Practice
Unprecedented Times Surprised Some Institution Staff with State Regulatory Compliance Requirements
Published by: Lindsey Rae Downs | 11/10/2020 | 0 comments
These unprecedented times raised regulatory compliance challenges that may have surprised some institution personnel. However, some of these regulatory compliance challenges were not actually unprecedented. The COVID-19 pandemic induced institutions to shift from in-person to remote instruction. As a result, institutions closed campuses and served students who were, in some cases, located in a state […]
Practice
Did Your Course Go Digital Due to COVID-19? Playbook Advises on Regulations When Making the Switch
Published by: Lindsey Rae Downs | 11/4/2020 | 0 comments
The spring 2020 term saw an unprecedented response to an unprecedented challenge as virtually every U.S. higher education institution offering face-to-face instruction rapidly switched to remote instruction, many in as little as one to two weeks and some in a few days. Institutions struggled to resolve challenges ranging from the technological to the pedagogical to […]
Practice
Season Shifts and Policy Changes: Important Rule Changes You May Have Missed
Published by: Lindsey Rae Downs | 10/23/2020 | 0 comments
Have you had the opportunity to notice that some parts of the U.S. have seen a change in the weather and the trees? To say that this fall has been busy is quite an understatement! We know that everyone has placed significant focus on the development and implementation of strategies to safely maintain academic continuity. […]
Practice
Another Magical July 1 – Federal Regulations Now in Effect
Published by: Lindsey Rae Downs | 7/16/2020 | 0 comments
July 1 is that magical day when Federal Regulations affecting institutions that participate in Title IV federal financial aid programs become effective for regulations that were released by the U.S. Department of Education by November 1 of last year. The purpose of this timing is for financial aid offices at institutions to have time to […]
Practice
Professional Licensure Student Disclosures – It’s the One Month Warning, with No Time-outs Remaining
Published by: Lindsey Rae Downs | 5/29/2020 | 4 comments
Winning Isn’t Everything, but Wanting to Win is! – Vince Lombardi Excitement is in the air! There’s two minutes left in the game! You have the ball with no time outs left! What are you going to do? It is up to you! We just heard the horn for the two-minute (well…one-month) warning for the […]
Practice
Licensing Certification and Dispersed Students, Oh My!
Published by: Lindsey Rae Downs | 4/30/2020 | 4 comments
Institutions have juggled many issues to maintain educational continuity during the pandemic. WCET has addressed accessibility, Veterans benefits, crisis coordination, Open Educational Resources, the U.S. Department of Education’s ability to exercise enforcement discretion for Title IV eligibility , and more! However, we must now address the issue of institutional management of state licensing board requirements […]
Practice
Considerations for Early Implementation of State Authorization Federal Regulations
Published by: Lindsey Rae Downs | 12/11/2019 | 1 comments
To early implement or not to early implement, that is the question… Ok, so maybe Hamlet had a bit more weighing on his mind when he posed the question, “to be or not to be,” but I do think institutions need to take the question of whether to early implement new 2019 State Authorization Federal […]
Policy
Continuing Our Regulatory Odyssey: Final Accreditation Regulations
Published by: Lindsey Rae Downs | 11/22/2019 | 3 comments
Earlier this year, the Department of Education engaged in negotiated rulemaking around several issues including state authorization and reciprocity, accreditation, distance education and innovation, regular and substantive interaction, competency-based education (CBE), TEACH grants, and faith-based institutions. Despite all odds and expectations, negotiators reached consensus on a comprehensive set of proposed regulations. In July of 2019, […]
Practice
Final Federal Regulations for State Authorization Released!
Published by: Lindsey Rae Downs | 11/4/2019 | 15 comments
Without a moment to spare, on Friday, November 1, 2019, the Federal Register shared the release of the long awaited 2019 Final Federal Regulations with the official and concise title: Student Assistance General Provisions, The Secretary’s Recognition of Accrediting Agencies, The Secretary’s Recognition Procedures for State Agencies. These regulations are the final form of the […]
Practice
Negotiated Rulemaking: What Happened with State Authorization and Licensure Notifications?
Published by: Erin Noelle Walton | 4/17/2019 | 9 comments
In this second of our blogs dedicated to exploring the outcomes of the recent negotiated rulemaking sessions, Cheryl Dowd and Russ Poulin focus on the state authorization for distance education language that transpired from those conversations. They also share some integral changes to professional licensure notifications, as those requirements have been expanded to ALL programs […]