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

66848 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 209 / Friday, October 29, 2010 / Rules and RegulationsWReier-Aviles on DSKGBLS3C1PROD with RULES2institution. In cases where the amountof credit hours assigned to a program issignificantly overstated, the Secretarymay fine the institution or limit,suspend, or terminate its participationin Federal programs.Changes: None.Comment: Some commenters believedthat the proposed credit-hour definitionwould alter institutions’ current creditassignments and courses. A few of thesecommenters believed that a Federaldefinition of a credit hour sets anexpectation that institutions shouldassign additional credit to courses if thework exceeds the amount defined in theproposed definition. One commenterbelieved that the proposed definitionwould increase the amount of class timethat students are required to complete inorder to earn credit. Another commenterbelieved that the proposed definitioncould cause institutions to increasecourses’ lecture or theory content anddecrease hands-on training.One commenter believed that theproposed credit-hour definition wouldforce accrediting agencies to imposehomework requirements on vocationalinstitutions.Discussion: The credit-hour definitiondoes not require institutions to altertheir assignment of credit to courses foracademic purposes; however,institutions have the responsibility todemonstrate that credit hours assignedto courses for Federal program purposesadhere to the minimum standards of thecredit-hour definition in § 600.2. If aninstitution determines that its currentassignment of credits to its programs forFederal program purposes does notsatisfy the minimum standards in theregulation, the institution will eitherhave to reduce the credits associatedwith the program, increase the workrequired for the program, or both.There is no requirement forinstitutions to assign additional credit tocourses if the amount of work exceedsthe amount described in paragraph (1)of the credit-hour definition. We haverevised the credit-hour definition in§ 600.2 to clarify that the amount ofwork described in paragraph (1)represents a minimum acceptable levelof academic activity for which creditcan be awarded to constitute a credithour for Federal purposes. Institutionsmay use their discretion to assignadditional credit if the amount of workfor a course justifies such an assignmentof credit in accordance with § 600.2.There is no requirement under thecredit-hour definition that would forceaccrediting agencies to imposehomework requirements on vocationalinstitutions. In general, institutions willbe assessed to determine if they haveestablished credit hours for title IV,HEA program purposes that meet atleast the minimum standards in theregulation. Unless the program issubject to the credit-to-clock-hourconversion requirements in § 668.8(l)and (k), an institution would berequired to determine the appropriatecredit hours in accordance withparagraphs (1) and (2) of the credit-hourdefinition in § 600.2 of these finalregulations for a program or courseworkin a program that has no student workoutside the classroom.Changes: We have revised the credithourdefinition in § 600.2 to clarify thatthe amount of work specified inparagraph (1) is a minimum standardand that there is no requirement for thestandard to be exceeded.Comment: One commenter believedthat the proposed provisions in § 600.2did not appropriately address facultyworkloads or faculty time in class.Discussion: We do not believe that§ 600.2 should address facultyworkloads or faculty time in class asthese issues are institutionaladministrative considerations outsidethe scope of these final regulationswhich set minimum standards for themeasurement of credit hours.Changes: None.Comment: One commenter questionedwhy the proposed credit-hourregulations did not address § 668.9which provides in paragraph (b) that apublic or private nonprofit hospitalbasedschool of nursing that awards adiploma at the completion of theschool’s program of education is notrequired to apply the formula containedin § 668.8(l) to determine the number ofsemester, trimester, or quarter hours inthat program for purposes of calculatingTitle IV, HEA program funds. Thiscommenter questioned whether forprofithospital-based nursing programswould be subject to the proposedprovisions in § 668.8(k) and (l).Discussion: Section 481A of the HEAand § 668.9(b) specify that anyregulations promulgated by theSecretary concerning the relationshipbetween clock hours and semester,trimester, or quarter hours in calculatingstudent grant, loan, or work assistanceunder the title IV, HEA programs do notapply to a public or private nonprofithospital-based school of nursing thatawards a diploma at the completion ofthe school’s program of education.Changes: None.Comment: One commenter believedthat institutions would need anaccrediting or State agency’s review oftheir programs’ compliance with theproposed credit-hour definition in§ 600.2. The commenter believed thatVerDate Mar2010 14:10 Oct 28, 2010 Jkt 223001 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 4701 Sfmt 4700 E:\FR\FM\29OCR2.SGM 29OCR2the regulations are unclear on howprograms should operate in the interim.One commenter expressed concernthat waiting for accrediting agencies torevise their standards after the proposedregulations are finalized would bedetrimental to institutions offeringprograms in alternative formats.One commenter believed thatinstitutions will be developing newcredit policies and should be affordedan adjustment period to receive andreact to guidance from State agencies ontheir credit assignment policies.Discussion: The provisions in§§ 602.24 and 603.24 provide that aninstitution must have a process forassigning credit that meets itsaccrediting agency’s or State agency’sstandards, as well as, the credit-hourdefinition in § 600.2. An institution’scredit assignment process is subject toreview by its accrediting agency or, insome cases, a State agency recognizedunder 34 CFR part 603. We believe thatinstitutions already have processes forassigning credit and, to the extent thatthese existing processes do not complywith these final regulations, institutionswill need to revise their creditassignments to comply with the credithourdefinition in these final regulationsfor Federal program purposes. Duringthe interim period between the effectivedate of these regulations and anaccrediting agency’s or State agency’sreview of institutions’ compliance withthe credit-hour definition in § 600.2, aninstitution is responsible andaccountable for ensuring that its credithourassignments conform to theprovisions of the credit-hour definitionin § 600.2 of these final regulations andthat its processes are in accord with itsdesignated accrediting agency’s orrecognized State agency’s requirements.Changes: None.Out-of-Class Student WorkComment: Several commenters didnot agree with the component ofproposed paragraph (1) of the credithourdefinition related to student workoutside of class. A few commentersbelieved that an institution cannotdetermine how much time studentsspend on work outside of class and thatquantifying work outside of the classdoes not account for variations instudents’ learning abilities and styles.One commenter believed that theSecretary’s proposed credit-hourdefinition did not take into account thenature of different courses. Thiscommenter believed that certain coursesrequire more direct faculty instructionand supervision while other coursesmay require more study outside of theclassroom.