudentAid Application Information. Revisedsubpart E of part 668 is effective July 1,2012. The incorporation by reference ofcertain publications listed in the rule isapproved by the Director of the FederalRegister as of July 1, 2011.FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Forinformation related to the provisions onhigh school diplomas and verification ofinformation on the Free Application forFederal Student Aid (FAFSA),Jacquelyn Butler. Telephone: (202) 502–7890 or via the Internet at:Jacquelyn.Butler@ed.gov.For information related to the returnof title IV, HEA funds calculationprovisions for term-based modules ortaking attendance, Jessica Finkel orWendy Macias. Telephone: (202) 502–7647 or via the Internet at:Jessica.Finkel@ed.gov. Telephone: (202)502–7526 or via the Internet at:Wendy.Macias@ed.gov.For information related to theprovisions on retaking coursework,Vanessa Freeman. Telephone: (202)502–7523 or via the Internet at:Vanessa.Freeman@ed.gov.For information on the provisionsrelated to incentive compensation,Marty Guthrie. Telephone: (202) 219–7031 or via the Internet at:Marty.Guthrie@ed.gov.For information related to theprovisions on satisfactory academicprogress, Marty Guthrie or MariannaDeeken. Telephone: (202) 219–7031 orvia the Internet at:Marty.Guthrie@ed.gov. Telephone: (206)615–2583 or via the Internet at:Marianna.Deeken@ed.gov.For information related to theprovisions on ability to benefit, DanKlock. Telephone: (202) 377–4026 or viathe Internet at Dan.Klock@ed.gov.For information related to gainfulemployment in a recognizedoccupation, John Kolotos. Telephone:(202) 502–7762 or via the Internet at:John.Kolotos@ed.gov.For information related to theprovisions for written agreementsbetween institutions, CarneyMcCullough. Telephone: (202) 502–7639 or via the Internet at:Carney.McCullough@ed.gov.For information related to theprovisions on misrepresentation, CarneyMcCullough or Vanessa Freeman.Telephone: (202) 502–7639 or via theInternet at: Carney.McCullough@ed.gov.Telephone: (202) 502–7523 or via theInternet at: Vanessa.Freeman@ed.gov.For information related to theprovisions on timeliness and method ofdisbursement, Harold McCullough.Telephone: (202) 377–4030 or via theInternet at: Harold.McCullough@ed.gov.For information related to theprovisions related to the definition ofcredit hour, Fred Sellers. Telephone:(202) 502–7502 or via the Internet at:Fred.Sellers@ed.gov.For information related to provisionson State authorization, Fred Sellers.Telephone: (202) 502–7502 or via theInternet at: Fred.Sellers@ed.gov.If you use a telecommunicationsdevice for the deaf (TDD), call theFederal Relay Service (FRS), toll free, at1–800–877–8339.Individuals with disabilities canobtain this document in an accessibleformat (e.g., braille, large print,audiotape, or computer diskette) onrequest to one of the contact personslisted under FOR FURTHER INFORMATIONCONTACT.SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June18, 2010, the Secretary published anotice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM)for program integrity issues in theFederal Register (75 FR 34806).In the preamble to the NPRM, theSecretary discussed on pages 34808through 34848 the major regulationsVerDate Mar2010 14:10 Oct 28, 2010 Jkt 223001 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 4701 Sfmt 4700 E:\FR\FM\29OCR2.SGM 29OCR2proposed in that document tostrengthen and improve theadministration of programs authorizedunder the HEA. These proposedregulations included the following:• Requiring institutions to developand follow procedures to evaluate thevalidity of a student’s high schooldiploma if the institution or theSecretary has reason to believe that thediploma is not valid or was not obtainedfrom an entity that provides secondaryschool education;• Expanding eligibility for title IV,HEA program assistance to studentswho demonstrate they have the abilityto benefit by satisfactorily completingsix credits of college work, or theequivalent amounts of coursework, thatare applicable toward a degree orcertificate offered by an institution;• Amending and adding definitionsof terms related to ability to benefittesting, including ‘‘assessment center,’’‘‘independent test administrator,’’‘‘individual with a disability,’’ ‘‘test,’’‘‘test administrator,’’ and ‘‘testpublisher’’;• Consolidating into a singleregulatory provision the approvalprocesses for ability to benefit testsdeveloped by test publishers and States;• Establishing requirements underwhich test publishers and States mustprovide descriptions of processes foridentifying and handling test scoreabnormalities, ensuring the integrity ofthe testing environment, and certifyingand decertifying test administrators;• Requiring test publishers and Statesto describe any accommodationsavailable for individuals withdisabilities, as well as the process a testadministrator would use to identify andreport to the test publisher instances inwhich these accommodations wereused;• Revising the test approvalprocedures and criteria for ability tobenefit tests, including proceduresrelated to the approval of tests forspeakers of foreign languages andindividuals with disabilities;• Revising the definitions andprovisions that describe the activitiesthat constitute substantialmisrepresentation by an institution ofthe nature of its educational program, itsfinancial charges, or the employabilityof its graduates;• Removing the ‘‘safe harbor’’provisions related to incentivecompensation for any person or entityengaged in any student recruitment oradmission activity, including makingdecisions regarding the award of title IV,HEA program assistance;• Clarifying what is required for aninstitution of higher education, a