ED Publishes Final Rules on R2T4, Distance Education January 6, 2025-On Friday, the Department of Education (ED) finalized rules for two topics it negotiated as part of its Program Integrity and Institutional Quality rulemaking committee from 2023-24. While it missed the November 1 deadline that would have made the ru...
Deep Dive: Proposed Rules on R2T4, Distance Education, and TRIO programs July 25, 2024-On Wednesday the Department of Education (ED) released proposed rules on three of the six topics negotiated in its Program Integrity and Institutional Quality rulemaking session held over the winter of 2024. Wednesday’s proposal includes change...
Is Your Campus Ready for New Regulations Effective July 1, 2024? May 6, 2024-NASFAA knows this year’s FAFSA rollercoaster has consumed more of the financial aid office’s energies than in years past. However, this year’s changes aren’t limited to FAFSA simplification. They include several regulatory cha...
ED Releases Draft Rules to Provide Student Debt Relief for Subsets of Borrowers April 17, 2024-The Department of Education (ED) on Wednesday published its first set of draft rules to provide targeted student debt relief to borrowers, just 10 months after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Biden administration’s initial student debt r...
Biden’s Second Attempt at Student Debt Cancellation Gets an “Initial” Outline April 9, 2024-Following an unsuccessful first attempt at implementing widespread student debt forgiveness and a monthslong regulatory negotiating process President Joe Biden on Monday unveiled “initial” details on his administration’s new attempt...
Student Loan Debt Negotiating Committee Reconvenes for Financial Hardship Discussion February 23, 2024-The student loan debt relief committee reconvened on Thursday for a fourth session of negotiated rulemaking to discuss how the Department of Education (ED) can provide student loan debt relief to borrowers facing financial hardships — a topic t...
ED Hosts Second Neg Reg Session Focusing on Cash Management February 6, 2024-The Department of Education (ED) kicked off its second negotiated rulemaking session on program integrity and institutional quality on Monday, focusing solely on the issue of cash management.
ED Wraps Up First Week of Program Integrity and Institutional Quality Negotiations January 12, 2024-The Department of Education (ED) and non-federal negotiators wrapped up their fourth and final day of negotiations related to program integrity and institutional quality on Thursday, focusing the entire day on the topic of accreditation. The day bega...
Neg Reg Committee Works Through R2T4 and Begins Overview of Accreditation January 11, 2024-The Department of Education (ED) on Wednesday worked through another pair of issue papers during its third day of negotiated rulemaking (neg reg) for issues related to the Return of Title IV funds (R2T4) and accreditation.
Neg Reg Committee Dives Into State Authorization and Distance Education January 10, 2024-The Department of Education (ED) on Tuesday hosted its second day of negotiated rulemaking for issues related to program integrity and institutional quality, this time focusing on state authorization and distance education.
Student Debt Relief Negotiators Discuss New Amendments in Third and Final Neg Reg Session December 12, 2023-The Department of Education (ED) on Monday inched closer to developing a regulatory framework for student loan debt relief as a stakeholder committee kicked off its final negotiated rulemaking session, discussing several updates ED made to the draft ...
ED Releases Updated Draft Regulatory Text for Student Debt Relief December 5, 2023-The Department of Education (ED) on Monday released an updated draft regulatory text to provide student debt relief to several groups of borrowers ahead of next week’s third and final negotiated rulemaking session.
ED Kicks Off Second Negotiated Rulemaking Session for Student Debt Relief November 7, 2023-The Department of Education (ED) on Monday resumed its negotiated rulemaking — or “neg reg” — sessions on student loan debt relief. During Monday’s session stakeholders began to weigh in on the department’s first d...
ED Kicks Off First Negotiated Rulemaking Session for Student Debt Relief October 11, 2023-The Department of Education (ED) on Tuesday began its latest attempt to forge a path toward student loan cancellation through negotiated rulemaking, or “neg reg”— a regulatory process that brings together stakeholders from the highe...
ED Releases Final Rule on Gainful Employment and Financial Value Transparency Framework September 27, 2023-The Department of Education (ED) on Wednesday released its final rule on gainful employment and its financial value transparency framework, with top department officials calling the new regulations a “revitalized and strengthened” version...
Federal Court Blocks ED’s New Borrower Defense Regulations for Some Texas Schools July 5, 2023-A federal court late on Friday partially blocked the Department of Education’s (ED) final rules on borrower defense to repayment from taking effect. The final rules were slated to go into effect on July 1, but a three judge panel sided with a T...
Deep Dive: Department of Education's Proposed Financial Responsibility Regulations May 24, 2023-The Department of Education (ED) last week issued proposed regulations on standards of financial responsibility for postsecondary institutions. ED cited in its proposal an overarching desire for better oversight tools to allow the department to more ...
Deep Dive: Department of Education’s Proposed Ability to Benefit Regulations May 23, 2023-The Department of Education (ED) last week released its proposed regulations for establishing Title IV student aid eligibility for individuals who lack a high school diploma or equivalent, commonly referred to as the ability to benefit (ATB) regulati...
Deep Dive: ED’s Proposed Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment Regulations May 22, 2023-On Friday, the Department of Education (ED) issued proposed regulations on financial value transparency and gainful employment (GE). ED negotiated gainful employment in a rulemaking session held in early 2022, where it also discussed institutional an...
ED to Publish Proposed Rule on Gainful Employment and New Information Collection May 18, 2023-The Department of Education (ED) on Wednesday unveiled a forthcoming Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for an overhaul of gainful employment, with top department officials calling the regulations the “strongest-ever” safeguard for stud...
NASFAA Gives Comments on R2T4 and Third-Party Servicers at ED’s Public Hearings April 13, 2023-NASFAA on Wednesday provided public comment and expressed concerns related to return of Title IV funds (R2T4) and recent guidance on third-party servicers during the Department of Education’s (ED) second day of negotiated rulemaking public hear...
NASFAA Analysis: ED Issues Draft Income-Driven Repayment Regulations January 12, 2023-The Department of Education (ED) on Wednesday released draft income-driven repayment (IDR) regulations, the final remaining topic from its fall 2021 Affordability and Student Loans negotiated rulemaking committee. Other topics covered by the committe...
ED Outlines Agenda for Its 2023 Regulatory Roadmap January 6, 2023-The Department of Education (ED) announced that it will embark on a series of negotiated rulemaking sessions this spring that will dive into eight postsecondary regulatory topics.
Summary of Proposed Changes to Public Service Loan Forgiveness and Interest Capitalization August 17, 2022-On Friday, NASFAA submitted comments to the Department of Education (ED) on a package of proposed regulations that was negotiated in late 2021 related to college affordability and student loans. This is the third in a series of three articles that wi...
Deep Dive Into Proposed 90/10 Rule and Changes of Ownership Regulations August 11, 2022-Last month, the Department of Education (ED) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) requesting public comments on draft regulations to implement statutory changes to the 90/10 rule and to update the rules on changes of ownership. The 90/10 rul...
Neg Reg Deep Dive: Proposed Regulations on Prison Education Programs August 10, 2022-Late last month, the Department of Education (ED) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) requesting public comments on draft regulations to implement Pell Grants for individuals enrolled in prison education programs (PEPs). Prison education pr...
ED Releases First Set of Draft Rules From 2021-22 Neg Reg Session July 13, 2022-On Wednesday, the Department of Education (ED) released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for the majority of topics negotiated by the Affordability and Student Loans committee that convened last fall as part of the department’s 2021-22 ne...
ED Delays 5 Regulatory Rules to Spring 2023 June 23, 2022-The Department of Education (ED) is delaying a number of proposals that were under discussion in its most recent negotiated rulemaking sessions to the spring of 2023, meaning that the earliest the regulations could take effect will be after July 1, 2...
Neg Reg Day 3: Negotiators Far From Consensus on Gainful Employment Regulations March 17, 2022-The third day of the final session of the Institutional and Programmatic Eligibility negotiated rulemaking committee saw a consensus vote taken on the much debated gainful employment (GE) proposed regulations from the Department of Education (ED) tak...
Neg Reg Day 2: Committee Focuses on Gainful Employment and New Data from ED March 16, 2022-The second day of the final session of the Institutional and Programmatic Eligibility negotiated rulemaking committee started with a presentation from the Department of Education (ED) of data related to gainful employment (GE), a key topic being cove...
Neg Reg Day 4: Committee Works Through Three Issue Papers as Session Begins to Wind Down February 18, 2022-The Institutional and Programmatic Eligibility Committee approached the end of its current session by working through the financial responsibility regulatory text, running through work on certification procedures, and beginning discussion on changes ...
Neg Reg Day 3: Committee Tackles Gainful Employment, Financial Responsibility February 17, 2022-As the Institutional and Programmatic Eligibility Committee hit the midpoint of the week's negotiations, members wrapped up discussions concerning the Department of Education's (ED) gainful employment (GE) issue paper and began work on the financial ...
Second Bout of Neg Reg Sessions for Programmatic Eligibility Committee Get Underway February 15, 2022-The second negotiated rulemaking session for the Institutional and Programmatic Eligibility Committee formally kicked off on Monday as members reviewed regulatory language proposed by the Department of Education (ED) for seven different topics, with ...
Neg Reg Debrief: Committee Members Recount Experience in the Rulemaking Process January 14, 2022-After a rough estimate of 4,500 minutes — or 75 hours — of work, Daniel Barkowitz and Alyssa Dobson, who respectively served as the primary and alternate representative of financial aid administrators during the Department of Education&rs...
Where Things Stand: Neg Reg Roundup - Affordability and Student Loans January 5, 2022-As the Department of Education (ED) readies its next negotiated rulemaking committee, NASFAA has combined its daily coverage into one stand alone article detailing how the Affordability and Student Loans committee wrapped up its work, highlight...
As Neg Reg Enters Final Week, Committee Seeks Consensus on 12 Issues December 7, 2021-During the final week’s session of the Department of Education’s (ED) negotiated rulemaking, the committee dove into its updated agenda, with facilitators outlining that members would be asked to participate in 12 consensus checks through...
Neg Reg Day 5: Committee Looks for Clarity on Income-Driven Repayment Plans November 8, 2021-The Department of Education’s proposed regulatory text on income-driven repayment plans (IDR) dominated the conversation Friday during the final day of the second negotiated rulemaking session on student loans and affordability. Picking u...
Senate Democrats Offer Neg Reg Comments Urging ED to Continue Implementing Borrower Relief November 4, 2021-As the Department of Education (ED) continues with its negotiated rulemaking process, several Senate Democrats are sharing their thoughts on how the agency should use the regulatory framework to deliver additional student debt relief and protections ...
Neg Reg Day 3 Agenda Tackles Borrower Defense to Repayment November 4, 2021-The Department of Education’s (ED) negotiated rulemaking session picked up Wednesday with department officials warning negotiators about the need to continue to make progress in moving through the agenda, noting that regulations will be publish...
NASFAA Provides Testimony During Negotiated Rulemaking 90/10 Public Hearing October 28, 2021-Higher education stakeholders continued to provide public comment concerning the “90/10 loophole” during the Department of Education’s (ED) negotiated rulemaking public hearing on Wednesday. Those who spoke, including student advoca...
Recap: Neg Reg Prison Education Subcommittee Completes Discussions October 21, 2021-A group of higher education stakeholders on Wednesday completed its negotiated rulemaking subcommittee session in which members focused on regulatory language to improve education access for incarcerated students. The language recommended by particip...
Neg Reg Prison Education Subcommittee Kicks Off Discussions October 19, 2021-Higher education stakeholders focused on developing language that would aim to expand educational opportunities for incarcerated students during a negotiated rulemaking subcommittee session that began on Monday. In opening remarks to the Prison ...
Neg Reg Wraps Up Committee Work Covering Remaining Issue Papers October 9, 2021-In their fifth day of the Department of Education’s (ED) negotiated rulemaking session, committee members completed their preliminary discussion on proposed issue papers under consideration for the week with the final day’s agenda working...
PSLF Takes Center Stage as Neg Reg Enters Day 4 Agenda October 8, 2021-Following the Department of Education’s (ED) recently announced agency-wide changes in store for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, the negotiated rulemaking committee continued discussions centered on additional proposed chang...
Intros and Student Loans: Negotiated Rulemaking Committee Kicks off Day 1 Session October 5, 2021-The first round of the Department of Education’s (ED) negotiated rulemaking session formally began Monday with introductions, a review of the regulatory issues under discussion and a commitment to engaging in solution-oriented dialogue in an ef...