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U.S. Department of Education

U.S. Department of Education

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This guidance is intended to answer questions that the public has presented to the Department regarding the new certification procedures regulations. 

Questions on this topic are divided into the following categories: 
                - Gainful Employment Program Hours (GEPH)
                - Licensure and Disclosure Requirements  (LDR)
                - Transcript Withholding (TW)

You may refer additional questions to the Department using the  Contact Customer Support form in FSA’s  Partner Connect Help Center. To submit a question, please enter your  name, email address, topic, and question.

### Gainful Employment Program  Hours (GEPH)

34 CFR 668.14(b)(26) limits the number of hours in a gainful employment (GE) program for new program entrants (students) starting on July 1, 2024. This provision is limited to non-degree programs that are not offered entirely through distance education and the maximum program length is established by the institution's State.

***GEPH-Q1:*** If an institution does not want to reduce the number of hours in a program to the minimum required by their State, is it permitted to only consider part of the program to be Title IV eligible? For example, if the minimum number of hours required by the State is 1,530 hours, but a program has 1,545 hours, can Title IV funds be used to cover only up to the 1,530 hours? Or are schools required to reduce the number of hours to the state’s minimum number of hours in order for the program to remain Title IV eligible? 

***GEPH-A1:*** No. Institutions cannot partially fund programs with Title IV funds. 

In order to maintain Title IV eligibility, 34 CFR 668.14(b)(26)(ii) requires institutions to reduce the number of credit or clock hours in their GE program to the State’s minimum number of hours. GE programs that exceed these length restrictions by any amount are ineligible in their entirety for Title IV funds. 

***GEPH-Q2:*** Our school uses credit hours to monitor academic progress, but we offer programs that are designed to lead to licensure and our State requires completion of a certain number of clock hours in order for students in these programs to sit for licensure exams. We know that the programs are subject to the limitation on hours, but our conversion does not yield the exact number of clock hours required by the State.

For example, one of our programs currently includes 25 credit hours, which converts to 750 clock hours (25 semester hours x 30 clock hours = 750). The State minimum requirements for licensure related to that program is 700 hours. However, we are only permitted to award whole credits. If we reduce the number of credit hours in the program to 23, the conversion will only yield 690 clock hours, which would not be enough for students in the program to qualify for licensure. But if we reduce the number of credit hours to 24, the conversion will yield 720 hours, which is more than the State minimum. What should we do in this situation? 

***GEPH-A2:*** The answer depends in part on whether the program in question is subject to the clock-to-credit hour conversion under 34 CFR 668.8(k).

When demonstrating compliance with this requirement for a credit-hour GE program that **is subject to the clock-to-credit conversion**, a school must compare the State’s minimum requirements with the exact number of in-class clock hours in the program. A school must always be aware of the total number of clock hours in a credit-hour GE program that is subject to the conversion. In these cases, the institution must ensure that the actual number of clock hours in the program does not exceed the State’s minimum requirements for licensure. Once the school has revised the actual number of clock hours in such a program, it needs to perform the clock-to-credit conversion on the program to determine the number of credit hours it may award for the smaller number of clock hours.

If a school’s credit-hour GE program **is not subject to the conversion** but is still subject to the limitation because its State has established a minimum number of clock hours required for training, the school is not required to be aware of the total number of clock hours in the program but has other options for demonstrating compliance. For example, if the State has established its own clock-to-credit hour equivalency, the school may use that equivalency to demonstrate that the program’s hours do not exceed the limitation. If the school is aware of the total number of clock hours in the program, the school can also show that those in-class hours associated with the program’s coursework do not exceed the maximum allowed. If no other method can be used to demonstrate compliance, the school must multiply the number of credit hours in the program by 30 (if a semester- or trimester hour program) or 20 (if a quarter-hour program) and ensure that the result does not exceed the maximum allowed.

In the latter situation, it is possible that a school’s conversion calculation will not yield exactly the minimum number of hours required by the State for licensure purposes. In these cases, a school should reduce the number of credit hours in the program as low as possible without going under the minimum hours required for licensure in the profession for which the program prepares the student.

In the example given, this means that the school would be compliant with the hour limitation if it reduced the credit hours in the program to 24 (24 semester hours x 30 clock hours = 720). Because the school is required to award only whole credits, this is the smallest number of credit hours that can be included in the program without going under the State minimum requirements for licensure.

***GEPH-Q3:*** What happens if a State’s licensure requirement is lower than the minimum number of hours required by an institution's accrediting agency? For example, if the minimum number of credits required by the State is 500 hours but the accrediting agency requires 600 hours for the same program, must the school then limit the program to the minimum required by the State even if means the program loses its accreditation and, therefore, it’s Title IV eligibility?

***GEPH-A3:*** As stated in 34 CFR 668.14(b)(26)(ii)(A), the State’s minimum number of hours required for training in the recognized occupation is the limit for the number of hours a program may include. The regulations do not account for limitations set by the accrediting agency. In this case, either the accrediting agency or the State would need to change their requirements to meet the State’s minimum number of clock hours, credit hours, or the equivalent for the program to maintain its Title IV eligibility.

***GEPH-Q4:*** Can an institution submit a program for updated program length approval or acknowledgement by the Department before it receives approval from its accrediting agency and State?

***GEPH-A4:*** No. If an institution’s accrediting agency and/or State requires the institution to receive approval prior to making the program length change, the institution must obtain those approvals before submitting the program to the Department for approval or acknowledgement.

***GEPH-Q5:*** The regulations limit the number of hours in a GE program to the greater of the minimum number of clock hours, credit hours, or the equivalent required for training in the recognized occupation for which the program prepares the student, as established by the State in which the institution is located or, in some cases, another State. My institution has been offering a program using another State’s maximum hours under the provisions in effect prior to July 1, 2024 (the 150 percent rule).  Under what circumstances can my institution continue to use another State’s maximum hours and how can the institution receive approval to use another State’s maximum hours under the new requirements effective July 1, 2024?

***GEPH-A5:*** If an educational program offered by an institution on or after July 1, 2024 is required to prepare a student for gainful employment in a recognized occupation, the institution must establish the need for the training for the student to obtain employment in the recognized occupation for which the program prepares the student; and demonstrate a reasonable relationship between the length of the program and the entry level requirements for the recognized occupation for which the program prepares the student by limiting the number of hours in the program to the greater of—

(A) The required minimum number of clock hours, credit hours, or the equivalent required for training in the recognized occupation for which the program prepares the student, as established by the State in which the institution is located, if the State has established such a requirement or as established by any Federal agency; or

(B) Another State's required minimum number of clock hours, credit hours, or the equivalent required for training in the recognized occupation for which the program prepares the student, if the institution documents, with substantiation by a certified public accountant who prepares the institution's compliance audit report as required under § 668.23 that—

(1) A majority of students resided in that State while enrolled in the program during the most recently completed award year; 

(2) A majority of students who completed the program in the most recently completed award year were employed in that State; or 

(3) The other State is part of the same metropolitan statistical area as the institution's home State and a majority of students, upon enrollment in the program during the most recently completed award year, stated in writing that they intended to work in that other State.

For example, if the maximum number of hours for a program is 500 hours in the State where the institution is located, and the school would like to use a higher number of hours in another State where the maximum number of hours for the same program is 750 hours, it may do so only if it meets *any of the above three conditions and receives auditor attestation for meeting any of those conditions*. Since the regulations are effective on July 1, 2024, the most recently completed award year would be  2023-24 (which is the most recently completed award year as of July 1, 2024, when the regulations are effective). However, the Department will permit an institution to meet the exemption requirements using an attestation by the auditor for the 2022-23 award year until the institution’s next scheduled audit is performed. This may mean that the school is required to engage its auditor for a separate attestation. How the institution complies with this requirement depends upon the status of the program prior to the effective date of the new regulations. If the institution was already offering the program at the higher number of hours prior to July 1, 2024 under the prior provisions (the 150 percent rule), an otherwise-eligible student who began enrollment on or before June 30, 2024, in the higher version of the program that met the minimum program-length criteria at §668.8(d)(1) can continue to receive Pell Grants and Campus-based funds until completing, transferring, or withdrawing from the program. However, new students may not enroll in the version of the program with the higher number of hours until the institution’s auditor substantiates the use of the higher number of hours for the program in the other State. If the institution receives auditor attestation that substantiates the use of the higher number of hours in the other State, the institution may begin enrolling new students in the program with the higher number of hours.

The institution should make every effort to comply with these attestation requirements by July 1, 2024.  However, given the concerns received from institutions regarding the short timeframe to receive auditor attestations during the first year after implementation, particularly between July 1, 2024, and January 1, 2025, the Department will exercise enforcement discretion with respect to an institution’s compliance with these auditor attestation requirements. The Department encourages institutions to document, prior to July 1, 2024, the circumstances that prevent their compliance with the requirement by the regulations’ effective date.  The Department will review such documentation prior to taking any enforcement action related to this requirement.

Note: This GE program length limitation does not apply to fully online programs or programs where State entry level requirements include the completion of an associate or higher-level degree.  For example, if a student is required to have at least an associate degree to enroll in an undergraduate or graduate certificate program, this provision would not apply. However, if there is not an entry level requirement to enroll in a certificate program, this provision would apply, and the program should reduce its clock hours to meet the State’s minimum number of clock hours.

### Licensure and Disclosure Requirements  (LDR)

34 CFR 668.14(b)(32) requires all programs that prepare students for occupations requiring programmatic accreditation or State licensure to meet those requirements for all new program entrants (students) starting on July 1, 2024, for each State in which the student is located if they are not enrolled in face-to-face instruction or in a State in which a student attests they intend to seek employment. 34 CFR 668.43 requires disclosures related to whether a program meets the educational requirements for licensure or certification in a State.

***LDR-Q1:*** When are licensure and disclosure requirements required for distance education programs and face-to-face programs? Is there a flowchart that distinguishes what is required? 

***LDR-A1:***Please click here to see the flowchart. This flowchart outlines the licensure and disclosure requirements for distance education, correspondence programs, and face-to-face programs.

***LDR-Q2:*** We understand that if a school designs a program to meet educational requirements for a specific professional license or certification, or advertises that the program meets such requirements, we are required to publicly disclose all the States where the institution has determined that its program does and does not meet such requirements. But we have a question about what our responsibilities are regarding prospective students.

Are institutions required to make this determination for every State/territory for all licensure-related programs? Or are they only required to make these determinations for States/territories where prospective distance education students are located? If the latter, could an institution wait and make a determination when they have a prospective student interested in the program? 

***LDR-A2:*** The requirements differ for on-campus and distance education or correspondence programs.

Before a school enrolls a student from a particular State into an on-campus program, the school must ensure that the program meets all licensure requirements in the State(s) in which the institution is located. The school must also disclose to that student whether it has made a determination regarding whether the program meets licensure/certification requirements in the State where the student is located at the time of initial enrollment in the program. For a student attending a face-to-face program, the institution must disclose a list of all States where the institution has determined that the program does and does not meet such requirements. 

However, as mentioned in the October 31 final regulations, the Department is concerned that institutions enrolling out-of-State students into online programs may not be ensuring their programs have the necessary approvals for licensure or certification the way a school with a physical location would. Therefore, for a program offered through distance education or correspondence courses to a student in a State different than where the institution is located, the institution must determine that the program meets the licensure/certification requirements in the State where each student is located at the time of initial enrollment in the program. If such determination is not made or if the institution has determined the program does not meet such requirements, it cannot enroll students located in that State into the program and it should not be advertising the program. If an educational program is designed to meet educational requirements for a specific professional license or certification that is required for employment in an occupation only in certain States, it would be a best practice to highlight those States when advertising the program. Please see the flowchart in **LDR-A1** for a visual outline of the disclosure and licensure requirements.

***LDR-Q3:*** For purposes of compliance with 34 CFR 668.14(b)(32), how do we determine whether a prospective student is enrolled in “distance education”? If a student who enrolls in a program leading to licensure or certification takes an online general education course at the time of initial enrollment in the program but takes the certification courses all in-person, would that student be considered a distance education student?

***LDR-A3:*** For any programs that offer any coursework via distance education, institutions should be aware that if there is any period of time during the first payment period when the student initially enrolls in the program where the student will be living in another State via distance education for any portion of the program, the student would be considered a distance education student for purposes of this requirement.  As such, the program would need to meet the licensure requirements of the State in which the student completed any coursework via distance education. For purposes of applying the requirements in 34 CFR 668.14(b)(32), we would consider the first payment period to be the first semester in which the student is enrolled in a licensure program and takes at least one class that is required for that program.

However, if the student will be located either on-campus or living in the same State as the institution while completing the required coursework, the program would only need to meet the licensure requirements in the State where the institution is located regardless of whether the student was enrolled in any online coursework. For example, if a student enrolls in a licensure program and takes at least one online class (including a general education class) that counts toward the student’s Title IV eligibility during their first semester (payment period), and attends that online class while living in another State, the requirements in 34 CFR 668.14(b)(32) would apply and the student would be considered a distance education student. On the other hand, if a student takes no courses through distance education in that first payment period or is living on-campus or in the same State as the institution while completing the distance education coursework, they would not be considered enrolled in distance education for purposes of these requirements. 

As a reminder, if the student is considered a distance education student, the institution is required to make a determination of the State in which the student is located at the time of initial enrollment in accordance with 34 CFR 600.9(c)(2). The institution must determine that the program meets the licensure/certification requirements in the State where each student is located at the time of initial enrollment in the program. If such determination is not made or if the institution has determined the program does not meet such requirements, then the student would not be permitted to enroll. However, as stated in the preamble to the October 31 final regulations and explained further in **LDR-A6**, 34 CFR 668.14(b)(32) allows an institution to offer a program leading to licensure or certification to a student who currently lives in a State where the program does not meet requirements for licensure or certification if the school obtains an attestation from the student about the specific State to which they intend to move, so long as the program satisfies the educational requirements for licensure in that State.

***LDR-Q4:*** At the time of admission, suppose a student is located in a State where the program in which the student applies meets the requirements for licensure. However, between the time that the student is admitted and the time that the student enrolls, the student relocates to another State. If the new State "does not meet" the requirements for licensure or certification, what are the obligations of the institution beyond individual direct disclosure? 

***LDR-A4:*** Any program that leads to licensure or certification would be subject to the disclosure requirements of 34 CFR 668.43, regardless of whether these programs are offered through distance education, through correspondence courses, at brick-and-mortar institutions, or through another modality, prior to enrolling students. Institutions need to make location determinations only when a student is initially enrolling in an educational program. An institution is not responsible for updating a disclosure to a student or ensuring its program meets licensure requirements in a State that the student moves to after initial enrollment. However, as mentioned in the October 31 final regulations, institutions have the flexibility to determine how to structure such a policy and they could make determinations around students who plan to move to a different State during the enrollment process if they choose to do so. Institutions collect a substantial amount of information in a student's application and when students enroll, and the Department hopes that the information collected will assist institutions in their determinations.

***LDR-Q5:*** What are a school’s responsibilities if a student transfers within the same institution into a different program that is designed to or advertised as meeting licensure requirements?

***LDR-A5:*** The school may be required to provide an additional disclosure if the student switches programs. The  licensure and certification disclosure requirements and the requirement that a program satisfy the applicable educational requirements are applicable in cases where a student is already enrolled at the institution, but changes programs into one leading to professional licensure or certification. If the student who is switching programs is enrolling in a distance education or correspondence program and the institution determines that the program will not meet licensure/certification requirements in the State where the student is currently located, the institution cannot enroll the student in the program. Thus, regardless of the student's location when initially enrolled in the institution, new disclosures may be needed at the time that the student enrolls in a different on-campus program if the student’s location has changed.

***LDR-Q6:*** What specific information or documentation will the institution be required to secure from a student who plans to enroll in a program leading to licensure or certification and is located in a State where a program does not meet requirements but notifies the institution of their intent to move to another State where the program meets the requirements in that State? What is needed to attest that they intend to seek employment in that State? 

***LDR-A6:*** As stated in the preamble to the October 31 final regulations, we added a provision in 34 CFR  668.14(b)(32) that allows an institution to offer a program leading to licensure or certification to a student who currently lives in a State where the program does not meet requirements for licensure or certification if the school obtains an attestation from the student about the ***specific State*** to which they intend to move, so long as the program satisfies the educational requirements for licensure in that State. A hardcopy written attestation from the student would fulfill this requirement, as would an email where the school can reasonably authenticate that such a communication was sent from the student’s email address. As with any documentation maintained in an electronic format, it would be necessary for the institution to be able to reproduce the contents of the email upon request from an auditor or Department compliance official.

***LDR-Q7:*** If the student is attesting that they plan to become employed in a State other than the one in which they are located, must the attestation be for one single State or territory? What about scenarios where a prospective student has multiple States as possibilities for employment after graduating, for example, for students in the military? What about prospective students that just don’t know?  

***LDR-A7:*** The attestation must be for ***one specific State***. As stated in the preamble to the October 31 final regulations, the intent of this exception is to provide for specific situations where a student located in one State has concrete plans to move to another. The exception added in 34 CFR 668.14(b)(32) is not meant to cover the general possibility that a student may, at some point, move to one of any number of States where licensure and certification requirements are met. If a student indicates that they are considering multiple States, for this purpose the institution is permitted to direct the student to indicate the State where they have the greatest likelihood of becoming employed; the program would then need to meet licensure requirements in that State. 

***LDR-Q8:*** In responding to a few comments in the preamble to the October 31 final regulations, the Department noted that reciprocity and licensure compacts are a pathway to licensure for some people. Does this mean that institutions can rely on licensure compacts or reciprocity agreements to indicate that their program “meets” educational requirements in another State or territory? If this is a possibility, can it be any mechanism that facilitates licensure in other States, or does it need to be specific for recent graduates (those without any licensed work experience)? Some compacts and reciprocity agreements require that the professional have one or more years working as a licensed professional before qualifying to utilize that pathway to licensure or practice across State lines. 

***LDR-A8:*** These regulations mandate that the program satisfy the applicable educational requirements for professional licensure or certification requirements in the State in which a student is located or in the State where the student seeks employment after completing the program. The requirement would be met if completion of a program qualifies the student to take any licensure or certification exam that is needed to practice or find employment in an occupation that the program prepares the student to enter. Nothing prohibits an institution from demonstrating that the program meets this requirement through a reciprocity agreement.

In order for reciprocity to meet the requirement for a program to satisfy the applicable educational requirements for licensure, the completion of the program must qualify the student to sit for a required licensure or certification exam or find employment in an occupation **immediately** upon completion of the program. For example, an acceptable situation is a student completing a teacher certification program in State A and State B granting the student a conditional certification that allows the student to begin teaching in State B immediately, and in order for the student to become fully certified, the student will need to complete a State specific course while they teach successfully in State B for three years. An example that **would not** satisfy the requirements in 34 CFR 668.14(32)(ii) is a student completing a teacher certification program in State A who would be required to take additional coursework after completing their program in order to begin teaching or take a licensure exam required to obtain employment in State B. Additionally, a situation where reciprocity is conditioned upon a graduate having worked in the profession for a certain number of years before being permitted to sit for the required licensure and/or certification in the other State would mean that the program **does not** satisfy the requirements in 34 CFR 668.14(32)(ii). 

The intent of this provision is for students to be certain that a program preparing them for licensure or certification in a profession for which such credentials are necessary actually meets those requirements in the State where they are located or one to which they intend to move.

***LDR-Q9:*** Is the Department comfortable with institutions using a compact or reciprocity agreement as evidence that their program “meets” educational requirements even if their graduates would need to first be licensed and work for a certain number of years in the State where the institution is located before being able to seek employment in the other State? 

***LDR-A9:*** As discussed in ***LDR-A8***, a compact or reciprocity agreement can be relied on in some instances. However, as also discussed in ***LDR-A8***, a compact or reciprocity agreement that would require a student to first be licensed and work for a certain number of years in the State where the institution is located would not meet the requirement. 

***LDR-Q10:*** The structure of professional licensure at the State level for the field of social work varies significantly, with some States allowing students to be licensed with only a bachelor’s degree and some States not having a comparable level of licensure for such students. Some States only permit students to become licensed if they have obtained a master’s degree.

Our Bachelor’s in Social Work (BSW) program is offered entirely on-campus. If at the time of initial enrollment in the BSW program a student is located in one of the States where a bachelor-level social work license does not exist, can we disclose to that student that licensure is “Not Applicable” to satisfy the new regulations?

***LDR-A10:*** No. If the institution has determined that a bachelor-level social work license does not exist in particular States, it should disclose to the students located in those States that the program meets the requirement because those States do not have a licensure requirement. 

***LDR-Q11:*** If the situation described in ***LDR-Q10*** applies and a State requires a master’s degree for licensure, would a prospective student located in such a State be permitted to enroll in a distance education or correspondence program designed to or advertised as meeting licensure requirements?

***LDR-A11:*** Generally, an institution would not be permitted to enroll a student in such a program under those circumstances because completion of the program would not meet educational requirements for the State in which the student is located at the time of initial enrollment.

However, the Department acknowledges that there are some instances in which an institution offers programs intended to lead to licensure at both the bachelor’s level and higher levels, such as a master’s or professional degrees. In instances where the institution offers both levels of coursework, and the higher-level credential is required for licensure in the State where the prospective student is located, the institution would be permitted to enroll the student in the bachelor’s degree program if the student indicated in writing that they intend to enroll in the higher-level program at the same institution after completing the bachelor’s degree program in order to obtain the higher-level credential that would qualify them for licensure. That said, the institution is required to disclose that the bachelor’s degree does not fulfill licensure in that State. 

***LDR-Q12:*** In the field of accounting, many States offer a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license, which allows students to perform certain functions that other accountants cannot. However, most States do not require a CPA in order for an individual to become employed as an accountant and perform general accounting functions.

It is not uncommon that a State requires some additional specialized courses to qualify to take the CPA exam that are often not included in a typical bachelor’s accounting degree program, so technically those graduates are not qualified to sit for the CPA exam fresh out of their bachelor’s degree programs. For the purposes of required disclosures for licensure programs, is the CPA credential considered “licensure” with associated disclosure requirements like for education and nursing?  

***LDR-A12:*** Unless the State requires a CPA or other license in order for an individual to be employed as an accountant, an accounting program would not be treated as a program that is designed or advertised as leading to licensure or certification in that State and the requirements in 34 CFR 668.14(b)(32) and 34 CFR 668.43 would not apply.

Note that in this situation, if only one or a small number of States in which the institution operates requires a CPA for an individual to become employed as an accountant, the requirements would apply only for those States. If the institution has determined that a CPA license is not required in particular States, the institution could disclose to the students located in those States that the program meets the requirement because those States do not have a CPA licensure requirement. 

***LDR-Q13:*** What if distance education students are eligible for Title IV aid but choose not to receive it? In those situations, can our institution enroll them in a program where licensure requirements are not met or not determined?

***LDR-A13:*** The disclosure requirements in 34 CFR 668.43 apply to all Title IV eligible programs leading to licensure or certification, regardless of whether the student enrolled in the program receives Title IV funds. If the student is enrolled via distance education or correspondence courses, the requirements in 34 CFR 668.14(b)(32) also apply regardless of whether a student is a Title IV recipient. That said, a school cannot circumvent these regulations by setting up an ineligible Title IV program.

***LDR-Q14:*** Our institution offers an online teaching program that does not meet licensure requirements in another State because an additional course on that State’s history is required but not offered at our institution. How should we approach this scenario to comply with the requirements? 

***LDR-A14:** If a school knows that their online program will not meet licensure requirements in a particular State, they should not be enrolling students into the program or advertising the program. As mentioned in ***LDR-A8***, a student must not be required to take additional coursework in order to begin teaching or sit for the licensure exam in the State in which they reside.
However, as also mentioned in ***LDR-A8***, the institution could enroll the student in this situation if the State where the student is located allows the student to obtain a license in their State through reciprocity. Such situations would be acceptable provided the license a student obtains through reciprocity allows them to immediately work in the State covered by the requirements in 34 CFR 668.14(b)(32). This could include both a full license as well as a provisional one. For example, an acceptable situation is a student being able to work in their State with a provisional license while completing their State specific course(s). A situation where reciprocity is conditioned upon a graduate having worked in the profession for a certain number of years before being permitted to sit for the required licensure an/or certification in the other State would mean that the program does not satisfy the requirement of 34 CFR 668.14(b)(32). 

***LDR-Q15:*** Do the requirements pertaining to State licensure and certification procedures apply to international students or only to domestic students? How would the requirements apply in the following examples?

Example 1 - Domestic students located overseas (often in the military) seek to enroll in our program, which is only designed and advertised to lead to licensure in States in the U.S. Can we enroll students if we provide a way for those students to attest that they intend to move to a U.S. State to work where the program meets the educational requirements?

Example 2 - International students not eligible for Title IV aid who are located in a U.S. State seek to enroll in our program through distance education. Can our institution enroll these students if they are located in States where the program does not meet licensure requirements? 

Example 3 - International students who are not eligible for Title IV aid and are located overseas seek to enroll in our program. Can we enroll those students in our program?  

***LDR-A15:*** The requirements for licensure and certification apply to all students, regardless of whether they are domestic or international. Below we respond to the specific circumstances in each of the examples provided by the institution.

Example 1 – The regulations in 34 CFR 668.14 (b)(32) apply to students taking distance education or correspondence courses while located in U.S. States and territories, not to students located in other countries. Therefore, the institution is not required to receive an attestation from a student that they plan to work in a State where the program meets licensure requirements. However, if the institution’s practice is to ask where the student plans to be employed and the student provides an attestation about a specific State they intend to move to, the program must satisfy the educational requirements for licensure in that State in accordance with 34 CFR 668.14(b)(32) in order for the institution to enroll the student.

Example 2 – The student’s Title IV eligibility does not matter in this case. The regulations in 34 CFR 668.14(b)(32) apply to programs eligible for Title IV, HEA funds and to students who are located in U.S. States and Territories. Assuming that the program is Title IV eligible, the program would need to meet the licensure or certification requirements in the State where the student is located in order for the institution to be permitted to enroll the student. 

Example 3 - The regulations in 34 CFR 668.14(b)(32) apply to students taking distance education or correspondence courses while located in U.S. States and Territories, not those who are located in other countries. So, the institution would be permitted to enroll these students, and only the disclosure requirements in 34 CFR 668.43 would be applicable in this example. 

***LDR-Q16:*** How do licensure exams play a part in determining if a program meets a State’s educational requirements for licensure? In teacher education, licensure exams are often taken near the end of a student’s program. When a student receives a degree, they may still need to pass licensure exams. When we make a determination about meeting requirements for other States, are we allowed to make an assumption that the student has passed the licensure exam required for Kansas?  

***LDR-A16:***  We do not expect institutions to guarantee that students will pass their exams, we require institutions to prepare and allow students to sit for any licensure or certification exam that is needed for the student to practice or find employment in an occupation that the program prepares students to enter. As long as an institution does this, it can state that the educational requirements are met. 

***LDR-Q17:*** If an institution modifies its current program to meet licensure requirements for distance education students located in a State that requires State-specific courses, are we permitted to only require students in that State to adhere to those additional requirements? 

***LDR-A17:*** If the State where the program is offered does not have a reciprocity agreement with the State where the distance education students are located, institutions may choose to create a version of the program that meets specific State requirements. Having two (or more) versions of the program would allow an institution to enroll students in the program most applicable to them (the program that includes State specific courses vs. the program that does not include the State specific courses). If the institution decides to just have one version of the program (the program that includes State specific courses), all students enrolled in the program would have to complete the State specific courses, even if they are in a State that does not require those courses. This may not be an option if the program is a GE program and the additional courses result in the program exceeding the program length restrictions in § 668.14(b)(26). 

However, if a program has flexibility in the required courses, such as electives or a range of options for different requirements, students could have different courses, so long as the institution provides the courses required to meet each student’s State’s requirements. For example, a distance education student in a social studies education program would have to be able to complete their State’s history course, if required by their State, in their program. This could be accomplished through general electives or by replacing another history course that may not be required by their State, for instance. Again, the institution would have to make sure that course is available for the student. 

***LDR-Q18:*** Does this regulation apply to institutions that have transfer programs that lead to State licensure or certification?

***LDR-A18:*** If an institution, such as a community college, has a transfer partnership with a licensure program at another institution, the transfer program would be subjected to the licensure and disclosure requirements in 34 CFR 668.14(b)(32) and 34 CFR 668.43 if the transfer program provides courses, including general education courses, that are part of the licensure preparation program. The community college could satisfy the requirements in many ways, including providing information from the other institution, for example. However, if a student enrolls in an associate degree program that offers courses not required for licensure and then enrolls in a licensure program at the other institution, the regulations would not apply to the associate degree program.

***LDR-Q19:*** Beyond courses, what counts as an “educational requirement” in 34 CFR 668.14(b)(32)? Do “educational  requirements” include clinical practice, State-sponsored workshops or other trainings, and/or State-mandated portfolio or performance assessments that institutions don’t administer?

***LDR-A19:*** Educational requirements include anything needed to complete the licensure program, if a clinical practice, State-sponsored workshops, or other activities are required for licensure then institutions must consider them as educational requirements for licensure. Once a student completes the licensure program, they should be qualified to take any licensure or certification exam that is needed to practice or find employment in an occupation that the program prepares the student to enter.

***LDR-Q20:*** What if an institution currently has students in States where the institution does not meet State educational requirements?

***LDR-A20:*** These regulations apply to students who newly enroll in a program on or after July 1, 2024. The regulations are not applied retroactively to currently enrolled students. However, under 34 CFR 668.43(a)(5)(c)(2), if an institution determines that its program does not meet requirements for State licensure or certification, or if an institution has not yet determined whether its program meets State licensure or certification requirements, it must inform all currently enrolled students who are located in that State within 14 calendar days of making that determination. Once the student is informed, it will be up to them to decide whether they wish to finish the program.

***LDR-Q21:*** When is a student considered enrolled?

***LDR-A21:*** As defined in 34 CFR 668.2, enrolled is the status of a student who has completed the registration requirements (except for the payment of tuition and fees) at the institution that he or she is attending or as been admitted into an educational program offered predominantly by correspondence and has submitted one lesson, completed by him or her after acceptance for enrollment and without the help of a representative of the institution. When the student meets this definition, they would be considered enrolled.
Transcript  Withholding (TW)
34 CFR 668.14(b)(33) prevents institutions from withholding transcripts or taking any negative action against a student for balances owed due to school error. 34 CFR 668.14(b)(34) prevents institutions from withholding transcripts for any credits funded, in whole or in part, with Title IV funds.

***TW-Q1:*** The regulations under 34 CFR 668.14(b)(34) provide that an institution must provide an official transcript that includes all the credit or clock hours for payment periods in which a student received Title IV funds and for which all institutional charges were paid or included in an agreement to pay at the time the request is made. Does this mean that there are some cases in which a school is required to provide a student with an official transcript, but the transcript may not include all classes that the student completed if the student has not fully paid for them? 

***TW-A1:*** Yes. A school is required to release an official transcript to a student that includes all the credits or clock hours for payment periods in which the student received Title IV, HEA program funds as long as all institutional charges were paid or included in an agreement to pay at the time the request is made. In other words, the institution must provide a student with an official transcript if they received Title IV, HEA funds for a payment period and all charges have been paid for that period. However, the school is not required to include on that transcript credits for periods where a student received non-Title IV funds, unless the student has fully paid the institutional charges, or credits where a student received Title IV funds and has not paid all the institutional charges (and does not have a signed agreement to pay). 

***TW-Q2:*** Schools must transcript credits for periods where students have entered into “an agreement to pay at the time the request [for the transcript] is made.” What does “an agreement to pay” mean? Does this refer to a payment plan?

***TW-A2:*** For purposes of determining whether a student is entitled to an official transcript that includes credits earned for a particular payment period, a school must consider a student to have fully paid for a payment period if an institutional payment plan has been established by the student, or on the student’s behalf, to cover the charges and the responsible individual is current on the plan (i.e., has not missed any payments). An institution’s policy on payment plans needs to be consistent for all students, including a student who is interested in an agreement to pay their outstanding balance in return for their transcript. An institution is permitted to wait for the student to make their first payment from their agreement before providing them with their transcript.

***TW-Q3:*** What happens when a student is on a payment agreement but does not pay or has missed payments? 

***TW-A3:*** There is nothing that prevents an institution from choosing not to transcript credits for periods where the student has not paid for all the institutional charges associated with the credits they have earned, except when such charges are covered by a payment plan. In this case, the Department does not impose restrictions on an institution's ability to withhold transcripts or transcript credits from payment periods in which the student has not received title IV, HEA funds or has not paid for all institutional charges. The institution would still be required to provide a transcript with the credits from all other payment periods in which the student has received title IV, HEA funds and has paid for all institutional charges.

***TW-Q4:*** Are schools ever required to provide a student with their degree or other recognized credential if they owe a balance to the institution?

***TW-A4:*** No. The regulations only require institutions to provide a student with an official transcript that includes all the credits that the student earned for periods in which the student received Title IV funds and for which all institutional charges were paid (or were included in an agreement to pay). The regulations never require an institution to confer a degree or other credential to a student who has not fully paid the amount they owe to the school (unless the institution made an error in its administration of Title IV funds, in which case 34 CFR 668.14(b)(33) applies). 

***TW-Q5:*** What is meant by a partial transcript release? 

***TW-A5:*** The regulation refers to transcript holds related to individual payment periods where a balance is owed. If a student has not paid for all the institutional charges associated with the credits they have earned an institution may withhold specific transcript credits from payment periods in which the student has not paid for all institutional charges. The Department notes that rather than issuing a partial transcript, an institution may choose to provide a student with a full transcript, including credits from payment periods in which the student has not paid for all institutional charges.

***TW-Q6:*** Why is the regulation focused on only releasing certain portions of the transcript, not the whole transcript? 

***TW-A6:*** The regulation is focused on individual payment periods where Title IV or other HEA program funds were used to pay for the payment period and balance is still owed. As stated in the final rule, the Department believes that it does not have the authority to prevent an institution from withholding transcripts in circumstances where the student does not receive title IV, HEA funds, or in cases where the student has not paid for all the institutional charges associated with the credits they have earned. In those cases, the Department does not impose restrictions on an institution's ability to withhold transcripts or transcript credits from payment periods in which the student has not received title IV, HEA funds or has not paid for all institutional charges.

***TW-Q7:*** Can a college hold a transcript if a borrower defaults on a Federal Perkins or Nursing loan?

***TW-A7:*** A loan default is separate from owing a Title IV balance and these regulations do not address students defaulting on loans. 

***TW-Q8:*** What if failure to return equipment results in a debt after a certain amount of time? 

***TW-A8:*** If the rental is considered an allowable institutional charge and the late return results in a debt, all institutional charges will not have been paid for that payment period. For purposes of these new provisions, we consider an institutional charge to be “for a payment period” if they are allowable charges for the payment period, as defined under § 668.164(c)(1).

***TW-Q9:*** Does this regulation apply to transcript holds only after July 1, 2024, or is it retroactive?

***TW-A9:*** Institutions must apply the requirements of this regulation to all students beginning July 1, 2024, even if the balance owed is attributable to payment periods prior to July 1, 2024.

***TW-Q10:*** How will the Department enforce requirements related to transcript withholding? Can institutions appeal a determination made by the Department?

***TW-A10:*** The Department will enforce these requirements through its normal oversight procedures, including audits and program reviews. Institutions have an opportunity to appeal determinations of non-compliance in accordance with normal appeal procedures.
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