Providing Distance Education for Foreign Institutions Act

Bill: 118-s-1168
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Braun, Mike [R-IN]
Introduced: 2023-04-17
Policy area: Education
Latest action: action_date: 2023-04-17
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Summaries:
action_date: 2023-04-17
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><b>Providing Distance Education for Foreign Institutions Act</b></p> <p>This bill makes certain distance education programs offered by foreign institutions of higher education (IHEs) eligible to participate in federal student-aid programs, thereby making students participating in these programs eligible to receive federal student aid. </p> <p>(The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, waived the statutory prohibition on foreign IHEs offering distance education, which allowed students participating in these programs to receive federal student aid. However, this waiver is set to end on the latest of June 30, 2023; the last day of the payment period that begins on or before June 30, 2023; or the last day of the first payment period following the end of the foreign authority's qualifying emergency.)</p> <p>Under this bill, a foreign IHE program is eligible to participate in federal student-aid programs if</p> <ul> <li>not more than 12.5% of the program consists of courses offered principally through distance education,</li> <li>the foreign IHE has been evaluated and determined by an outside oversight entity (e.g., an accrediting agency) to have the capability to effectively deliver distance education programs, and</li> <li>the students receiving federal student aid are physically present in the country where the foreign IHE is located during the distance education instruction.</li> </ul>

tv_txt: II 118th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1168 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES April 17, 2023 Mr. Braun (for himself and Mr. Kaine ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To amend title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide program eligibility for distance education programs offered by foreign institutions of higher education.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Providing Distance Education for Foreign Institutions Act . 2. Eligibility of distance education programs offered by foreign institutions of higher education Section 481(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1088(b) ) is amended— (1) by redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph (5); and (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following: (4) (A) An otherwise eligible program that is offered by a foreign institution and is offered in part through distance education is eligible for the purposes of this title if— (i) not more than 12.5 percent of such program consists of courses offered principally through distance education; (ii) the foreign institution has been evaluated and determined by an outside oversight entity, such as an accrediting agency or association or government entity, to have the capability to effectively deliver distance education programs; and (iii) the students receiving aid under this title are physically present in the country where the foreign institution is located during the distance education instruction. (B) In calculating the percentage of a program offered through distance education for purposes of clause (i) of subparagraph (A), any course that is part of such a program that requires a student’s regular in-person attendance for more than 50 percent of the instruction, but also includes one or more distance education components as part of the course, shall not be considered to be offered principally through distance education. .