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

Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 209 / Friday, October 29, 2010 / Rules and Regulations66887WReier-Aviles on DSKGBLS3C1PROD with RULES2to degree completion under aninstitution’s academic criteria. TheDepartment also wishes to clarify thatthe 150 percent maximum timeframeapplies only to the student’s currentprogram of study. Under theseregulations, institutions retain flexibilityto define their programs of study intheir SAP policy, as well as how theywill determine how previously takencoursework applies to the student’scurrent program of study.Changes: None.NotificationComment: Several commentersrequested clarification of thenotification requirement in§ 668.34(a)(11). Specifically, thesecommenters questioned whether thisprovision would require institutions tonotify all students or only those whowere not making SAP.Discussion: Proposed § 668.34(a)(11)only requires institutions to notifystudents of the results of their SAPevaluation if the results affect thestudent’s eligibility to receive title IV,HEA aid. Institutions are not required tonotify students who are making SAP ofthe results of the evaluation.Changes: None.Evaluating the Validity of High SchoolDiplomas (§ 668.16(p))High School Diploma (§ 668.16(p))The Department received over 100submissions about the new high schooldiploma regulation. Most of thesesupported our proposed changes, eitherwith little or no qualification, or withsuggested modifications and concerns.Others offered suggestions and concernswithout explicitly supporting theproposed regulation.We noted in the preamble to theNPRM that the Department intends toadd questions on the Free Applicationfor Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) askingfor the name of the high school thestudent graduated from and the Statewhere the school is located. The 2011–2012 FAFSA will have one questionwith three fields. Students who indicatethat they will have a high schooldiploma when they begin college for the2011–2012 year are instructed toprovide the name of the high schoolwhere they received or will receive thatdiploma and the city and state wherethe school is located. In the onlineapplication, FAFSA on the Web,students will not be allowed to skip thisquestion, though for 2011–2012 it willonly be presented to first-timeundergraduate students. There will be adrop-down list of both public andprivate high schools, populated by theNational Center for Education Statistics(NCES), within the Department ofEducation, from which most studentswill be able to select the high schoolthat awarded them a diploma. Studentswho cannot find their school and thosewho complete a paper FAFSA will writein the name, city, and State of their highschool. It is important to note that theabsence of a high school on the dropdownlist does not mean that the highschool the student indicated he or shegraduated from is not legitimate. It justmeans that the school was not includedin the NCES list. Similarly, theinclusion of a high school on the dropdownlist does not necessarily meanthat the high school is legitimate.In addition to the information in thefollowing discussions, we will providemore guidance on implementing§ 668.16(p), as necessary, in DearColleague Letters, electronicannouncements, and the FederalStudent Aid Handbook.Comment: Several commentersobserved that many institutions alreadyperform some kind of high schoolevaluation as part of their admissionprocess, and one noted that because ofthis, it is appropriate for the Departmentto establish regulations requiring thevalidation of high school diplomas. Onecommenter appreciated that proposed§ 668.16(p) would help institutionswhen they are challenged by students orhigh school diploma mills for lookinginto the validity of high schooldiplomas. Another commenter notedthat a list of ‘‘good’’ high schools wouldbe valuable for students in decidingwhether they would want to obtain adiploma from a given source. Anothercommenter opined that theidentification of suspect schoolsbenefits students.Discussion: We appreciate the supportof these commenters. The list of schoolsthat will appear on FAFSA on the Webis meant only as an aid for students incompleting the FAFSA. It is not a list of‘‘good’’ schools, and it may happen thatan institution will need to evaluate thediploma from one of these schools.Also, a school that does not appear onthe list should not be inferred to be‘‘bad.’’ The intent of new § 668.16(p) isto have institutions develop a processfor evaluating the legitimacy of astudent’s claim to have completed highschool and not to have simplypurchased a document that purportsthey completed a high schoolcurriculum. Under this provision,institutions must develop and followprocedures to evaluate the validity of astudent’s high school completion if theinstitution or the Secretary has reason tosuspect the legitimacy of the diploma.VerDate Mar2010 14:10 Oct 28, 2010 Jkt 223001 PO 00000 Frm 00057 Fmt 4701 Sfmt 4700 E:\FR\FM\29OCR2.SGM 29OCR2Changes: None.Comment: Many commentersrequested that the Department provideinstitutions with clear guidance on howto review the validity of high schooldiplomas and that it provide thisguidance as soon as possible. Although,as noted previously, many institutionsreview high school credentials, onelarge college noted that there are nocommon practices for these types ofreviews and asked that the Departmentdelay the effective date of thisregulatory requirement if it is unable torelease the needed guidance far enoughin advance of July 1, 2011. Thiscommenter stated that such a delaywould be needed for schools to haveenough time to create their proceduresand train their employees on followingthe procedures. One commenter askedwhat the effect of this requirementwould be on the student’s eligibility fortitle IV, HEA program assistance whenan institution is unable to determinewhether a given diploma is valid.Discussion: There is no plan to delaythe implementation of § 668.16(p). Asnoted earlier in this discussion, moreguidance will be forthcoming aboutevaluating the validity of high schooldiplomas, and many institutions havebeen evaluating the validity of highschool diplomas for years. Weencourage financial aid administrators(FAAs) to consult with each other inthis matter, which can be especiallyuseful for similar types of institutions inthe same State, where differing levels ofoversight by State departments ofeducation will have a significant effecton what procedures an institution mightestablish.With respect to the comment askingabout student eligibility for title IV,HEA program assistance when aninstitution is unable to determinewhether the student’s diploma is valid,we note that there are alternatives forthe student to establish aid eligibilityunder § 668.32(e), such as passing anATB test, or completing six credits ofcollege coursework that apply to aprogram at the current school.Changes: None.Comment: Various commenters eitherrequested that we create a list offraudulent or ‘‘bad’’ high schools orasked if we planned to do so. Manycommenters asked that we makeavailable both a list of ‘‘bad’’ highschools and a list of acceptable schoolsand that we update them frequently,some suggesting at least quarterly. Somecommenters requested that the effectivedate for this regulatory provision bedelayed until at least 2012–2013 so theDepartment can have a complete list ofacceptable schools and can address