Office of Postsecondary Education - U.S. Department of Education

WReier-Aviles on DSKGBLS3C1PROD with RULES266934 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 209 / Friday, October 29, 2010 / Rules and Regulationsand the amount from institutionalfinancing plans that the student owesthe institution after completing theprogram, and whether the studentmatriculated to a higher credentialedprogram at the same or anotherinstitution will average .08 hours (5minutes) per student or 26,033 hours ofincreased burden for the 2009–2010award year.We estimate that 33,627 of the567,334 students will complete theirprogram at a private not-for-profitinstitution. We estimate that thereporting of student identifierinformation, the location of theinstitution the student attended, the CIPcodes for each graduate, the date ofcompletion, the amounts the studentreceived from private education loansand the amount from institutionalfinancing plans that the student owesthe institution after completing theprogram, and whether the studentmatriculated to a higher credentialedprogram at the same or anotherinstitution will average .08 hours (5minutes) per student or 2,690 hours ofincreased burden during the 2009–2010award year.We estimate that 208,291 of the567,334 students will complete theirprogram at a public institution duringthe 2009–2010 award year. We estimatethat the reporting of student identifierinformation, the location of theinstitution the student attended, the CIPcodes for each graduate, the date ofcompletion, the amounts the studentreceived from private education loansand the amount from institutionalfinancing plans that the student owesthe institution after completing theprogram, and whether the studentmatriculated to a higher credentialedprogram at the same or anotherinstitution will average .08 hours (5minutes) per student or 16,663 hours ofincreased burden for the 2009–2010award year.Collectively, we estimate that burdenfor institutions to meet these reportingrequirements for students who beginattendance or complete theiroccupational programs that trainstudents for gainful employment in arecognized occupation will increaseburden by 658,758 hours in OMBControl Number 1845–NEW1.Finally, under § 668.6(b) aninstitution will be required to discloseto each prospective student informationabout (1) The occupations (by namesand Standard Occupational Code (SOC)codes) that its programs preparestudents to enter, along with links tooccupational profiles on O*NET or itssuccessor site, or if the number ofoccupations related to the program onO*Net is more than ten (10), theinstitution may provide Web links to arepresentative sample of SOC codes forwhich its graduates typically findemployment within a few years aftercompleting their program; (2) the ontimegraduation rate for studentsentering the program; (3) the totalamount of tuition and fees it charges astudent for completing the programwithin normal time as defined in§ 668.41(a), the typical costs for booksand supplies, and the cost of room andboard, if applicable. The institution mayinclude information on other costs, suchas transportation and living expenses,but it must provide a Web link, oraccess, to the program cost informationthe institution makes available under§ 668.43(a); (4) beginning on July 1,2011, the placement rate for studentscompleting the program, as determinedunder the institution’s accreditingagency or State requirements, until anew placement rate methodology isdeveloped by the National Center forEducation Statistics (NCES) andreported to the institution; and (5) themedian loan debt incurred by studentswho completed the program as providedby the Secretary, as well as any otherinformation the Secretary provided tothe institution about that program. Theinstitution must identify separately themedian loan debt from title IV, HEAprograms and the median loan debtfrom private educational loans andinstitutional financing plans.We estimate that of the 5,601institutions with these occupationalprograms that 1,950, or 35%, areproprietary institutions. We estimatethat of the 5,601 with theseoccupational programs that 1,736, or31%, are private not-for-profitinstitutions. We estimate that of the5,601 with these occupational programsthat 1,915, or 34%, are publicinstitutions. Because under the reviseddisclosure requirements, institutionsmay use a representative sample of SOCcodes and use placement rate dataalready required by their accreditingagency or State, or data that will beprovided by the Department, weestimate that on average, it will take 1.5hours for an institution to obtain therequired disclosure information fromO*Net and its own programmatic costinformation and to provide thatinformation on its Web site and in itspromotional materials. Therefore, weestimate that burden for 1,950proprietary institutions will increase by2,925 hours. We estimate that burdenfor 1,736 private not-for-profitinstitutions will increase by 2,604hours. We estimate that burden forVerDate Mar2010 14:10 Oct 28, 2010 Jkt 223001 PO 00000 Frm 00104 Fmt 4701 Sfmt 4700 E:\FR\FM\29OCR2.SGM 29OCR21,915 public institutions will increaseby 2,873 hours.Collectively, we estimate that burdenfor institutions to meet these disclosurerequirements for prospective studentswill increase burden by 8,402 hours inOMB Control Number 1845–NEW1.We estimate the total burden underthis section to increase by 677,160 hoursin OMB Control Number 1845–NEW1.Section 668.8—Eligible ProgramUnder S668.8(l)(1), we will revise themethod of converting clock hours tocredit hours to use a ratio of theminimum clock hours in an academicyear to the minimum credit hours in anacademic year, i.e., 900 clock hours to24 semester or trimester hours or 36quarter hours. Thus, a semester ortrimester hour will be based on at least37.5 clock hours, and a quarter hourwill be based on at least 25 clock hours.Section 668.8(l)(2) will create anexception to the conversion ratio in§ 668.8(l)(1) if neither an institution’sdesignated accrediting agency nor therelevant State licensing authority forparticipation in the title IV, HEAprograms determines there are anydeficiencies in the institution’s policies,procedures, and practices forestablishing the credit hours that theinstitution awards for programs andcourses, as defined in § 600.2. Under theexception provided by § 668.8(l)(2), aninstitution will be permitted to combinestudents’ work outside of class with theclock-hours of instruction in order tomeet or exceed the numericrequirements established in§ 668.8(l)(1). However, under§ 668.8(l)(2), the institution will need touse at least 30 clock hours for a semesteror trimester hour or 20 clock hours fora quarter hour.In determining whether there isoutside work that a student mustperform, the analysis will need to takeinto account differences in courseworkand educational activities within theprogram. Some portions of a programmay require student work outside ofclass that justifies the application of§ 668.8(l)(2). In addition, the applicationof § 668.8(l)(2) could vary within aprogram depending on variances inrequired student work outside of classfor different portions of the program.Other portions of the program may nothave outside work, and § 668.8(l)(1) willneed to be applied. Of course, aninstitution applying only § 668.8(l)(1) toa program eligible for conversion fromclock hours to credit hours, without ananalysis of the program’s coursework,will be considered compliant with therequirements of § 668.8(l).