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   f  e   d  e  r  a   l  r  e  g   i  s   t  e  r
MondayNovember 1, 1999
Part IX
Department ofEducation
34 CFR Part 668Student Assistance General Provisions;Final Rule
 
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Federal Register
 /Vol. 64, No. 210/Monday, November 1, 1999/Rules and Regulations
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION34 CFR Part 668
RIN 1845–AA03
Student Assistance General Provisions
AGENCY
:
Department of Education.
ACTION
:
Final regulations.
SUMMARY
:
We amend the regulationsgoverning the disclosure of institutionaland financial assistance informationunder the student financial assistanceprograms authorized under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, asamended (Title IV, HEA programs).These programs include the Federal PellGrant Program, the campus-basedprograms (Federal Perkins Loan, FederalWork-Study (FWS), and FederalSupplemental Educational OpportunityGrant (FSEOG) Programs), the WilliamD. Ford Federal Direct Loan (DirectLoan) Program, the Federal FamilyEducation Loan (FFEL) Program, andthe Leveraging Educational AssistancePartnership (LEAP) Program (formerlycalled the State Student Incentive Grant(SSIG) Program). These regulationsimplement statutory changes made tothe Higher Education Act of 1965, asamended (HEA), by the HigherEducation Amendments of 1998.
DATES
:
 Effective Date:
These regulationsare effective July 1, 2000.
 Implementation Date:
The changes tocertain sections, particularly §§668.41(b) and (c) and 668.46(c) (1)–(4) and (f),reflect changes made by Public Law105–244 that already are in effect.Sections 668.41 (b) and (c) concern thedistribution of information throughelectronic media and the distribution toenrolled students of a list of theinformation to which they are entitledupon request. Sections 668.46(c) (1)–(4)and (f) concern the reporting of crimestatistics and the maintenance of acrime log. You may use theseregulations prior to July 1, 2000 asguidance in complying with the relevantstatutory provisions. You can find thefull text of Public Law 105–244 at http:/  /www.access.gpo.gov/nara/publaw/ 105publ.html.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
:
Paula Husselmann(Paula
              
Husselmann@ed.gov) or LloydHorwich (Lloyd
              
Horwich@ed.gov),U.S. Department of Education, 400Maryland Avenue, SW, ROB–3, room3045, Washington, DC 20202–5344.Telephone (202) 708–8242. If you use atelecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may call the FederalInformation Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339.Individuals with disabilities mayobtain this document in an alternateformat (
e.g.,
Braille, large print,audiotape, or computer diskette) onrequest to the contact person listed inthe preceding paragraph.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
:
On August10, 1999, we published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) for theStudent Assistance General Provisionsin the
Federal Register
(64 FR 43582).In the preamble to the NPRM, wediscussed the following proposedchanges:
•
Amending §668.41 to make theinformation disclosure process moreunderstandable and less burdensome, torequire institutions to provide enrolledstudents a list of the information towhich the students are entitled uponrequest, and to provide for institutions’use of Internet and Intranet websites forthe disclosure of information.
•
Amending §668.42 byincorporating it into §668.41.
•
Amending §668.43 to requireinstitutions to disclose theirrequirements and procedures for astudent to officially withdraw from theinstitution.
•
Amending §668.45 regarding thedisclosure of completion/graduationand transfer-out rate information byimplementing changes made by the1998 Amendments, providing for a July1 annual disclosure date, limiting therequired disclosure of transfer-out ratesto certain institutions, achieving greaterconsistency between term and nonterm-based institutions in establishing acohort, and adding optional disclosures.
•
Amending §668.46 regarding thedisclosure of campus securityinformation to define terms (includingcampus, noncampus buildings orproperty, and public property), byexcluding pastoral or professionalcounselors from the definition of acampus security authority, by addingnew categories of crimes to be reportedand new policies to be disclosed, byclarifying how to compile and depictcrime statistics, by changing the date fordisclosure of the annual security reportto October 1, by requiring certaininstitutions to maintain a publiclyavailable crime log, and by requiringinstitutions annually to submit theircrime statistics to the Department.
•
Amending §668.47 by providing forthe disclosure of additional data aboutrevenues and expenses attributable to aninstitution’s intercollegiate athleticactivities, by clarifying the meaning of various terms, and by requiringinstitutions annually to submit theirEquity in Athletics Disclosure Act(EADA) report to the Department.
•
Amending §668.48 to correspondwith §668.45 concerning the disclosureof completion/graduation and transfer-out rates.
Discussion of Student FinancialAssistance Regulations DevelopmentProcess
The regulations in this documentwere developed through the use of negotiated rulemaking. Section 492 of the HEA requires that, before publishingany proposed regulations to implementprograms under Title IV of the Act, weobtain public involvement in thedevelopment of the proposedregulations. After obtaining advice andrecommendations, we must conduct anegotiated rulemaking process todevelop the proposed regulations. Allproposed regulations must conform toagreements resulting from thenegotiated rulemaking process unlesswe reopen that process or explain anydeparture from the agreements to thenegotiated rulemaking participants.These regulations were published inproposed form on August 10, 1999, inconformance with the consensus of thenegotiated rulemaking committee.Under the committee’s protocols,consensus meant that no member of thecommittee dissented from the agreed-upon language. We invited commentson the proposed regulations bySeptember 15, 1999, and 132 commentswere received. An analysis of thecomments and of the changes in theproposed regulations follows.These regulations reflect the followingchanges to the proposed regulations inresponse to public comment:
•
In §668.43(a)(3), we clarified thatthe requirement that institutionsdisclose when a student must officiallywithdraw from the institution includesthe disclosure of the procedures for astudent to officially withdraw.
•
In §668.46(a) we revised thedefinition of a professional counselor tono longer require that the counselor bean employee of the institution. Inaddition, we revised the definition byreplacing the term ‘‘psychologicalcounseling’’ with the term ‘‘mentalhealth counseling.’’
•
We moved the definition of ‘‘prospective employee’’ from§668.46(a) to §668.41(a).We added §668.46(c)(2) to requireinstitutions to record a crime statistic intheir annual security reports for thecalendar year in which the crime wasreported to a campus security authority.We discuss substantive issues under thesections of the regulations to which theypertain. Generally, we do not addresstechnical and other minor changes and
 
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suggested changes the law does notauthorize us to make.
Analysis of Comments and Changes
Subpart D—Institutional and Financial Assistance Information for Students
These regulations (1) retitle Subpart Dfrom ‘‘Student Consumer InformationServices’’ to ‘‘Institutional and FinancialAssistance Information for Students,’’ toconform the title to that of section 485of the HEA, and (2) renumber thesections.These regulations remove current§668.42 and incorporate it into§668.41. Therefore, these regulationsrenumber current §§668.43–49 as§§668.42–48; the preamble to theseregulations refers to the new sectionnumbers.Questions and Recommendations:Commenters requested guidance onimplementation of the requirements of this subpart and maderecommendations concerning how weshould interpret these regulations orapply them to particular circumstances.As these comments did not request anychanges in the proposed regulations, wewill provide separate guidance at a laterdate.General CommentsThe Secretary should clarify therecord retention requirements that applyto these regulations.
 Discussion:
Section 668.24 of theStudent Assistance General Provisionsoutlines the record retentionrequirements for the student financialassistance programs. Generally, a recordmust be maintained for three yearsfollowing the end of the award year forwhich the record was established. Withrespect to the disclosure of institutionaland financial assistance informationprovided under Subpart D of theStudent Assistance General Provisions,the purpose is for the disclosure of certain information to students andother parties. Therefore, the institutionmust retain any record related to thedisclosure for three years following thedate of disclosure.Using the campus security records asan example, an institution’s annualsecurity report to be disclosed onOctober 1, 2000 must include crimestatistics for calendar years 1997, 1998,and 1999. The record retentionregulations require the institution toretain records to substantiate theinformation in its 2000 report for threeyears from October 1, 2000. Therefore,calendar year 1997 records must beretained until October 1, 2003.
Changes:
None.
Section 668.41Reporting and  Disclosure of InformationComments:
Section 668.41 shouldaddress any information institutionsparticipating in Title IV, HEA programsare required to disclose by anyDepartment of Education regulation, not just information institutions arerequired to disclose by these regulations(34 CFR Part 668, Subpart D).
 Discussion:
Section 668.41 only isintended to address information thatinstitutions are required to disclose bysection 485 of the HEA. We believe thatincluding in §668.41 all informationthat institutions must disclose underany Department regulation isimpractical and would be confusing.
Changes:
None.
Comments:
The Department shouldprovide a chart listing all informationthat institutions must disclose underthese regulations and the persons towhom they must disclose theinformation.
 Discussion:
We believe that §668.41adequately provides the informationsought by this comment. However, wewill provide continuing technicalassistance, including the requestedchart, to institutions to help themunderstand and comply with theseregulations.
Changes:
None.
Comments:
The Department shouldclarify the level of description of required information it expectsinstitutions to provide in the variousnotices of the availability of informationthat are required by §668.41.
 Discussion:
As stated in the preambleto the NPRM (64 FR 43583), thedescription should be sufficient to allowstudents and others to understand thenature of the information and to makeinformed decisions about whether torequest the information. We do notbelieve there is a need to be moreprescriptive in this area.
Changes:
None.
Comments:
Remove the word‘‘freshman’’ from the definition ‘‘first-time, freshman student’’ in §668.41(a),which identifies those students thatinstitutions must include in theircohorts for calculating completion orgraduation rates, and if applicable,transfer-out rates.
 Discussion:
As described in §668.45,institutions must include in theircohorts first-time, certificate- or degree-seeking, full-time undergraduatestudents who never have attended anyinstitution of higher education(including in the cohort those whoenroll in the fall term having attendeda postsecondary institution for the firsttime in the prior summer term or havingearned college credit in high school)regardless of their class standing. Assome members of the cohort may haveadvanced standing, we agree that theuse of the word ‘‘freshman’’ in thedefinition could cause confusion.
Changes:
The term ‘‘first-timefreshman student’’ is replaced by theterm ‘‘first-time, undergraduate student’’wherever it appears in these regulations(§§668.41(a), 668.45(a)(3)(iii), and668.45(a)(4)(i)–(ii)).
Comments:
The definition of ‘‘notice’’in §668.41(a) should not requireinstitutions, in providing the variousnotices of the availability of informationrequired by §668.41, to provide thenotices on a one-to-one basis to personsto whom the information need only beprovided upon request.
 Discussion:
We do not believe thatstudents and others entitled to theinformation will be adequately notifiedof its availability if the notification of itsavailability is made through means thatdo not ensure that each person who isentitled to the notification receives it.The regulation does not prescribe themethod by which institutions mustnotify students and others of theinformation’s availability; the regulationsimply prescribes that the method usedmust provide individualized notice.
Changes:
None.
Comments:
Change §§668.41(c) and(d) to include completion andgraduation rates, and if applicable,transfer-out rates, for athletes under§668.48, among the requireddisclosures of information.
 Discussion:
Section 485(a)(1) of theHEA does not include completion andgraduation rates of athletes in the list of information institutions must provideupon request to enrolled andprospective students. Although section485(e) of the HEA only requiresinstitutions to provide the reportconcerning athletes’ graduation rates toprospective student-athletes and theirparents, high school coaches, andguidance counselors, we encourageinstitutions to provide the report toothers who request it.
Changes:
None.
Comments:
Rather than requiringinstitutions under §668.41(c) annuallyto provide all enrolled students a noticelisting the information to which they areentitled upon request, allow institutionsto tell students, at the time theinstitutions distribute the notice, howoften they will publish the list and howstudents can obtain interim changes tothe list.
 Discussion:
Section 485(a) of the HEAspecifically requires that institutionsprovide the list annually to all enrolledstudents.
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