Policies and Regulations

Program Integrity Final Rules

Department of Education (ED) resources

The "Program Integrity Issues" proposed and final regulations were published in multiple Federal Register notices from the Department of Education (ED). The proposed rules came in the form of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on June 18, 2010. A few months later, on October 29, 2010, ED issued two notices, one with final regulations that included a number of changes to the Program Integrity proposed rules, and another with requirements for schools intending to add an educational program subject to the gainful employment rules. The two packages of final rules reflect ED's judgment as to the best approach to take on the program integrity issues, based on negotiated rulemaking discussions and many public comments.

ED's process for developing final rules from the Gainful Employment (GE) NPRM published on July 26, 2010, took a slightly different path from the one followed by the other program integrity topics. Due to the high level of public engagement in the rulemaking process on gainful employment, the complexity of the issues, and the anticipated impact of the proposed regulatory requirements, ED issued the gainful employment rules separately, with an effective date of July 1, 2012.

ED has provided several other resources on the final rules including Dear Colleague Letters (DCLs), electronic announcements, and training modules which are intended to provide guidance and additional clarification on the 14 Program Integrity issues.

Important notice about GE court ruling: visit ED's Gainful Employment information page for the latest information.

Federal Registers

DCLs

GEN-13-04 published on January 23, 2013: reminds school of the deadline to implement State Authorization regulations
GEN-12-13 published on July 27, 2012: provides further guidance on State authorization
GEN-12-09 published on June 28, 2012: provides clarification on the Title IV eligibility of students who are not high school graduates
GEN-12-03 published on February 9, 2012: provides guidance on eligibility of students who received Title IV aid in a prior award year without having a valid high school diploma
GEN-12-01 published on January 18, 2012: provides guidance on the elimination of ability-to-benefit provisions
GEN-11-14 published on July 20, 2011: provides guidance on the implementation of Return of Title IV funds rules
GEN-11-13 published on July 13, 2011: provides guidance on the FAFSA information to be verified the 2012-2013 award year
GEN-11-11 AMENDED published on April 20, 2011: provides guidance on state authorization in the context of distance learning
GEN-11-10 published on April 20, 2011: provides guidance on new requirements for schools that offer educational programs intended to prepare students for gainful employment
GEN-11-08 published on March 25, 2011: provides guidance for schools utilizing ATB testing
GEN-11-06 published on March 18, 2011: provides guidance on definition of a "credit hour"
GEN-11-05 published on March 17, 2011: provides guidance on three Program Integrity issues — state authorization, incentive compensation, and misrepresentation

Electronic announcements

Electronic announcement (verification) published on February 24, 2012; explains 2012-2013 FAFSA Verification — IRS Tax Return Transcript Matrix
Gainful Employment Information website: provides published regulations, ED guidance, and FAQs pertaining to GE programs
Electronic announcement (state authorization) published on August 22, 2011; instructs schools on documentation of one-year extensions of effective date
Electronic announcement (SAP) published on June 6, 2011: provides guidance on SAP reviews for students attending clock-hour programs
Electronic announcement (R2T4) published on May 6, 2011: provides clarification on the effective dates for the new R2T4 rules

Training resources

2010 Federal Student Aid (FSA) Conference
- Session 25: General Provisions and Non-Loan Program Issues — Institutional (Does not include Pell Grants) (slides)
- Session 26: General Provisions and Non-Loan Program Issues — Student (slides)
2011 Regulatory Update Workshops
- Module 1: Program Integrity Final Regulations
Webinars
- http://ifap.ed.gov/ifap/ifapMedia.jsp