NAICU Weighs In on Administration’s Higher Education Regulatory Agenda

Last month, the Department of Education announced a massive regulatory agenda, including plans to rewrite a broad set of regulations affecting federal student aid and institutional accountability.  Given the agenda’s ability to address gaps in postsecondary outcomes such as retention, completion, loan repayment, and student loan defaults, NAICU weighed in on the proposals during a public comment period.
 
While NAICU was interested in most topics being considered, its formal comments focused on several issues of particular importance to private, nonprofit institutions and students, highlights of which include:

• Financial Responsibility Standards, which NAICU is pleased are part of the Department’s negotiated rulemaking process and getting a review after 25 years since last being thoroughly revised.  NAICU noted in its letter that the process needs to be updated. “At its core, the financial responsibility standards are meant to protect students and taxpayers from precipitous institutional closures. The current system has proven a poor tool toward that end by penalizing many institutions that are healthy while failing to identify those that are not.”
• Borrower Defense to Repayment, which NAICU was actively involved in during the 2016 and 2019 regulations.  NAICU wrote that “students should continue to have the ability to assert affirmative claims for a defense to repayment. Also, both students and institutions should be given a fair opportunity to share evidence when a claim is submitted. Both institutions and students should be given an ample amount of time to appeal a final decision made by the Department, and the Department should be held accountable to a timely response.”
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness, which NAICU wrote “has an important purpose but its implementation needs improvement.” NAICU strongly believes that “this program should work better for all borrowers, and it should be easier for borrowers to certify their employment.”
• Student Loan Repayment, which today includes nine different repayment options.  Regarding income-based repayment (IBR), NAICU believes “all borrowers should be eligible for IBR and only required to pay 10% of their discretionary income capped at the amount they would pay under a 10-year standard repayment plan.”
• Gainful Employment, which NAICU is urging the Department, as it considers how to determine if programs are preparing students for gainful employment in a recognized occupation, to “remain mindful of the fundamental differences between the HEA requirements for job training programs and degree programs. That construct was carefully developed to recognize the variation between the types of postsecondary education in our nation.”

NAICU also joined efforts with the National Association of College and University Business Officers and the American Council on Education (ACE) to submit a separate letter to the Department regarding federal financial responsibility standards and joined the broader higher education community in a joint letter, led by ACE, that shares the position of the community on the many issues under consideration.
 
NAICU will be an active participant in the negotiated rulemaking process, including nominating representatives to serve as negotiators.