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

Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 209 / Friday, October 29, 2010 / Rules and Regulations66893WReier-Aviles on DSKGBLS3C1PROD with RULES2withdrawn—should be incorporatedinto the regulations. These commentersbelieved that a student who has earnedcredits in a payment period or period ofenrollment who then ceases attendanceshould not be treated as a withdrawal,as the existing regulations in 34 CFR690.80(b)(2)(ii), requiring recalculationsof title IV, HEA program funds when astudent did not begin attendance in allclasses, are a sufficient safeguard againststudents receiving full or large amountsof title IV, HEA program funds for ashort period of attendance in a programoffered in modules. Two commentersbelieved that the satisfactory academicprogram provisions should be sufficientto prevent long-term abuse by studentsof title IV, HEA program funds.Several commenters suggestedalternative approaches to ensure thatstudents are not receiving title IV, HEAprogram funds for periods in which theyare not in attendance. A fewcommenters believed that a studentattending a certain percentage of thepayment period or period of enrollment(commenters suggested 60 percent)should be deemed to have completed apayment period or period of enrollment.A couple of commenters believed thatthe determination of whether a studentshould be treated as a withdrawalshould be based on credit hourscompleted, rather than days completed,meaning that a student who ceasedattendance would not be treated as awithdrawal as long as the studentcompleted the minimum number ofcredits required to be eligible for aparticular title IV, HEA program. A fewcommenters supported setting aminimum length of a module that mustbe completed, after which a studentwho ceased attendance would not beconsidered to have withdrawn. A fewcommenters suggested requiringinstitutions to award or pay title IV,HEA program funds by module, or todelay payment until a student hasearned enough credits to support theenrollment status necessary foreligibility of the aid. One commentersuggested limiting the amount of titleIV, HEA program funds that can beearned by a student to the lesser ofactual charges or the amount calculatedunder the Return of Title IV Fundsprovisions (i.e., the provisions of§ 668.22). A couple of commentersbelieved an institution should be able toexercise professional judgment or use itsown discretion to determine whether astudent has truly withdrawn from class.One commenter suggested that, forclock-hour and nonterm programs, astudent be considered to havewithdrawn if the student had not beenin attendance for 35 consecutive daysand had not completed the paymentperiod or period of enrollment.One commenter believed that theproposed changes addressingcompletion of a payment period orperiod of enrollment by students inclock-hour programs were incorrect asall determinations of title IV, HEAprogram funds earned by students whowithdraw from clock-hour programs aidare based on scheduled hours, and thechanges referred to clock hourscompleted.Discussion: We note that these finalregulations do not change howinstitutions are currently required totreat students when they withdraw fromprograms offered in modules (i.e.,sequentially) in nonterm credit-hourprograms, and some nonstandard-termcredit-hour programs. The Secretarybelieves that the approach proposed inthe NPRM treats students moreequitably across all programs byeliminating the major differences in thetreatment of students who withdrawfrom term-based and nonterm-basedprograms offered in modules and,therefore, is a better approach thanbasing the determination of completionof a payment period or period ofenrollment on completion of onecourse/module, even if a minimumlength of such a course/module wereset. In addition, this approach moreaccurately reflects the statutoryrequirement in section 484B(a)(1) of theHEA that applies the Return of Title IVFunds requirements to any recipient oftitle IV, HEA program funds who‘‘withdraws from an institution during apayment period or period of enrollmentin which the student began attendance’’and the fact that title IV, HEA programfunds are awarded for an entire paymentperiod or period of enrollment. Some ofthe alternatives suggested by thecommenters—determining completionbased on attendance of a certainpercentage of the payment period orperiod of enrollment; using credit hourscompleted, instead of days completed;delaying awarding or paying title IV,HEA program funds; equating unearnedaid to actual charges; and leaving thedetermination of completion of theperiod up to institutional discretion—are not supported by the HEA, whichrequires in section 484B(a) that studentsearn title IV, HEA program funds on apro rata basis up through the 60 percentpoint of a period based on dayscompleted, for credit-hour programs,and clock hours completed, for clockhourprograms. Completing more than60 percent of the period then entitles astudent to have earned 100 percent ofthe funds for the period. The lawVerDate Mar2010 14:10 Oct 28, 2010 Jkt 223001 PO 00000 Frm 00063 Fmt 4701 Sfmt 4700 E:\FR\FM\29OCR2.SGM 29OCR2therefore does not permit the alternativemeasures of when a student may keep100 percent of the title IV, HEA programfunds that were suggested by thecommenters.The Secretary agrees that it isreasonable to allow an institution not totreat as a withdrawal a student whoceases attendance during a paymentperiod or period of enrollment, butintends to attend a course later in thepayment period or period of enrollment.This position is consistent with theguidance provided in the Department’sDear Colleague Letter of December 2000,GEN–00–24, Return of Title IV Aid-Volume #1, for the treatment of title IV,HEA program funds when a studentwithdraws without completing at leastone course in a payment period orperiod of enrollment. These finalregulations have been modified toincorporate this policy and provide thata student is not considered to havewithdrawn if the student ceasedattending the modules he or she wasscheduled to attend, but the institutionobtains a written confirmation from thestudent at the time of the withdrawalthat he or she will attend a module thatbegins later in the same payment periodor period of enrollment. This willprovide more flexibility for a studentwho provides the authorization. Thisconfirmation must be obtained at thetime of withdrawal, even if the studenthas already registered for subsequentcourses. However, these finalregulations provide that, for nontermand nonstandard-term programs, aconfirmation is valid only if the modulethe student plans to attend begins nolater than 45 calendar days after the endof the module the student ceasedattending. If the institution has notobtained a written confirmation that thestudent intends to return to a nontermor nonstandard-term program within 45calendar days of the end of the modulethe student ceased attending, thestudent is considered to havewithdrawn. A student who has providedwritten confirmation of his or her intentto return is permitted to change the dateof return to a module that begins evenlater in the same payment period orperiod of enrollment, provided that thestudent does so in writing prior to thereturn date that he or she hadpreviously confirmed, and, for nontermand nonstandard-term programs, thelater module that he or she will attendbegins no later than 45 calendar daysafter the end of the module the studentceased attending. If an institutionobtains a written confirmation of futureattendance but the student does notreturn as scheduled, the student is