[Wsssc] FW: NGA Education Update – Proposed Repeal of Dept. of Education “Gainful Employment” Regulations

[Joe Holliday]

Colleagues: this is just an FYI at this point. Ruben is sending to ARC and FAC as an FYI as well. It appears that GE requirements would be repealed but that program-level requirements would be added to the College Scorecard. Joe

From: Wilson, Morgan <MWilson at NGA.ORG<mailto:MWilson at NGA.ORG>>
Sent: Monday, August 13, 2018 7:06 AM
To: Wilson, Morgan <MWilson at NGA.ORG<mailto:MWilson at NGA.ORG>>
Cc: Parker, Stephen <SParker at NGA.ORG<mailto:SParker at NGA.ORG>>
Subject: NGA Education Update – Proposed Repeal of Dept. of Education “Gainful Employment” Regulations

To:         Education and Workforce Representatives, Washington Representatives & Governors’ Education Policy Advisors
From:    Morgan Wilson, Senior Legislative Associate
Re:         NGA Education Update – Proposed Repeal of Dept. of Education “Gainful Employment” Regulations

On Friday the U.S. Department of Education released an unofficial notice of proposed rulemaking regarding repeal of the Obama Administration era Gainful Employment rule, which took effect in 2014. In the announcement, the Department proposed rescinding the rule and expanding the College Scorecard website to include program level data from all institutions eligible to receive federal financial aid, including data on programs’ median debt and median earnings for graduates. The Department’s new proposal does not currently include a mechanism to restrict funding to low-performing institutions based on graduates’ ability to pay back loans.

Background
The Gainful Employment rule applies to career education and certificate programs, which includes the majority of for-profit institutions, and uses metrics based on graduate debt-to-earnings ratios to evaluate programs and restrict federal student aid eligibility for programs that fail the metrics. Since her confirmation, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has signaled her intent to revisit the Gainful Employment rule several times. In addition to issuing delays to enforcement of the rule, Secretary DeVos also initiated negotiated rulemaking efforts to revise Gainful Employment in three sessions<https://www2.ed.gov/policy/highered/reg/hearulemaking/2017/gainfulemployment.html> with negotiators between December 2017 and March 2018, but negotiations ultimately did not result in a new rule. Regarding the Secretary’s delays to the enforcement of Gainful Employment, Democratic attorneys general from 17 states and the District of Columbia are currently suing the Department of Education.

Potential State Impacts
Repeal of the Gainful Employment regulations could have widespread implications for enrollment of students in for-profit institutions in states, and new regulations being proposed may require state institutions to report additional information regarding program sizes, completion rates, cost, accreditation, and whether the programs meet the applicable state licensure requirements or graduates’ debt and employment outcomes.

Once published in the Federal Register, the proposed rule will be subject to a 30-day public comment period. The full unofficial notice can be viewed here<https://www2.ed.gov/policy/highered/reg/hearulemaking/2017/genprm.docx>.

For questions or additional information, please contact Morgan Wilson (mwilson at nga.org<mailto:mwilson at nga.org>; 202-719-2876).


Morgan Wilson
Senior Legislative Associate
Office of Government Relations
National Governors Association
Office: (202) 719-2876 | Cell: (205) 915-7481
mwilson at nga.org<mailto:mwilson at nga.org>
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