U.S. Department of Education 

Student Loan Program Negotiating Committee

2012

Organizational Protocols 

I. Mission Statement 

The U.S. Department of Education has established this negotiated rulemaking committee to 

develop proposed student financial assistance regulations pursuant to Sec. 492 of the Higher 

Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA). 

II. Participation 

A. The committee consists of the following members:

Community of 

Interest

Primary Alternate

Students Mr. Getachew Kassa

Legislative Director

United States Student Association

Mr. Abou Amara, Jr.

President

Graduate and Professional Student 

Association 

University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

Legal assistance 

to students

Deanne Loonin

National Consumer Law Center

Ms. Radhika Singh Miller

Program Manager 

Educational Debt Relief and Outreach, 

Equal Justice Works

Consumer 

advocacy 

organizations

Jennifer Mishory

Deputy Director

Young Invincibles

Maureen Thompson

The Hastings Group, LLC

Financial aid 

administrators

Margaret Rodriguez,

Senior Associate Director of 

Financial Aid, University of 

Michigan

Chair, National Direct Student 

Loan Coalition

Elizabeth Hicks

Executive Director Student Financial 

Services Massachusetts Institute of 

Technology

Business officers 

and bursars

David Glezerman

Assistant Vice President and 

University Bursar 

Temple University

Maria Livolsi

Director

Student Loan Service Center

State University of New York

Institutional 

third-party 

servicers

Robert Perrin

President

Williams & Fudge, Inc.
State attorneys 

general

Todd Leatherman

Executive Director

Office of Consumer Protection

Office of the Kentucky Attorney 

General

Michele Casey

Assistant Attorney General

Consumer Fraud Bureau Office of the 

Illinois Attorney General

Two-year public 

institutions

Ms. Cristi Millard

Director of Financial Aid

Salt Lake Community College

Mr. Chris Christensen

Director of Financial Aid

Johnson County Community College, 

Kansas

Four-year public 

institutions

Ms. Kris Wright

Director, Office of Student 

Finance, University of Minnesota

Executive Council Member and 

Secretary, National Direct Student 

Loan Coalition

Elaine Papas-Varas

University Director of Student 

Financial Aid and Director of the 

Primary Care Practitioner Loan 

Redemption Program of New Jersey

University of Medicine and Dentistry 

of New Jersey

Private 

nonprofit 

institutions

Yvonne Gutierrez-Sandoval

Senior Associate Director of 

Financial Aid

Pitzer College

Jeffrey A. Gall

Associate Dean, Office of Student 

Financial Services Georgetown 

University

Private forprofit 

institutions

Tom Sakos

Director of Student Lending and 

Regulatory Quality Assurance

DeVry Inc

Anthony Fragomeni

Director of Governmental Affairs, 

Empire Education Group; 

Chairman, American Association of 

Cosmetology Schools’ Government 

Relations Team

Guaranty 

agencies and 

guaranty agency 

servicers

Betsy Mayotte

Director, Regulatory Compliance 

and Privacy, American Student 

Assistance

Scott Giles

Vice President for Operations, Social 

Marketing and Strategy

Vermont Student Assistance 

Corporation

Lenders, 

secondary 

markets and 

loan servicers

Robert Sandlin

Director of Policy and Compliance

Higher Education Servicing 

Corporation

(Servicer for North Texas Higher 

Education Authority)

Vicki Shipley

Senior Advisor

National Council of Higher Education 

Loan Programs

Accrediting Albert Gray Sharon Tanner
agencies Executive Director and CEO

Accrediting Council for 

Independent Colleges and Schools

CEO

National League for Nursing 

Accrediting Commission

U.S.

Department of 

Education

Pamela Moran and Gail McLarnon

B. The member will participate for the purpose of determining consensus. The alternate will 

participate for the purpose of determining consensus in the absence of the member. Either 

the member or an alternate may speak during the negotiations. 

C. With approval by a consensus of the committee, individuals, including specialists, who are 

invited by a member, may participate in committee or subcommittee meetings as needed and 

appropriate, but are not members of the committee. 

D. The committee may add members. Requests for membership must be approved by a 

consensus of the committee under such conditions as the committee establishes at the time. 

New members may begin to participate immediately upon admission to membership. 

E. Subcommittees may be formed by the committee to address specified issues and to make 

recommendations to the committee. Subcommittees are not authorized to make decisions for 

the committee. Subcommittee meetings will be open to any member of the committee and 

may be held between the meetings of the committee. All committee members will be 

notified of all subcommittee meetings. 

F. Upon the initiation by any member and after consultation with the facilitators, the Secretary 

may remove a member he determines is not acting in good faith in accordance with 

paragraph VI B of these protocols. The Secretary will provide an explanation in writing to 

the committee. 

G. The Secretary may remove any member who ceases to be employed by or be associated with 

the community of interests the individual was chosen to represent. 

III. Decision Making 

The committee will operate by consensus, meaning that there must be no dissent by any member 

in order for the committee to be considered to have reached agreement. Thus, no member can be 

outvoted. Members should not block or withhold consensus unless they have serious reservations 

about the approach or solution that is proposed for consensus. Absence will be equivalent to not 

dissenting. All consensus agreements reached during the negotiations will be assumed to be 

tentative agreements until members of the committee reach final agreement on regulatory 

language. Once final consensus is achieved, committee members may not thereafter withdraw 

their consensus. 

IV. Agreement 
A. The goal of the committee is to develop proposed regulations that reflect a final consensus of 

the committee. If consensus is reached on the proposed regulations, the Department will 

provide a preamble, consistent with the proposed regulations, to the members of the 

committee for review and comment prior to publication of the proposed regulations. The 

Department is not required to adopt or respond to the committee members' comments on the 

preamble. 

B. If the committee reaches a final consensus on all issues, the Department will use this 

consensus-based language in its proposed regulations, and committee members and the 

organizations whom they represent will refrain from commenting negatively on the 

consensus-based regulatory language, except as provided in paragraph IV C. 

C. The Department will not alter the consensus-based language of its proposed regulations 

unless the Department reopens the negotiated rulemaking process or provides a written 

explanation to the committee members regarding why it has decided to depart from that 

language. That written explanation will contain a detailed statement of the reasons for 

altering the consensus-based language and will be provided to the committee members 

sufficiently in advance of the publication of the proposed regulations so as to allow them a 

real opportunity to express their concerns to the Secretary. If the Department alters 

consensus-based language, it also will identify the changes made subsequent to consensus in 

the preamble to the proposed regulations, and committee members may comment positively 

or negatively on those changes and on other parts of the proposed regulations.

V. Committee Meetings 

A. The facilitator(s) will maintain a clear and reliable record of tentative and final agreements 

reached during the negotiation process, as well as discussions of preamble language. The 

draft meeting summaries will be provided to members, who may share them with others 

within their community of interests. After review and approval by the committee, this record 

will be made available to the public. 

B. The Department will make every effort to distribute materials to committee members in a 

timely fashion. To the extent practicable, the Department will provide members with 

documents for discussion at committee meetings at least seven days in advance of the 

meetings. 

C. A caucus for the purpose of consultation may be requested of the facilitator(s) at any time by 

any member. 

D. The facilitator(s) will be responsible for developing an agenda for all meetings of the 

committee. This agenda will be developed in consultation with the members of the 

committee. 

E. All committee meetings, but not subcommittee meetings or caucuses, are open to the public. 

VI. Safeguards for Members 

A. Any member may withdraw from the negotiations at any time without prejudice, by notifying 

the facilitator(s) in writing. 
B. All members and the organizations they represent shall act in good faith in all aspects of 

these negotiations. 

C. Contact with the media, the investment community, and other organizations outside the 

community of interest represented by the member will generally be limited to discussion of 

the overall objectives and progress of the negotiations. Members will refrain from 

characterizing the views, motives, and interests of other members during contact with the 

media, the investment community, and other organizations outside the community of interest 

represented by the member. 

VII. Meeting Facilitation

A. The facilitator(s) will serve at the discretion of the committee, and will be responsible for 

helping to ensure that the process runs smoothly, developing meeting agendas, preparing and 

distributing a record of agreements, and helping the parties resolve their differences and 

achieve consensus on the issues to be addressed by the committee. 

B. The facilitator(s) will be available to facilitate all meetings of the full committee and, to the 

extent possible, subcommittee meetings and caucuses.