May 17 -- Federal Student Aid (FSA), Department of Education (ED), invites comments to OMB by June 17, 2024 regarding proposed Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment Reporting Requirements.
On January 18, 2022, the Department of Education (the Department) convened a negotiated rulemaking committee to consider proposed regulations for the Federal Student Aid programs authorized under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, (Title IV, HEA). In the Final Rule, published on October 10, 2023 (88 FR 70004) the Secretary issued new regulations to promote transparency, competence, stability, and effective outcomes for students in the provision of postsecondary education.
The regulations in § 668.408 in Subpart Q – Financial Value Transparency, establish reporting requirements for postsecondary institutions who participate in the Title IV, HEA programs to report on their students who enroll in, complete, or withdraw from a Gainful Employment (GE) program or an Eligible Non-GE program in specified award years. The new regulations also define the timeframes for institutions to report the required information. This is a request for a new collection to allow the Department to obtain the required information and assess the burden on institutions.
Federal Student Aid (FSA), an office of the Department, is charged with collecting the required information from institutions which will be made available to students, their families, and the general public at a Department-maintained website that includes data about the price and outcomes associated with specific postsecondary programs at participating institutions. Some of this information will be used to calculate debt-to-earnings (D/E) and earnings premium (EP) measures for GE and eligible non-GE programs. The metrics could result in loss of Federal student aid eligibility for failing GE programs and, in certain cases, mandate student acknowledgements prior to enrollment in failing Non-GE programs. The information obtained will also be used by Department staff to support analyses of current and future policies related to the administration of the Title IV, HEA programs.
On February 21, 2024, the Department published a notice in the Federal Register (89 FR 13059) inviting public comment on the burden and information format. The comment period expired on April 22, 2024, and 120 comments were received. See the attached table for the Department’s responses to the incoming comments. Based in part on comments received, the estimated burden hours and the reporting formats have been refined and draft processing instructions are being provided.
Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment rules:
https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/library/federal-registers/2023-10-10/final-regulations-financial-value-transparency-and-gainful-employment
FSA submission to OMB:
https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=202402-1845-004 Click IC List for data collection instruments, View Supporting Statement for technical documentation. Submit comments through this site.
FRN:
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2024-10905
For AEA members wishing to submit comments to OMB, the AEA Committee on Economic Statistics offers "A Primer on How to Respond to Calls for Comment on Federal Data Collections" at
https://www.aeaweb.org/content/file?id=5806