[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 79 (Tuesday, April 25, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20326-20327]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-10101]
[[Page 20325]]
_______________________________________________________________________
Part IV
Department of Education
_______________________________________________________________________
Postsecondary Education: Federal Student Assistance Programs Under
Title IV; Experimental Sites; Notice
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 79 / Tuesday, April 25, 1995 /
Notices
[[Page 20326]]
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Federal Student Assistance Programs Under Title IV of the Higher
Education Act of 1965, as Amended
AGENCY: Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice inviting proposals for experimental sites.
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SUMMARY: The Secretary invites institutions of higher education to
propose new ways of administering the student assistance programs
authorized by Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended
(HEA). Under section 487A(d) of the HEA, if the Secretary approves an
institution as an experimental site as a part of this student aid
reform initiative, he may exempt the institution from any Title IV
statutory or regulatory requirement that would bias experimental
results. The Secretary anticipates approving approximately 50
experiments in the first phase of this initiative and more after those
experiments are in place. The Secretary establishes no regulatory
requirements for the proposals invited by this notice.
DATES: Proposals may be submitted in response to this notice at any
time after April 25, 1995.
ADDRESSES: Jeffrey S. Baker, U.S. Department of Education, 600
Independence Avenue, SW (Room 3042, ROB-3), Washington, DC 20202.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeffrey S. Baker, telephone: (202)
708-9261. Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf
(TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-
877-8339 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern time, Monday through
Friday.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Over the course of the past year, the Department of Education has
made progress in simplifying regulations and administrative processes
for the Federal student assistance programs authorized by Title IV of
the HEA. Regulatory burden on institutions, students, and families has
been reduced, and institutional flexibility in meeting legal
requirements has been increased.
During the coming months, the Secretary will undertake a series of
additional initiatives to free institutions of higher education from
administrative burdens that unnecessarily draw resources away from
their educational mission. With this notice, the Secretary invites
proposals to reinvent the administration of Federal student assistance
programs through the use of the experimental sites authority. At the
same time, at the direction of the President, the Secretary is
conducting a page-by-page review of all student financial assistance
regulations to identify those that should be modified or eliminated. On
the basis of these two initiatives, as well as the Department's
continuing dialogue with the higher education community, the Secretary
will also consider developing proposals for statutory amendments to
eliminate unnecessary administrative burden. Finally, the Secretary
will increase the flexibility and expand the scope of the Department's
Institutional Quality Assurance Program, which employs a cycle of
assessment, improvement, and preventive actions in the administration
of Title IV programs.
The invitation for proposals in this notice is a part of the
Secretary's effort to reform Title IV program administration in
partnership with the higher education community. The community has
given the Department the benefit of its views in a variety of ways
during the past year--in negotiated rulemaking, in comments on proposed
rules, at a series of regional meetings, and in numerous informal
discussions. The community's views were indispensable to the reforms
that the Department has undertaken to date. It is the Secretary's hope
that the community will address issues of program administration that
remain to be resolved in the proposals invited by this notice.
Invitation for Proposals
The Secretary invites institutions of higher education that
administer one or more Title IV programs to submit one or more
proposals to participate as ``experimental sites'' under section
487A(d) of the HEA. This section authorizes the Secretary to select
institutions for voluntary participation in experiments to test new
ways of administering the student assistance programs. The Secretary is
further authorized to exempt a participating institution from any Title
IV statutory or regulatory requirement that would bias experimental
results.
The Secretary establishes no regulatory requirements for the
proposals invited by this notice. It is the Secretary's hope that this
approach will encourage institutions to develop truly innovative
strategies that relieve unnecessary burden, maintain program
accountability, and inform the Department's future efforts to improve
Title IV program administration. If these experimental strategies prove
successful, the Secretary intends to incorporate them into Title IV
program regulations or, if appropriate, legislative proposals.
Submission of Proposals
Any institution that administers a Title IV program, or a group of
these institutions, may submit a proposal in response to this notice at
any time by mailing the proposal to Jeffrey S. Baker at the address
provided at the beginning of this notice or by faxing it to him at
(202) 205-0786. Early submission is encouraged, as the Secretary
anticipates that the review of proposals will begin within 60 days of
the date of this notice; however, proposals that are received later
will also be considered.
The Secretary particularly invites proposals from institutions that
are participating in the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct
Loan) Program. The availability of comprehensive and timely management
information under the Direct Loan Program permits effective monitoring,
evaluation, and adjustment of administrative practices by participating
institutions. The Secretary encourages these institutions to develop
proposals that take advantage of this capability. Similarly, the
Secretary encourages proposals from institutions that are participating
in the Department's Institutional Quality Assurance Program and have
developed their own comprehensive systems to identify and remedy
problems in the administration of Title IV programs.
The Secretary emphasizes that the Department seeks to approve
proposals for innovative approaches in a variety of different areas.
Since the Secretary anticipates approving only a small number of
different experimental solutions to any one problem, he encourages
institutions to collaborate in the development of proposals and to
submit proposals together.
To aid in the Department's review of proposals, the Secretary
suggests, but does not require, that a proposal be in the range of two
to eight pages and that it answer the following questions:
What problem experienced by the institution or its students,
or both, does the proposal address?
What is the institution's proposed solution to that problem?
From which specific statutory or regulatory requirements does
the institution seek relief in order to test its proposed solution?
What performance measures or alternative actions does the
institution propose to use to fulfill the underlying purpose of the
requirements from which relief is sought? [[Page 20327]]
For what period is the experiment proposed?
When and how will the results of the experiment be reported
to the Department?
For an experiment proposed by a group of institutions, how
will the group monitor and aggregate the results of the experiment?
The following examples illustrate the elements of the proposals
solicited by this notice. The problems addressed by the examples were
selected because they have been the subject of considerable commentary
by the higher education community. The Secretary's inclusion of these
examples and not others is in no way intended to circumscribe the
creativity of the community in identifying problems and developing
solutions to them.
Example 1. An institution finds that the statutorily-required 30-
day delay in the disbursement of student loan proceeds to college
freshmen makes it difficult for them to pay for books, housing, and
other educational costs incurred at the beginning of the school term.
The institution proposes to disburse loan proceeds by the beginning of
the school term and seeks relief from the requirements that preclude
this action:
Section 428G(b)(1) of the HEA;
34 CFR 682.604(c)(5), for the Federal Family Education Loan
(FFEL) Program; and
34 CFR 685.303(b)(6) and 685.303(b)(4), for the Direct Loan
Program in its first year and its subsequent years, respectively.
To address the underlying purpose of the 30-day delayed
disbursement requirement (protection against possible losses to the
taxpayer and harm to the student in the event of the student's early
withdrawal from school), the institution provides information
indicating that few of its freshmen have withdrawn from school in the
first 30 days of their courses of study. The institution also describes
how it proposes to measure its performance in this respect and report
that performance to the Department over a specified period.
Example 2. An institution finds that its counseling of student loan
borrowers, required in part by statute and in part by regulation, is
inefficient and ineffective in ensuring that borrowers repay their
student loans. The institution proposes an innovative alternative and
seeks relief from the requirements that preclude this action:
Sections 485(b) and, for the Federal Perkins Loan Program,
463A of the HEA;
34 CFR 682.604 (f) and (g), for the FFEL Program;
34 CFR 685.303 (e) and (f), and 685.304, for the Direct Loan
Program in its first year and its subsequent years, respectively; and
34 CFR 674.16(a) and 674.42(a) for the Federal Perkins Loan
Program.
To address the underlying purpose of the entrance and exit
counseling requirements (promotion of borrowers' understanding of their
responsibilities under the student loan programs), the institution
describes its alternative approach and explains why it believes this
approach will be more effective. It also describes how it proposes to
measure its success in ensuring that borrowers repay their loans and
report its performance to the Department over a specified period.
(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control
number 1840-0708)
Review of Proposals
The Secretary will review each proposal submitted in response to
this notice on its own merits. If a proposal is approved, the
participating institution's program participation agreement will be
amended to reflect the terms of the experiment, including the
obligations undertaken by the institution, the requirements from which
the institution is relieved, the length of the experiment, and the
right of either the institution or the Department to terminate the
experiment.
In reviewing proposals, the Secretary will be guided by the
statutory purpose of the experimental sites authority, namely, to
inform future policy choices relating to the administration of Title IV
programs. The Secretary may approve a proposal as submitted, reject it,
or, if he finds that a proposal is not fully approvable but has merit,
work with the institution to refine it. To maximize the usefulness of
experimental sites in informing future policy choices, the Secretary
may encourage different approaches in similar institutions and similar
approaches in different types of institutions. In addition, to ensure
the smooth implementation of this reform initiative, the Secretary
anticipates approving approximately 50 proposals from among those
submitted in the first phase of the initiative and more after those
experiments are in place.
Request for Comment
The Secretary invites institutions of higher education, students,
and other interested parties to comment on the student aid reform
initiative announced in this notice. Is the Department on the right
track in inviting proposals to reinvent Title IV program administration
in this way? What else should the Department be doing to accomplish the
objectives of this initiative? Does the Department's non-regulatory
guidance impose unnecessary administrative burdens? If so, how can the
Department provide relief from that guidance? Comments may be directed
to the contact person identified in this notice.
Dated: April 19, 1995.
David A. Longanecker,
Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 95-10101 Filed 4-24-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P
