Tony Guida, Duane Morris partner and Team Lead of the Education Industry Group, is featured in the EdUp Legal podcast.
In the episode, Tony discussed the Department of Education’s most recent suite of regulations impacting institutions’ participation in the Title IV program, specifically with respect to certification, financial responsibility and administrative capability.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has approved an amendment to the Safeguards Rule that would require institutions of higher education, as well as other nonbanking financial institutions, to report any notification events to the agency.
Read the full Alert on the Duane Morris LLP website.
On October 10, 2023, the U.S. Department of Education published the final rule on financial value transparency and gainful employment (88 Fed. Reg. 70004). The regulation restores and expands an accountability framework for career-specific training programs. At the same time, the regulation creates, for the first time, a new disclosure framework applicable to educational programs offered by all institutions participating in the Title IV, Higher Education Act (HEA) federal student aid funding programs.
This summary provides an overview of important facts and key elements of the final rule.
Read the full Alert on the Duane Morris LLP website.
A video replay is available for the recent Duane Morris webinar, “Understanding Borrower Defense to Repayment Claims.” For more information, please visit the event page.
Duane Morris is hosting the webinar Understanding Borrower Defense to Repayment Claims on Thursday, October 5, 2023, from 2:00 pm to 3:00 p.m. Eastern.
About the Program
Institutions of higher education – public, nonprofit and proprietary – have reached out to Duane Morris’ Education Group with questions and concerns regarding Borrower Defense to Repayment claims. Join us for recommendations on how to handle these inquiries, insights on best practices and what to expect in terms of next steps.
Continue reading “Webinar: Understanding Borrower Defense to Repayment Claims”
Duane Morris attorney Jonathan Helwink authored the Inside Higher Ed article “Future of Borrower Defense May Look Different” about how new borrower defense to repayment regulations may bring increased compliance risks to colleges of all types.
Read the full article on the Insider Higher Ed website.
Institutions of higher education (IHEs) and companies providing services to IHEs (including so-called online program managers or OPMs) should take careful note of two announcements by the U.S. Department of Education that could significantly impact the institution/service provider relationship and the Department’s oversight of that relationship.
First, and most immediately effective, the Department has revised its subregulatory guidance regarding the activities that make an entity providing services to an IHE a “Third Party Servicer” (TPS) for Title IV purposes. In a significant expansion over prior guidance, an OPM providing services to an IHE related to student recruiting and retention, providing software products and services involving Title IV administration activities, or providing educational content and instruction are now defined as a TPS. Being defined as a TPS comes with significant increased risk and compliance obligations by the third party and the institution. There is an open public comment period on this change through March 17, 2023.
Read the full text of this Alert on the Duane Morris website.
Important Update: On February 28, 2023, the Department published an update to Dear Colleague Letter 23-03 that makes clear the guidance does not become effective until September 1, 2023. The reporting deadline for institutions and third-party servicers to report to the Department is also extended until September 1, 2023. Further, the Department extended the comment period through March 30, 2023.
A video replay of the webinar “What Does It All Mean? The U.S. Department of Education’s Regulatory Reach Over Service Providers for Institutions of Higher Education” is available to view.
A video replay is now available for the webinar “What the Midterm Election Results Mean for Higher Education,” recently presented by Duane Morris’ Education Team.
For more information, please visit the event page.
On August 12, the Supreme Court of the United States denied eight students’ request to block Indiana University’s requirement that students be vaccinated against the coronavirus. Justice Amy Coney Barrett rejected the request without comment, without seeking a response from the state and without referring the request to the full court for a vote. Justice Barrett’s denial indicates the court’s belief that the students’ challenge was not a particularly close case.
To read the full text of this Duane Morris Alert, please visit the firm website.
