We have developed this Desk Guide to assist institutions as they contemplate compliance with the final version of the GE rule.

With regard to BDR claims, data released by ED suggests that virtually every institution in the U.S. has at least a handful of claims pending against it. Given this trend, we have developed this document to aid institutions with establishing protocols to responding to BDR claims.

To remain eligible to participate in the federal student aid programs, proprietary institutions must comply with the “90/10 rule." New regulations published by ED in October 2022 apply to institutional fiscal years beginning on or after January 1, 2023. This compliance resource, updated March 2023, compiles strategies for managing 90/10 rule compliance.

This compliance resource, organized as an FAQ, provides answers to the most common questions regarding the Federal Trade Commission’s updated GLBA Safeguards Rule, which becomes effective in June 2023 and applies to institutions of higher education.

Pursuant to the U.S. Department of Education’s financial responsibility regulations, institutions of higher education are required to report certain “triggering events” to the Department within specified timeframes. This compliance resources details the current reporting obligations and timelines in a user-friendly chart.

For a wide range of reasons, institutions of higher education frequently determine to offer students the opportunity to finance all or part of their education using some form of institutional credit. Such arrangements may qualify as a “private education loan” under federal law, subjecting the institution to a multitude of requirements. This memorandum provides an overview of certain significant federal requirements that institutions of higher education should consider when contemplating an institutional loan program, or any other student financing opportunity.

This webinar takes a closer look at the Department’s debt-to-earnings calculations, and details a step-by-step process institutions can follow to project debt-to-earnings rates for their programs under the new GE Rule. The speaker will also discuss how institutions might project Earnings Premium performance.

This webinar provides an overview of the new rule and includes a detailed discussion of the regulatory framework, the key metrics, the Department’s new program information website, reporting and disclosure requirements, consequences of failure, and program certifications.

This presentation explores the BDR regulations as to student loan discharges, the Department’s processing of student BDR claims, and the litigation concerning the Department’s practices as to BDR claims. The webinar will then turn to a discussion about how an institution can best respond to BDR claims and attempt to avoid potential liability for federal student loans discharged by the Department.

This presentation provides an overview of the Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. (SFFA) v. President and Fellows of Harvard and SFFA v. University of North Carolina Supreme Court decision.

Significant revisions to the Federal Trade Commission’s GLBA Safeguards Rule become effective in June of 2023. For any higher education institution receiving Federal Student Aid, this will impose significant new requirements. for the protection of personal information. This webinar discusses the Safeguards Rule, ED guidance, and the posture of the FTC.

In February 2023, the U.S. Department of Education issued significant and controversial guidance regarding its oversight of “third-party servicers,” companies and organizations that provide certain services to postsecondary institutions. This 90-minute webinar examines the new guidance in detail and offer suggestions for comment.

As 2023 begins to unfold, the U.S. Department of Education continues to pursue its ambitious and sweeping regulatory agenda for institutions of higher education. This 90-minute webinar considers the range of expansions, revisions, and revivals that presently are underway, and speculates regarding the rulemaking activity that is on the horizon.

On July 6, 2022, the U.S. Department of Education released the unofficial version of its proposed rewrite of the borrower defense to repayment rule. The BDR rule details the process by which former students can seek to have their federal loans forgiven based on misconduct by their institution. This special, 2-hour webinar discusses the proposed rule in detail, highlight significant changes, and suggest opportunities for public comment.

Under the Higher Education Act, the U.S. Department of Education is directed to issue regulations governing when student borrowers may seek to discharge their federal student loans due to the misconduct of their institutions of higher education. This webinar explores the BDR regulations as to student loan discharges, the Department’s processing of student BDR claims, and the litigation concerning the Department’s practices as to BDR claims.

Since 1992, institutions of higher education participating in the federal student aid programs have been required to comply with the U.S Department of Education’s prohibition on incentive compensation. This 90-minute presentation discusses the scope, interpretation, and enforcement of the rule, how it has changed over time, and what the future may bring.

To assist institutions of higher education working to comply with the Title IX rule, Thompson Coburn’s Higher Education Practice has created a free, online lecture series that provides foundational training for those individuals who will be administering the Title IX process

Click here to access the complete Thompson Coburn Higher Ed Webinar Library.

While this proposed rule covers a number of important topic areas for Title IV-participating institutions, including financial responsibility, administrative capability, and certification procedures, the most substantial element of ED’s proposal is the reintroduction of the “gainful employment” or “GE” framework.

As proprietary institutions of higher education are acutely aware, the U.S. Department of Education’s new 90/10 regulations take effect July 1, 2023 and apply to fiscal years starting on or after January 1, 2023.

On October 4, 2022, the U.S. Department of Education released new guidance for students and schools on Title IX’s prohibition of discrimination based on pregnancy and pregnancy related conditions.

The use of transcript holds at institutions of higher education as a debt collection tool has recently become the subject of much debate and scrutiny. Because a transcript hold is one of the few levers that institutions have to address unpaid balances, institutions have long required that students be current on their financial obligations to access a transcript.

In 2021, President Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which amended the longstanding “90/10 rule” enforced by the U.S. Department of Education (the “Department”).

On March 23, 2022, the U.S. Department of Education announced a significant new policy that, in some cases, will require owners, investors, and controlling parties of private colleges and universities to guarantee the regulatory liabilities of the school.

We’ve endeavored here to offer some guidance on when HIPAA applies, and when it does not, and to point institutions towards additional guidance that may be helpful.

Click here to access Thompson Coburn's Higher Education blog, REGucation