Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 73 / Tuesday, April 16, 2013 / Proposed Rules 22467 

Format (PDF). To use PDF you must 

have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is 

available free at the site. 

You may also access documents of the 

Department published in the Federal 

Register by using the article search 

feature at: www.federalregister.gov. 

Specifically, through the advanced 

search feature at this site, you can limit 

your search to documents published by 

the Department. 

Dated: April 10, 2013. 

Arne Duncan, 

Secretary of Education. 

[FR Doc. 2013–08847 Filed 4–15–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

34 CFR Chapter VI 

[Docket ID ED–2013–OPE–0008] 

Negotiated Rulemaking Committee; 

Public Hearings 

AGENCY: Office of Postsecondary 

Education, Department of Education. 

ACTION: Intent to establish negotiated 

rulemaking committee. 

SUMMARY: In May 2012, we announced 

our intention to establish a negotiated 

rulemaking committee to prepare 

proposed regulations for the Federal 

Student Aid programs authorized under 

title IV of the Higher Education Act of 

1965, as amended (HEA) (title IV 

Federal Student Aid programs). We now 

announce additional topics for 

consideration for action by that 

committee. We also announce three 

public hearings at which interested 

parties may comment on the new topics 

suggested by the Department and may 

suggest additional topics for 

consideration for action by the 

negotiated rulemaking committee. For 

anyone unable to attend a public 

hearing, the Department will accept 

written comments. 

DATES: The dates, times, and locations 

of the public hearings are listed under 

the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section 

of this notice. We must receive written 

comments suggesting issues that should 

be considered for action by the 

negotiated rulemaking committee on or 

before May 30, 2013. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments 

through the Federal eRulemaking Portal 

or via postal mail, commercial delivery, 

or hand delivery. We will not accept 

comments by fax or by email. To ensure 

that we do not receive duplicate copies, 

please submit your comments only 

once. In addition, please include the 

Docket ID (listed at the beginning of this 

notice) at the top of your comments. 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

www.regulations.gov to submit your 

comments electronically. Information 

on using Regulations.gov, including 

instructions for accessing agency 

documents, submitting comments, and 

viewing the docket is available on the 

site under ‘‘How to Use 

Regulations.gov’’ in the Help section. 

• Postal Mail, Commercial Delivery, 

or Hand Delivery. If you mail or deliver 

your comments about these proposed 

regulations, address them to Wendy 

Macias, U.S. Department of Education, 

1990 K Street NW., Room 8017, 

Washington, DC 20006. 

Privacy Note: The Department’s policy is 

to make all comments received from 

members of the public available for public 

viewing in their entirety on the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov. 

Therefore, commenters should be careful to 

include in their comments only information 

that they wish to make publicly available. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

information about the public hearings, 

go to http://www2.ed.gov/policy/ 

highered/reg/hearulemaking/2012/ 

index.html or contact: Wendy Macias, 

U.S. Department of Education, 1990 K 

Street NW., Room 8017, Washington, 

DC 20006. Telephone: (202) 502–7526. 

Email: wendy.macias@ed.gov. 

For information about negotiated 

rulemaking in general, see The 

Negotiated Rulemaking Process for Title 

IV Regulations, Frequently Asked 

Questions at http://www2.ed.gov/policy/ 

highered/reg/hearulemaking/hea08/ 

neg-reg-faq.html or contact: Wendy 

Macias, U.S. Department of Education, 

1990 K Street NW., Room 8017, 

Washington, DC 20006. Telephone: 

(202) 502–7526. Email: 

wendy.macias@ed.gov. 

If you use a telecommunications 

device for the deaf (TDD) or text 

telephone (TTY), call the Federal Relay 

Service (FRS), toll free, at 1–800–877– 

8339. 

Individuals with disabilities can 

obtain this document in an accessible 

format (e.g., braille, large print, 

audiotape, or compact disc) by 

contacting Wendy Macias, U.S. 

Department of Education, 1990 K Street 

NW., Room 8017, Washington, DC 

20006. Telephone: (202) 502–7526. 

Email: wendy.macias@ed.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 1, 

2012, we published a notice in the 

Federal Register (77 FR 25658) 

announcing our intent to establish a 

negotiated rulemaking committee under 

section 492 of the HEA to develop 

proposed regulations designed to 

prevent fraud and otherwise ensure 

proper use of title IV Federal Student 

Aid program funds, especially within 

the context of current technologies. In 

particular, we announced our intent to 

propose regulations to address the use 

of debit cards and other banking 

mechanisms for disbursing title IV 

Federal Student Aid program funds, and 

to improve and streamline the campusbased Federal Student Aid programs. 

The notice also announced two public 

hearings at which interested parties 

could comment on the topics suggested 

by the Department and suggest 

additional topics for consideration for 

action by the negotiated rulemaking 

committee. The hearings were held on 

May 23, 2012, in Phoenix, Arizona, and 

on May 31, 2012, in Washington, DC. 

We invited parties to comment and 

submit topics for consideration in 

writing as well. Transcripts from the 

hearings can be found at http:// 

www2.ed.gov/policy/highered/reg/ 

hearulemaking/2012/index.html. 

Written comments may be viewed 

through the Federal eRulemaking Portal 

at www.regulations.gov. Instructions for 

finding comments are available on the 

site under ‘‘How to Use 

Regulations.gov’’ in the Help section. 

Individuals can enter docket ID ED– 

2012–OPE–0008 in the search box to 

locate the appropriate docket. 

At this time, we are announcing 

additional topics for consideration for 

action by the negotiated rulemaking 

committee. These topics include 

regulations that have been the subject of 

litigation over the past two years. We 

are also announcing three additional 

public hearings at which interested 

parties may comment on the new topics 

suggested by the Department and may 

suggest additional topics for 

consideration for action by the 

negotiating committee. For anyone 

unable to attend a public hearing, the 

Department will accept written 

comments. 

We intend to select participants for 

the negotiated rulemaking committee 

from nominees of the organizations and 

groups that represent the interests 

significantly affected by the proposed 

regulations. To the extent possible, we 

will select individual negotiators who 

reflect the diversity among program 

participants, in accordance with section 

492(b)(1) of the HEA. 

Regulatory Issues 

Over the next several years, the 

Department intends to conduct 

rulemakings related to the title IV 

Federal Student Aid programs. In the 

near term, as indicated by the topics 

suggested in the May 1, 2012, Federal 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS

22468 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 73 / Tuesday, April 16, 2013 / Proposed Rules 

Register notice and in this notice, we 

plan to address program integrity issues 

that place title IV Federal Student Aid 

program funds at risk. We 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 longterm agenda will take several years to 

complete. 

The additional topics for 

consideration for action by the next 

negotiated rulemaking committee are: 

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-tocredit 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. 

Cash Management 

In response to the May 1, 2012, 

Federal Register notice, we heard 

testimony and received comments on 

disbursing title IV Federal Student Aid 

program funds by electronic funds 

transfer (EFT) and on whether students 

should have a greater role in deciding to 

accept debit cards or other banking 

services that are provided through an 

institutionally-controlled process or 

contracted provider. We are interested 

in further modifying and updating the 

Department’s cash management 

regulations in subpart K of 34 CFR part 

668. In particular, we are interested in 

reducing the time by which an 

institution must refund to a student any 

title IV Federal Student Aid program 

funds that are more than the amount the 

institution charges for tuition and fees 

and other educationally related costs, 

amending the regulations relating to 

requirements for student authorizations, 

specifying when and how an institution 

must disburse title IV Federal Student 

Aid program funds, and addressing how 

title IV Federal Student Aid program 

funds are provided to domestic and 

foreign schools and to students. In 

addition, we are considering developing 

regulations governing how an 

institution may use or invest title IV 

Federal Student Aid program funds held 

in its federal or operating accounts or, 

if the institution transfers the funds to 

a third-party servicer to make 

disbursements to students, how those 

funds are managed by the provider. 

State Authorization for Programs 

Offered Through Distance Education or 

Correspondence Education 

On October 29, 2010, we published 

final regulations (75 FR 66831) to clarify 

what is required for an institution of 

higher education, a proprietary 

institution of higher education, and a 

postsecondary vocational institution to 

be considered legally authorized by a 

State to offer an educational program in 

that State. The regulations in 34 CFR 

600.9(c) specifically provided that, if an 

institution is offering postsecondary 

education through distance or 

correspondence education to students in 

a State in which the institution is not 

physically located or in which it is 

otherwise subject to State jurisdiction as 

determined by the State, the institution 

would be required to meet any State 

requirements for it to legally offer 

postsecondary distance or 

correspondence education in that State. 

Furthermore, under 34 CFR 600.9(c), an 

institution was required to document 

the State’s approval upon the 

Secretary’s request. 

On July 12, 2011, in response to a 

legal challenge by the Career College 

Association, the U.S. District Court for 

the District of Columbia vacated the 

regulation under 34 CFR 600.9(c) on 

procedural grounds. Career College 

Ass’n v. Duncan, 796 F. Supp. 2d 108 

(D.D.C. 2011). On August 14, 2012, on 

appeal, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 

D.C. Circuit affirmed the decision of the 

district court and ruled that the 

regulation under 34 CFR 600.9(c) is not 

a logical outgrowth of the Department’s 

proposed rules. It remanded the case to 

the district court with instructions to 

remand the regulation to the 

Department for reconsideration 

consistent with the D.C. Circuit’s 

opinion. Ass’n of Private Sector Colleges 

and Universities v. Duncan, 681 F.3d 

427 (D.C. Cir. 2012). In order to address 

the procedural concerns identified by 

the D.C. Circuit, the Department is now 

considering regulatory changes related 

to State authorization for programs 

offered through distance education or 

correspondence education. 

State Authorization for Foreign 

Locations of Institutions Located in a 

State 

State authorization requirements for 

institutions located in a State (as the 

term ‘‘State’’ is defined in 34 CFR 600.2) 

are established in 34 CFR 600.9. The 

regulations do not specifically address 

the State authorization requirements for 

foreign locations (i.e., locations that are 

not located in a State) of institutions 

located in a State. The Department is 

considering amending the State 

authorization regulations to establish 

authorization requirements for such 

foreign locations. 

Clock to Credit Hour Conversion 

We have heard concerns from schools 

and other parties about whether schools 

should track the underlying clock hours 

in a program after the program is 

converted to credit hours, as well as 

how the Department should consider 

State approval or licensing requirements 

in determining that a program is 

measured in clock hours for the purpose 

of awarding title IV Federal Student Aid 

program funds. The clock to credit hour 

conversion regulations are in 34 CFR 

668.8(k) and (l). We are requesting 

public input on whether these issues 

should be addressed by the negotiated 

rulemaking committee. 

Gainful Employment 

On June 30, 2012, in response to a 

legal challenge by the Association of 

Private Sector Colleges and Universities, 

the U.S. District Court for the District of 

Columbia invalidated the repayment 

rate threshold in the gainful 

employment regulations, and set aside 

the requirement for institutions to report 

gainful employment program 

information to the Department. Ass’n of 

Private Colleges and Universities v. 

Duncan (D.D.C. 2012). That litigation is 

still ongoing; however, the Department 

is interested in public input in this area. 

The Department is interested in 

potential approaches to defining what it 

means for a program to prepare students 

for gainful employment in a recognized 

occupation. This includes thoughts on 

the best measures (such as debt-toearnings ratios or repayment rates) and 

their thresholds for defining or 

evaluating gainful employment 

programs, how best to construct an 

accountability system that accurately 

distinguishes between successful and 

unsuccessful programs, and how to 

address the establishment of new 

programs, as well as related ideas. In 

considering these questions, the 

Department recommends taking into 

account the information included in the 

program-level data we gathered and 

released as Information Rates on June 

26, 2012, available at http:// 

studentaid.ed.gov/about/data-center/ 

school/ge. 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS

Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 73 / Tuesday, April 16, 2013 / Proposed Rules 22469 

Campus Safety and Security Reporting 

The VAWA Reauthorization, enacted 

March 7, 2013, amended section 485(f) 

of the HEA, known as the Jeanne Clery 

Disclosure of Campus Security Policy 

and Campus Crime Statistics Act (the 

Clery Act). These amendments address 

the high rates of dating violence and 

sexual assault on college campuses by 

requiring institutions to provide 

information to students about domestic 

violence, dating violence, sexual 

assault, and stalking, and to inform 

students and staff about the number of 

these crimes that occur on and near 

campus. Institutions are also required to 

create and disseminate policies 

describing the protections, resources, 

and services available to victims to help 

them safely continue their education. 

We intend to develop proposed 

regulations to implement these changes. 

Definition of ‘‘Adverse Credit’’ for the 

Direct PLUS Loan Program 

The PLUS Loan Program provides 

loans up to the amount of the cost of 

attendance to graduate students and 

parents. In light of the unique nature of 

the PLUS Loan Program, Congress 

limited eligibility to graduate or 

professional students or parents who do 

not have an adverse credit history, as 

determined pursuant to regulations 

promulgated by the Secretary. Under 

regulations published by the 

Department in 1994, a PLUS loan 

applicant is considered to have an 

‘‘adverse credit history’’ if the applicant 

(1) is 90 or more days delinquent on the 

repayment of any debt or (2) has been 

the subject of a default determination, 

bankruptcy discharge, foreclosure, 

repossession, tax lien, wage 

garnishment, or write-off of a title IV 

debt during the five years preceding the 

date of the credit report (34 CFR 

685.200(c)(1)(vii)(B)). Since 1994, much 

has changed in consumer credit markets 

and credit reporting, and PLUS loans 

are no longer delivered through both the 

Federal Family Education Loan Program 

as well as the William D. Ford Direct 

Loan (Direct Loan) Program. Now, new 

PLUS Loans are only made through the 

Direct Loan Program. For these reasons, 

the Department is seeking public 

comment on whether and how it may be 

appropriate to modify the current 

regulatory definition of ‘‘adverse 

credit.’’ 

After a review of the public comments 

presented at the public hearings and in 

the written submissions, we will 

publish a notice in the Federal Register 

announcing the specific subject areas for 

which we intend to establish a 

negotiated rulemaking committee and 

requesting nominations for individual 

negotiators for the committee who 

represent the interests significantly 

affected by the proposed regulations. 

This notice will also be posted on the 

Department’s Web site at: http:// 

www2.ed.gov/policy/highered/reg/ 

hearulemaking/2012/index.html. 

Public Hearings 

We will hold three public hearings for 

interested parties to discuss the topics 

included in this notice and to suggest 

additional topics for the rulemaking 

agenda. 

The public hearings will be held on: 

• May 21, 2013, at the U.S. 

Department of Education, 1990 K Street, 

NW., Eighth Floor Conference Center, 

Washington, DC 20006. 

• May 23, 2013, at the University of 

Minnesota, Twin Cities, Hubert H. 

Humphrey School of Public Affairs, 

Cowles Auditorium, 301 19th Avenue S, 

Minneapolis, MN 55455. 

• May 30, 2013, at the University of 

California, San Francisco, UC Hall, 

Toland Hall Auditorium (Room U142), 

533 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, 

CA 94143. 

The public hearings will be held from 

9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., local time. 

Further information on the public 

hearing sites, including directions, is 

available at http://www2.ed.gov/policy/ 

highered/reg/hearulemaking/2012/ 

index.html. 

Individuals desiring to present 

comments at the public hearings must 

register by sending an email to 

negreghearing@ed.gov. The email 

should include the name of the 

presenter along with a general 

timeframe during which the individual 

would like to speak (for example, a 

presenter could indicate morning or 

afternoon, or before 11:00 a.m. or after 

3:00 p.m.). We will attempt to 

accommodate each speaker’s preference 

but, if we are unable to do so, we will 

make the determination on a first-come, 

first-served basis (based on the time and 

date the email was received). It is likely 

that each participant will be limited to 

five minutes. The Department will 

notify registrants of the location and 

time slot reserved for them. An 

individual may make only one 

presentation at the public hearings. If 

we receive more registrations than we 

are able to accommodate, the 

Department reserves the right to reject 

the registration of an entity or 

individual that is affiliated with an 

entity or individual that is already 

scheduled to present comments and to 

select among registrants to ensure that a 

broad range of entities and individuals 

is allowed to present. We will accept 

walk-in registrations for any remaining 

time slots on a first-come, first-served 

basis beginning at 8:30 a.m. on the day 

of the public hearing at the 

Department’s on-site registration table. 

Speakers may also submit written 

comments. In addition, for anyone who 

does not present at a public hearing, the 

Department will accept written 

comments through May 30, 2013. (See 

the ADDRESSES sections of this notice for 

submission information.) 

Schedule for Negotiations 

We anticipate that any committee 

established after the public hearings 

will begin negotiations in September 

2013, with the committee meeting for 

up to three sessions of approximately 

four days each at roughly monthly 

intervals. The committee will meet in 

the Washington, DC area. The dates and 

locations of these meetings will be 

published in a subsequent document in 

the Federal Register, and will be posted 

on the Department’s Web site at: http:// 

www2.ed.gov/policy/highered/reg/ 

hearulemaking/2012/index.html. 

Electronic Access to This Document 

The official version of this document 

is the document published in the 

Federal Register. Free Internet access to 

the official edition of the Federal 

Register and the Code of Federal 

Regulations is available via the Federal 

Digital System at: www.gpo.gov/fdsys. 

At this site you can view this document, 

as well as all other documents of the 

Department published in the Federal 

Register, in text or Adobe Portable 

Document Format (PDF). To use PDF 

you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, 

which is available free at the site. You 

may also access documents of the 

Department published in the Federal 

Register by using the article search 

feature at: www.federalregister.gov. 

Specifically, through the advanced 

search feature at this site, you can limit 

your search to documents published by 

the Department. 

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1098a. 

Dated: April 11, 2013. 

Martha Kanter, 

Under Secretary for Education. 

[FR Doc. 2013–08891 Filed 4–15–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS