**Questions and Answers**

**Related Dear Colleague Letters**

## Final Regulations

On June 2, 2011, the Department issued a **Press Release** announcing the completion of the Gainful Employment--Debt Measures final regulation.  Information about this final regulation, along with a link to the text of the regulation can be found **here**.

On April 13, 2011, the Department published a **correction to the final regulations** published on October 29, 2010 to improve integrity in the programs authorized under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), by amending the regulations for Institutional Eligibility Under the HEA, the Secretary's Recognition of Accrediting Agencies, the Secretary's Recognition Procedures for State Agencies, the Student Assistance General Provisions, the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program, the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program, the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Program in part 686, the Federal Pell Grant Program, and the Academic Competitiveness Grant (AGC) and National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant (National Smart Grant) Programs.  

On October 29, 2010 the Department published **final regulations** amending the regulations for Institutional Eligibility Under the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), to establish a process under which an institution applies for approval to offer an educational program that leads to gainful employment in a recognized occupation.

On October 29, 2010 the Department published **final regulations** improving integrity in the programs authorized under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), by amending the regulations for Institutional Eligibility Under the HEA, the Secretary's Recognition of Accrediting Agencies, the Secretary's Recognition Procedures for State Agencies, the Student Assistance General Provisions, the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program, the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program, the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Program in part 686, the Federal Pell Grant Program, and the Academic Competitiveness Grant (AGC) and National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant (National Smart Grant) Programs.

Additional resource information:

- To access the public comments submitted in response to the Program Integrity Notice of Proposed Rulemaking pertaining to gainful employment, go to: **www.regulations.gov** and search docket number **ED-2010-OPE-0012**.
- Office of Management and Budget **meetings on gainful employment**.

## Meetings on Gainful Employment

The Department hosted two days of public hearings and over 30 meetings to hear from individuals and organizations who submitted comments on the proposed regulations regarding gainful employment. The meetings were intended to accommodate the views and interests of more groups than could be heard at the two days of public meetings and were held with representatives of institutions and organizations selected for their thoughtful and substantive comments.  These meetings gave Department staff a chance to ask clarifying questions and gain further feedback about the written comments, which help inform our process as we move toward finalizing the proposed rule.

Here is a list of groups that have met or plan to meet with Department staff to further explain their written comments regarding the NPRM on gainful employment.  This list is subject to change.

- American Association of Community Colleges
- American Association of Cosmetology Schools
- American Council on Education
- Apollo Group
- Association of Community College Trustees
- Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities
- Bridgepoint Education Inc.
- Campus Progress
- Capella Education Co.
- Career Education Corp
- Center on Education and the Workforce
- Corinthian
- DeVry
- Eastern Iowa Community College District
- EDMC
- Grand Canyon Education Inc.
- Grantham
- Howard Community College
- InfiLaw
- ITT Education Services Inc.
- Lincoln Educational Services Inc
- Mark Kantrowitz
- Monroe College
- National Consumer Law Center
- Northwestern Career College
- Rocky Vista University
- Strayer Education Inc
- The Institute for College Access and Success
- Tri-State College of Acupuncture
- U.S. Small Business Administration
- United States Student Association
- Walden/Laureate
- Washington Post Co./Kaplan

**Transcripts of Public Hearings:**- November 4, 2010     PDF  (951K)
- November 5, 2010     PDF  (1020K)

**Private Meetings and Attendees:**MS Word (681K) | PDF (609K)

**On June 26, 2012, the Department conducted a webinar providing background information on the 2011 Gainful Employment Informational Rates** that were made public earlier that day.  A copy of the slide deck (in both .ppt and .pdf formats) that was used in the webinar, including notes, is available at   https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/library/conference-presentations/2012-06-26/gainful-employment-webinar-8-release-2011-gainful-employment-informational-rates. The 2011 Information Rates are available as a downloadable spreadsheet at http://federalstudentaid.ed.gov/datacenter/schooldata.html.

On October 18, 2010, the Department published a **notice in the Federal Register** announcing public meeting sessions to receive oral presentations and to interact with commenters regarding comments that were submitted to the Department of Education in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Program Integrity: Gainful Employment, published in the Federal Register on July 26, 2010.

On August 11, 2010, the Department held a **conference call regarding the July 26, 2010, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and gainful employment**. 

On July 26, 2010, the Department published in the Federal Register a **Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NRPM)**.  Through this NPRM, the Secretary proposes to amend the Student Assistance General Provisions to establish measures for determining whether certain postsecondary educational programs lead to gainful employment in recognized occupations, and the conditions under which these educational programs remain eligible for the student financial assistance programs authorized under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA).- **Press Release**- **Analysis, Additional Data**

On June 18, 2010, the Department published in the Federal Register a **Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NRPM)**.  Through this NPRM,  the Secretary proposes to improve integrity in the programs authorized under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA) by amending the regulations for Institutional Eligibility Under the HEA, the Secretary's Recognition of Accrediting Agencies, the Secretary's Recognition Procedures for State Agencies, the Student Assistance General Provisions, the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program, the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program, the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Program, the Federal Pell Grant Program, and the Academic Competitiveness Grant (AGC) and National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant (National Smart Grant) Programs.**- Press Release**

List of Negotiators: MS Word (44K) | PDF (24K)

**Session One: November 2-6, 2009**

Organizational Protocols: PDF (31K)

Issue Summaries: PDF (516K)

Meeting Summary: PDF (54K)

**Session Two: December 7-11, 2009**

Issue Summaries: PDF (2.44Mb)

Meeting Summary: PDF (55K)

**Session Three: January 25-29, 2010**

Issue Summaries: PDF (2.33Mb)

Meeting Summary: PDF (37K)

Issue summaries for the third negotiating session include:- Definition of High School Diploma for the Purpose of Establishing Institutional Eligibility to Participate in the Title IV Programs, and Student Eligibility to Receive Title IV Aid
- Ability to Benefit
- Misrepresentation of Information to Students and Prospective Students
- Incentive Compensation
- State Authorization as a Component of Institutional Eligibility
- Gainful Employment in a Recognized Occupation
- Definition of a Credit Hour
- Agreements Between Institutions of Higher Education
- Verification of Information Included on Student Aid Applications
- Satisfactory Academic Progress
- Retaking Coursework
- Return of Title IV Funds:  Term-based Programs with Modules or Compressed Courses
- Return of Title IV Funds: Taking Attendance
- Disbursements of Title IV Funds

| Negotiated Rulemaking 2009-10 Page | HEOA Page | OPE Policy Page |
  Last Modified: 04/26/2023