Education Department to Consider Changes in Student-Aid Rules
Washington — While President Obama seeks broad changes in student-aid policy through Congress, his appointees in the Education Department are pursuing smaller but still significant changes in the rules. The department announced today that it would form at least one panel to draft regulations for the Title IV student-aid programs. The new rules, which will focus on “program integrity,” could change how colleges calculate eligibility for Pell Grants and verify tax information on applications for federal student aid.
The rules could also:
- Require for-profit and technical institutions to provide more evidence that they are preparing their students for the work force.
- Tighten restrictions on “incentive compensation,” the bonuses paid to individuals or organizations for meeting recruitment or admission goals.
- Create a more uniform definition of “high-school diploma” for purposes of awarding student aid. Currently the department accepts online diplomas if they are recognized in the state in which they were awarded.
The Education Department also plans to create another panel, to draft new rules for foreign institutions. Congress made several changes in the law governing colleges abroad last year, in legislation that reauthorized the Higher Education Act. Those changes are to go into effect in July 2010. The panels are expected to meet three times each, starting in September. This summer the department will hold hearings at colleges in Denver, Philadelphia, and Little Rock, Ark., to solicit public input. After each hearing, the department will hold forums on financial-aid simplification and ways to improve college access.
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