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

WReier-Aviles on DSKGBLS3C1PROD with RULES266896 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 209 / Friday, October 29, 2010 / Rules and Regulationsreturn. If the answer is no, this is awithdrawal.Take, for example, a student who is arecipient of title IV, HEA program fundswho is scheduled to complete twocourses in each of the first two of threemodules within the payment period.Scenario 1: The student beginsattendance in both courses in the firstmodule, but ceases to attend bothcourses after just a few days and doesnot confirm that he will return to anycourses in modules two or three. Thestudent is a withdrawal because he orshe ceased to attend courses he or shewas scheduled to attend (Yes toquestion 1); was not still attending anyother courses (No to question 2); anddid not confirm attendance in a coursein a module beginning later in theperiod (No to question 3).Scenario 2: If, however, the studentbegins attendance in both courses in thefirst module, but drops just one of thecourses after just a few days, the studentis not a withdrawal. Although thestudent ceased to attend a course he orshe was scheduled to attend (Yes toquestion 1), the student was stillattending another course (Yes toquestion 2).Scenario 3: If the student completesboth courses in module one, butofficially drops both courses in moduletwo while still attending the courses inmodule one, the student is not awithdrawal. Because the studentofficially dropped both courses inmodule two before they began, thestudent did not cease to attend or fail tobegin attendance in a course he or shewas scheduled to attend (No to question1). However, because the student didnot begin attendance in all courses,other regulatory provisions concerningrecalculation may apply.Changes: None.Comment: Several commenters askedthe Department to clarify what it meansto ‘‘complete all the days’’ or ‘‘completeall of the clock hours’’ in a paymentperiod or period of enrollment. Morespecifically, commenters asked ifstudents would be required to attendevery day of every course, or be inattendance on the last day of thepayment period or period of enrollment.Some of the commenters noted that, dueto individual student schedules,students do not attend all days in thepayment period or period of enrollment.Commenters were concerned that astudent who was not in attendance onthe last day of the payment periodwould be counted as a withdrawal. Toaddress this concern, one commentersuggested that the wording of theregulations be changed to say that astudent is considered to havewithdrawn from a payment period orperiod of enrollment if the student doesnot complete substantially all of thedays in the payment period or period ofenrollment.Some of the commenters asked howlimited absences (for example, forillness), incompletes, and leaves ofabsence would be treated. Commentersalso asked if a student is considered tohave completed a course in a paymentperiod or period of enrollment if thestudent received a grade for that courseor, for a clock-hour program, earns allthe clock hours for the course,regardless of absences. A couple of thecommenters asked if the definition ofwhat it means to complete all the daysor complete all the clock hours wouldaffect in-school deferments for title IV,HEA program loans. Some commentersasked under what circumstances aninstitution would have to prove that thestudent attended all days in a periodand what documentation wouldconstitute that proof. Commenters askedif the issue would arise only if all of astudent’s grades are Fs or if it becomesotherwise apparent that the student hasceased attendance without formallywithdrawing. A few commenterswanted to know how intersessions—aperiod of time between terms whencourses are offered—would be handled.A few commenters asked theDepartment to clarify what the length ofthe payment period or period ofenrollment is when performing a Returnof Title IV Funds calculation for awithdrawn student who was notscheduled to attend courses over theentire term and how an institutionwould determine whether the studenthas completed more than 60 percent ofthe payment period or period ofenrollment (i.e., earned all of his or hertitle IV, HEA program funds). Onecommenter believed there would be nopossible way for an institution todetermine the days the student wasscheduled to attend for an on-line classthat is self-paced as there are no‘‘scheduled days’’ in a self-pacedprogram.Discussion: Section 668.22(f)(1)(i) hasalways required an institution todetermine the days in the paymentperiod or period of enrollment that werecompleted by a student who withdrawsfrom a program offered in credit hoursin order to determine the percentage ofthe payment period or period ofenrollment completed by the student.These final regulations do not changewhat it means to complete days forcredit-hour programs, or clock hours forclock-hour programs, for purposes of thedetermination of the amount of aidearned by a student who withdrawsVerDate Mar2010 14:10 Oct 28, 2010 Jkt 223001 PO 00000 Frm 00066 Fmt 4701 Sfmt 4700 E:\FR\FM\29OCR2.SGM 29OCR2from a program, nor do they change aninstitution’s responsibility for having aprocedure for determining whether atitle IV recipient who began attendanceduring a period completed the period orshould be treated as a withdrawal. TheDepartment does not require that aninstitution use a specific procedure formaking this determination; however, wehave provided guidance to assistinstitutions in making thesedeterminations. For example, consistentwith the Department’s guidanceprovided in its Dear Colleague Letter ofNovember 2004, GEN–04–12, Return ofTitle IV Aid, an institution maypresume a student completed the periodin a program offered in modules if thestudent did not officially withdraw fromthe institution and received a passinggrade in all courses the student wasscheduled to attend during the period.If a student in a program offered inmodules does not receive a passinggrade in the last course or courses he orshe was scheduled to attend, theinstitution must otherwise demonstratethat the student completed the period,which can sometimes be done using theinstitution’s grading policy if the failinggrades reflect whether the studentparticipated in those courses. Consistentwith current requirements, if a studentis determined to have withdrawn froman institution under § 668.22, thestudent is no longer considered to beenrolled and in attendance at aninstitution and, therefore, is ineligiblefor an in-school deferment and must bereported by the institution as awithdrawal for this purpose (34 CFR674.34(b)(1)(i) and 34 CFR685.204(b)(1)(i)(A)).Consistent with the guidanceprovided in the Department’s DearColleague 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, to determinewhether the percentage of the paymentperiod or period of enrollmentcompleted for a student who withdrawsfrom a program offered in modules, theinstitution would include in thedenominator (the total number ofcalendar days in the payment period orperiod of enrollment) all the days in themodules the student was scheduled toattend, except for scheduled breaks of atleast five consecutive days and dayswhen the student was on an approvedleave of absence. The numerator wouldinclude the number of the total days inthe payment period or period ofenrollment that the student has