Jessica Finkel and Cynthia Hammond | Nov. 2012

U.S. Department of Education

2012 Fall Conference

Gainful Employment Disclosures

Session 47

What We Will Cover

• Status of GE Regulations• Which Programs are GE Programs• Required Disclosures• Disclosure Availability• Compliance Tips• GE Resources

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Status of GE Regulations

U.S. District Court Decision• On 6/30/2012, the Court upheld the Department’s authority to

regulate on gainful employment but vacated most of the GE regulations

• The Court found that ED failed to adequately justify setting the Repayment Rate threshold

• Because of the interrelationship of the GE requirements, the Court vacated most of the GE regulations, including the GE Metrics, GE Reporting, and Adding New GE Programs

• The Court left in place the GE Disclosure Requirements• ED has asked the Court to restore the GE Reporting regulations

and is awaiting the Court’s decision

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Which Programs are GE Programs

• A public or non-profit postsecondary educational institution and leads to a degree; or

• Any institution and “to prepare students for gainful employment in a recognized occupation”

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Generally, all non-degree programs must lead to

gainful employment

Generally, most programs at for-profit institutions

must lead to gainful employment

The HEA provides that to be Title IV eligible an educational program must be offered by:

Which Programs are GE Programs

At proprietary institutions all programs are GE Programs except for –•Preparatory coursework necessary for enrollment in an eligible program•Bachelor’s degree programs in liberal arts offered since January 2009 that are offered by a proprietary institution that has been regionally accredited since October 2007

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Which Programs are GE Programs

At public institutions and not-for-profit institutions all programs are GE Programs except for –•Programs that lead to a degree•Programs of at least two years in length that are designed to be fully transferable to a bachelor’s degree program•Preparatory coursework necessary for enrollment in an eligible program

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Which Programs are GE Programs

GE Programs include –•Teacher certification programs leading to a certificate awarded by the institution•ESL programs

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Which Programs are GE Programs

GE Programs do not include –•Teacher certification coursework that does not lead to a certificate awarded by the institution•Preparatory coursework necessary for enrollment in an eligible program (Loans only)•At public and private non-profit institutions, programs of at least two academic years that are designed to be fully transferrable to a bachelor’s degree program and do not lead to a credential awarded by the institution

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Required Disclosures

Outlined at 34 CFR §668.6(b)(1)• Disclosures must be made for each GE program

Disclosure items:• Occupations• Normal time to complete program• On-time graduation rate for completers• Tuition and fees, book and supplies, room and board• Placement rate for completers (as determined by State or

Accreditor methodology)• Median loan debt• Any other information the Secretary provided to the institution about

that program

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Required Disclosures

Occupations – 34 CFR 668.6(b)(1)(i)• Must list occupations by name and SOC codes that the

GE program prepares students to enter• Must link to occupational profiles on O*NET

(http://online.onetcenter.org/crosswalk/) • Use a representative sample if >10 possible occupations• See GE Electronic Announcement #25

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Required Disclosures

Normal Time• Defined in regulation at 668.41(a)• In weeks, months, or years • Not 150% of normal time

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Required Disclosures

On-time graduation rate for completers – 34 CFR 668.6(b)(1)(ii)

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Required Disclosures

Example: On-time completion rate if 200 students completed in most recent Award year

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200

150

Total number of students who completed in the 2010-2011 AY

Number of students who completed within normal time

0.75 200 ÷150

75% 100 × 75.0

Required Disclosures

On-time graduation rate for completers includes:• Leave of absence• Time if a student withdrew and then returned• Enrollment in other programs if the student did not

complete the other program

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Required Disclosures

Educational costs – 34 CFR 668.6(b)(1)(iii)• Tuition and fees charged for completing the program

within normal time• Typical costs for books and supplies

• Unless included in tuition and fees

• Room and board, if applicable• Other expenses (such as living expenses or

transportation) are optional• But must link to/provide access to program cost information under

34 CFR 668.43

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Required Disclosures

Placement rates – 34 CFR 668.6(b)(1)(iv)• For students who complete the program• To be determined using NCES methodology, once

available. Until then:• Disclose/use accrediting agency and/or state rates or

methodologies or• If not required by an accrediting agency or state, then placement

rate disclosure not required until NCES methodology is available

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Required Disclosures

Median loan debt – 34 CFR 668.6(b)(1)(v)• Median (not mean) incurred by students who completed

the program • Must separate median loan debt

• Title IV, HEA program loans• Private education loans• Institutional financing plans

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Required Disclosures

Median loan debt categories:• Title IV Debt - FFEL and Direct Loans do not include

Perkins or Parent PLUS• Private Loan Debt - Examples include, but are not

limited to loans made expressly for educational expenses by:• Financial institutions or credit unions• Institutions of higher education or their affiliates• States and localities

• Institutional Debt - the amount owed as of the day the student completed from the GE Program

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Required Disclosures

• Any other information the Secretary provided to the institution about that program

• What information this will include may be determined by an upcoming Court decision

• We will provide information as it becomes available

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Disclosure Availability

• Requirements outlined in 34 CFR 668.6(b)(2)• Disclosures must be in promotional materials made

available to prospective students • Promotional materials include invitations, advertisements, or

solicitations that mention or otherwise refer to a specific GE Program or Programs

• Includes course catalogs and Social Media• May display the URL or provide a live link to the webpage where

the required information is located, with a clear explanation of the information that is available at that webpage

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Disclosure Availability

• Disclosures must be posted on institution’s Website• Prominent on program home page of relevant GE program• Accessible via direct, prominent link from other institutional

webpages about the program• Prepared in an open format that can be easily searched by

common web search applications

• Schools must use template, when available (not yet released; date TBD)

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• Who should I include in my calculations?• Students who completed the program in

the most recently completed award year• Regular Students

• If high school student is a “regular student” then you should include that student

• If no SSN, do not include that student in disclosure calculations

Compliance Tips

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• If the number of students who completed a GE Program during the award year was less than 10, the school should not disclose to the public:• Median debt amounts• On-time completion rate

Compliance Tips

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• Schools must disclose the following, regardless of the number of students who were enrolled in or completed the program:• The occupations (by names and SOC codes) that the program

prepares completers to enter• Normal time to complete the program• Tuition/fees charged to complete the program in normal time• Placement rates if doing so aligns with the requirements of the

accreditor or state on “small numbers”

Compliance Tips

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Compliance Tips

Electronic Announcement #25 - Disclosures by Educational Program•Length of Programs – Is there a significant difference in the published length of the programs?

•Tuition and Fees – Is there a significant difference in the tuition, fees, or other costs for the programs?

•Programs Offered in Different States – Are programs offered in different states that require different placement rate calculations and different minimum requirements?

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GE Resources

• GE Information Page on IFAP - http://ifap.ed.gov/GainfulEmploymentInfo • Regulations• Dear Colleague Letters and Electronic Announcements• FAQs• Training• Resources

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GE Resources

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GE Resources

• If you still have questions after reviewing the Dear Colleague Letter, Electronic Announcements, and FAQs, send your questions to GE-Questions@ed.gov

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Contact Information

• Jessica Finkel, Office of Postsecondary Education• Phone: 202-502-7647• E-mail: Jessica.Finkel@ed.gov

• Cynthia Hammond, Federal Student Aid• Phone: 202-377-4236• E-mail: Cynthia.Hammond@ed.gov

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