Notes from US Department of Education 2014 FSA Conference - Day 1

I am in Atlanta this week to attend the U.S. Department of Education's annual Federal Student Aid Conference. The conference offers over 50 educational training and information sessions hosted by the Department.

The Conference traditionally begins with a welcome and federal update presented by top Department officials. Today's session included general remarks from Ted Mitchell, the Under Secretary of Education. Dr. Mitchell discussed the Department's general goals as it relates to the accessibility and affordability of higher education. This included an overview of President Obama's higher education initiatives of paying for performance, promoting innovation and competition, and ensuring that student debt remains affordable.

The federal update session included a general overview of the new gainful employment regulations that affect nearly all proprietary schools and non-degree programs at public and non-profit institutions. The Conference will include more detailed information and training during various breakout sessions. However, one point emphasized during today's general session was that schools will need to submit six years worth of student gainful employment data to the Department by July 31, 2015. Even though the gainful employment regulations do not go into effect until July 1, 2015, the Department official today made it clear that schools should be working now to collect and assemble this information so that they can meet this reporting deadline.

After the opening remarks and general update I attended the breakout session regarding consumer disclosure requirements. Of particular interest was the Department's list of the most commonly cited findings related to consumer disclosures. These included:

• Annual Notice of Consumer Information
• Drug and Alcohol Abuse Prevention
• Annual Notification of FERPA Rights
• Voter Registration Information
• Copyright Infringement
• Gainful Employment Disclosures
• Clery Act Disclosures

While this is not comprehensive list of all required consumer disclosures, it is a good starting point for schools to review their current policies and ensure that they are making these required disclosures.

The breakout session with respect to reporting changes affecting institutional eligibility was a refresher on the requirements for reporting institutional changes to the Department. The speakers highlighted the distinction between changes that need prior Department approval and those changes that require only notice to the Department. The speakers cautioned that if a school notifies the Department of a change without waiting for approval, but it is subsequently determined that the change did in fact require approval, then the school can be liable for all federal student aid funds improperly disbursed. The speakers suggested that to minimize the risk of improperly distributing federal student aid funds, a school could seek Department approval concurrent with providing notification of the change.

The final breakout session that I attended today addressed the state authorization requirements of the Higher Education Act and related regulations. A key point emphasized by today's speakers was the requirement that a state must have a process to review and appropriately act on complaints concerning schools. The speakers also emphasized that schools must provide students or prospective students with contact information for filing complaints with its accreditor and state approving or licensing entity.

That is all to report from Day 1 of this year's Conference. I will offer additional observations later this week.