Tag: Financial Aid

New ED Audit Guide Now Requires Extensive Gainful Employment Compliance Testing

Kate Lee Carey, Jonathon Glass and Joseph Mensah

Gainful Employment data reporting is the topic for the third post in our Audit Guide series. For the first time ED is requiring that independent audit firms conduct extensive testing relating to Gainful Employment data reporting and mandated disclosures as part of their annual Title IV compliance audits.

ED’s New Audit Guide Mandates Greater Scrutiny of Compensation Practices under the “Incentive Compensation” Rule

Blain Butner

The second post of our Audit Guide series focuses on the incentive compensation rule. The new Audit Guide requirements significantly expand the review required by auditors to assure compliance with the incentive compensation rule.

New ED Audit Guide Means Compliance Audits Will Be More Expansive, More Expensive

Blain Butner and Rebecca Flake

The new Audit Guide for Title IV compliance audits includes numerous, expanded requirements for accounting firms to use in conducting required annual audits. The Audit Guide applies to Title IV compliance audits for fiscal years ending June 30, 2017 or later for for-profit higher education institutions and for third-party servicers that administer any aspect of the Title IV programs on behalf of any postsecondary institutions.

Cooley Team at NASFAA

Blain Butner, Marjorie Arrington, Rebecca Flake, Pat Dickerson, Kate Lee Carey, Naomi Harralson May and Joseph Mensah

The 2017 NASFAA National Conference is June 26-29 in San Diego, California. The annual NASFAA conference brings together 2,500+ student aid professionals from across the nation. Members of the Cooley team will be presenting throughout the conference.

All Institutions Face New Risks Under ED’s Final Borrower Defense Rule

Jonathon Glass, Mike Goldstein and Kate Lee Carey

BDTR is likely to be one of the final major regulatory initiatives under the Obama administration, and one that will be in pre-effective date status on January 20th when Donald Trump becomes President.

What Independent Colleges Need to Know About the Forthcoming BDTR Rules

Kate Lee Carey, Jonathon Glass and Naomi Harralson May

Before the end of this month, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) is expected to issue a new set of regulations to provide students and former students with expanded rights to avoid having to repay their federal loans based on certain acts or omissions of the institutions they attended.

ED Issues Sweeping Proposed Rules on Borrower Defense

Jonathon Glass, Mike Goldstein and Kate Lee Carey

Almost four months after the marathon negotiated rulemaking ended in March without consensus, the US Department of Education (ED) has released a massive Notice of Proposed Rulemaking describing how it plans to refocus the rules governing the Borrower Defense to Repayment (BDTR) provision of the Higher Education Act (HEA).

Rulemaking Panel Proposes Process for Student Debt Forgiveness Under BDTR

Jonathon Glass, Mike Goldstein and Kate Lee Carey

This memo discusses the proposed process for students to file claims to have their federal loans forgiven, as well as the role of institutions in that process, under the Final Draft of the BDTR Rule.

New Student Debt Standards Could Allow Massive Loan Forgiveness

Jonathon Glass, Mike Goldstein and Kate Lee Carey

This memo discusses the new federal standards for students to have their federal loans forgiven under the Final Draft of the BDTR Rule. 

Negotiations on New Defense to Repayment Rules Fail: It’s All Up to ED Now

Jonathon Glass, Mike Goldstein, Kate Lee Carey and Vince Sampson

Following a highly charged, often contentious three days of debate, the third session of the Negotiated Rulemaking on Borrower Defense to Repayment (DTR) ended as it started, without consensus. The Department of Education (ED) is now free to promulgate the regulations it wants, entirely independent of the DTR negotiations.

ED Adds New Letter of Credit Requirements to Student Loan Negotiations

Jonathon Glass and Kate Lee Carey

The US Department of Education and appointed negotiators representing higher education and legal groups are preparing for the second round of negotiations to expand the “Borrower Defense to Repayment” regulations, with the next session to run from Wednesday, February 17 through Friday, February 19.

ED Issues New Incentive Compensation Guidance

Blain Butner

At the end of November, the US Department of Education (ED) issued important new guidance regarding its incentive compensation regulations, which ED says “clarifies and provides additional information” about part of the rules.