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Regulatory Burden Studies

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Studies of Regulatory Burden Provisions in the Higher Education Act  
Background 
The Higher Education Opportunity Act, like the reauthorization bills that have come before it, adds to the list of reporting and disclosure requirements that institutions must meet in order to participate in federal student assistance programs.  NAICU and other higher education associations were able to get some traction on this issue by pointing out the inconsistency of imposing expensive new requirements on schools while complaining that college costs are too high.  Unfortunately, it was not enough traction to get actual reductions in the regulatory burden.  Although Congress did not get rid of any current reporting/disclosure requirements, they did scale back some of their initial proposals for new ones.  In general, however, they responded by directing various organizations to conduct studies of regulatory burden. 
Studies
  • Department of Education:  The HEA includes a provision added in 1998 that requires the Secretary of Education to review regulations under title IV to determine if they are duplicative or no longer necessary.  The Secretary is also supposed to evaluate how regulatory burden could be eased for institutions that have very low volumes of federal student aid.  The Department of Education has not undertaken a comprehensive regulatory review, but this provision was retained in the Act by the 2008 reauthorization bill. (Statutory Language - new language in bold).

  • Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance (ACSFA):  The 2008 reauthorization bill directs ACSFA to conduct two activities related to regulation—
    • To develop and maintain an information clearinghouse to help institutions understand federal regulations and other federal legal requirements.  
    • To make recommendations to the Secretary of Education and to the congressional authorizing committees regarding legislative relief from redundant or outdated regulations.  As part of this effort, ACSFA is to:
      • Review and analyze all Federal regulations that apply to institutions of higher education.
      • Specifically review the way in which regulations under title IV affect institutions with small volumes of federal student aid. 
      • Evaluate the potential impact of proposed Federal regulations on higher education.
      • Provide a short description of each regulation or proposed regulation that pertains to institutions of higher education.
      • Develop and maintain a website providing information about regulations and proposed regulations affecting higher education, offering an opportunity for the public to recommend ways in which regulations can be streamlined, and includes the study conducted by the National Research Council (see below). 
      • Conduct two review panels to provide recommendations to ACSFA about this project.


    • ACSFA is to present its findings and recommendations two years after the completion of the negotiated rulemaking process.
    • Statutory Language - new language in bold.




  • National Research Council:  The 2008 reauthorization bill also calls on the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences to study the amount and scope of all federal regulations and reporting requirements applicable to institutions of higher education.  The study is to include the estimated costs to institutions of compliance and recommendations for streamlining or eliminating regulations as appropriate.  The study is to be completed by August 2010. (Statutory Language - new language in bold).


  • General Accountability Office:  The 2008 reauthorization bill also directs the Comptroller General to study the time and cost burdens to institutions of higher education of completing the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) surveys.  The report is both to recommend ways of reducing the reporting burden and to examine the feasibility of collecting even more data from institutions.  The report is to be completed by August 2010. (Statutory Language - new language in bold).