Maintained for Historical Purposes

This resource is being maintained for historical purposes only and is not currently applicable.

Institutional Eligibility and Administrative Requirements - Student Consumer Information

AwardYear: 1995-1996
EnterChapterNo: 3
EnterChapterTitle: Institutional Eligibility and Administrative Requirements
SectionNumber: 9
SectionTitle: Student Consumer Information
PageNumbers: 155-165


The basic requirements for the consumer information that a
school must provide students are found in the General
Provisions regulations and stress the importance of
providing students with reliable information regarding a
school's academic programs, facilities, and financial aid
programs. The Higher Education Amendments of 1992 added
to the requirements in this area, necessitating the development
of new regulations.

Final regulations on campus security were published on April
29, 1994, and those requirements are discussed here.
However, final regulations to implement the Student
Right-to-Know Act have been delayed and ALL STUDENT
RIGHT-TO-KNOW (SRK) REQUIREMENTS ARE
SUSPENDED UNTIL FINAL REGULATIONS ARE
PUBLISHED AND BECOME EFFECTIVE. THERE ARE
NO SRK REQUIREMENTS FOR 1995-96 AT THIS TIME

In recent years, the increased number of defaulted Federal
student loans has led to renewed interest in providing students
with information necessary to choose an appropriate academic
program and to fully understand the responsibility of loan
repayment. This section briefly addresses required loan
counseling, but the loan counseling requirements are covered
in detail in Chapter Ten of this Handbook.


BASIC CONSUMER INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS

[[Financial aid information]]
Subpart D of the General Provisions lists basic information
about the school and about financial aid that must be available
to current and prospective students, usually through printed
materials. If necessary, these materials must be prepared by
the school. However, much of the required data will already
be available in brochures and handouts routinely disseminated
by the school, or in Federal publications such as The Student
Guide. The following minimum information must be provided

- what need-based and non-need-based Federal financial aid is
available to students,

- what need-based and non-need based State and local aid
programs, school aid programs, and other private aid programs
are available,

- how students apply for aid and how eligibility is determined,

- how the school distributes aid among students,

- the rights and responsibilities of students receiving aid,

- how and when financial aid will be disbursed,

- the terms and conditions of any employment that is part of the
financial aid package,

- the terms of, schedules for, and the necessity of loan repayment
and required loan exit counseling,

- the criteria for measuring satisfactory academic progress, and
how a student who has failed to maintain satisfactory progress
may reestablish eligibility for Federal financial aid,

- information on preventing drug and alcohol abuse,

- information regarding the availability of SFA funds for study
abroad programs, and

- that a student may be eligible for SFA funds for attending a
study abroad program that is approved for credit by the home
school.

[[General information about the school]]
The school must provide the following minimum information about
itself --

- the names of associations, agencies, and/ or governmental
bodies that accredit, approve, or license the school and its
programs, and the procedures by which a student may receive a
copy for review of the school's accreditation, licensure, or
approval,

- special facilities and services available to disabled students,

- the costs of attending the school (tuition and fees, books and
supplies, room and board and applicable transportation costs,
such as commuting) and any additional costs of the program in
which the student is enrolled or has expressed an interest,

- the school's fair and equitable refund policy and on the
prescribed order of SFA refund distribution,

- the degree programs, training, and other education offered,

- the availability of a GED program, if the school admits students
who do not have a high school diploma or equivalent,

- the instructional, laboratory, and other physical plant facilities
associated with the academic programs,

- a list of the faculty and other instructional personnel,

- the satisfactory progress standards that must be maintained, and

- who to contact for information on student financial assistance
and on general institutional issues.

[[Availability of financial aid personnel]]
The school must have someone available during normal
operating hours to help persons obtain consumer information.
One full-time employee or several persons may be assigned so
that someone is always available (with reasonable notice) to
assist current or prospective students and their families.
Existing personnel may satisfy this requirement. A school may
request a waiver of this requirement if it can demonstrate that a
waiver is appropriate. (Contact the Institutional Participation
Division.)


JOB PLACEMENT RATES

[[Information to substantiate job placement claims]]
Schools that recruit students by using marketing claims
regarding job placement must substantiate such claims.
At or before the time of application, the school must provide
to prospective students, the most recent available data
concerning employment statistics, graduation statistics, and
other information necessary to substantiate its claims. As
discussed in Section Two of this Chapter, if the school
advertises job placement rates to attract enrollment, it must
inform prospective students of the State licensing requirements
for the jobs for which the students seek training.


CAMPUS SECURITY

The Higher Education Amendments of 1992 also expanded the
security-related requirements of the Student Right-to-Know
and Campus Security Act, which required a school to
compile an annual campus security report. Final regulations
on campus security were published on April 29, 1994. Those
requirements are discussed here.

[[Campus security report]]
By September 1 of each year, the annual campus security
report must be distributed to all students and employees by
appropriate publications, either directly or by mail (through
direct mail, campus mail, or computer networks). The report
should be reasonably available to all prospective student and
employees, and those persons must be informed of the
report's availability and be given a summary of its contents.

[[Crime statistics]]
The campus security report will provide information regarding
campus security policies and campus crime statistics. At a
minimum, the report must include following --

- the procedures for reporting crimes and other emergencies
occurring on campus, and the policies for the school's response
to such reports,

- the policies concerning the security of and access to all campus
facilities, including residences,

- the policies concerning campus law enforcement, including the
authority of campus security personnel and their working
relationship to local police and other law enforcement agencies
(policies must encourage prompt reporting of campus crimes),

- the information programs available to students and employees
on campus security, personal safety, and crime prevention,

- statistics on the on-campus occurrence of murder, forcible and
nonforcible sex offenses (e.g., rape), robbery, aggravated
assault, burglary, and motor vehicle theft, as reported to the
local police or campus officials (also, statistics concerning
certain crimes that show evidence of prejudice based on race,
religion, sexual orientation or, ethnicity),

- the policies concerning the monitoring and recording (through
local police agencies) of student criminal activity at off-campus
location of student organizations recognized by the school, off
campus housing facilities,

- the drug and alcohol-abuse programs available to students and
employees, as required under the Higher Education Act,

- the policies concerning the possession, use, and sale of
alcoholic beverages--including the enforcement of State
underage drinking laws, and the policies concerning the
possession, use, and sale of illegal drugs -- including the
enforcement of State and Federal drug laws,

- statistics concerning the number of arrests for violations of
liquor laws, drug abuse, and weapons possession, and

[[Sexual assault prevention program required]]
- the sexual assault prevention programs available and the
procedures that must be followed when a sex offense occurs
(including who to contact, the importance of preserving
evidence, options for the notification of local law enforcement
officials, available counseling and other services for victims,
procedures for disciplinary actions and possible sanctions, and a
change in living or academic arrangements, if requested by the
victim of a sex offense and if reasonably available).

The requirements regarding the campus security report must
be met individually for each separate campus. (Any branch,
school, or administrative division that is not reasonably
geographically contiguous with the main campus is considered
a separate campus.)

On-Campus -- includes (1) any building or property
owned or controlled by the school within the same
contiguous area and used by the school in direct
support of or related to its educational purposes,
or (2) any building or property owned or controlled
by student organizations recognized by the school.

The annual security report due September 1, 1995, and each
subsequent annual report thereafter, must contain the required
statistics for three calendar years preceding the year in which
the report is disclosed. The law requiring these statistical
reports was effective in 1992; therefore, it is reasonable to
expect that schools had sufficient notice to make available and
collect all relevant data from the 1992, 1993, and 1994 calendar
years, and that all campus security reports due September 1,
1995, or later will be complete in this respect.

Under the Higher Education Amendments of 1992, THE
TERM "RAPE" WAS REPLACED BY "SEX OFFENSES,
FORCIBLE AND NONFORCIBLE." Effective August 1,
1992, schools were to begin collecting statistics on the
occurrence of offenses under this broader category, according
to the definitions in the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting
System. Therefore, all reports should include statistics
concerning rape for periods of time prior to August 1, 1992,
and statistics concerning sex offenses, forcible and
nonforcible, for periods of time on and after August 1, 1992.
However, if a school has sex offense data available for any
portion of the period from January 1, 1992 through August 1,
1992, the school must report this data for the 1992 calendar
year.

[[The graphic "September 1995 Campus Security
Report Will Include" on page 3-160 is currently
unavailable for viewing. Please reference your paper
document for additional information.]]

All schools must compile the required crime statistics in
accordance with the definitions used in the Federal Bureau of
Investigation's Uniform Crime Reporting Program, which is
provided in Appendix E of the final regulation published April
29, 1994.

In addition to the required annual campus security report,
schools are required to inform the campus community of all
on-campus crimes that are reported to campus security
officials and are considered to represent a threat to students
and/or employees. This information is to be provided in a
timely and appropriate manner so as to prevent similar crimes
from occurring and to protect the personal safety of students
and employees. Schools should work closely with local law
enforcement officials in determining the necessary and
appropriate distribution of such information to the campus
community.

[[Final Rule 1-17-95]]
Schools should note that the regulations implementing FERPA
(which is discussed in greater detail in Section Eight of this
Chapter) have been changed to specify that records of a
school's disciplinary actions or proceedings are protected
under the provisions of FERPA. That is, final regulations
published on January 17, 1995 state that records of a school's
disciplinary actions or proceedings against a student are not
available to the public without the consent of the student or the
student's parent (if applicable).

[[The graphics "Disciplinary Action or Proceeding" and
"Law Enforcement Unit" on page 3-161 are currently
unavailable for viewing. Please reference your paper
document for additional information.]]

Under the law, a school is permitted to disclose only the
RESULTS of disciplinary proceedings and only to the alleged
VICTIM of a CRIME OF VIOLENCE (as defined in the United
States Code), not to the public, without the consent of the student or
parent (if applicable).

However, the law does not provide the same protections to
records of a school's law enforcement unit. That is, this law
does not prevent a school from releasing records of its law
enforcement unit to the public without the consent of the
student or the student's parent (if applicable).


LOAN COUNSELING

[[General loan information, repayment options, and
debt management planning]]
Before a Federal Perkins, FFEL, or Federal Direct Loan
borrower takes out a loan, the school must counsel that
borrower, individually or in a group with other borrowers.
Specifically, the school must give the borrower general
information on the average anticipated monthly repayments on
the loan, available repayment options, and advice on debt
management planning, to facilitate repayment and
deferment/cancellation provisions, if applicable, and other
terms and conditions.

This loan counseling must also be provided before the
borrower completes his or her study, or otherwise leaves the
school. (If the student withdraws without notice, the
counseling information must be sent to the borrower's last
known address.) Also at the time of exit, the student must
provide the school with a correct name and address of his or
her future employer, address of next of kin, and any correction
to the school's record of the borrower's name, address, Social
Security Number, and driver's license number, as well as the
names and addresses of references. Within 60 days, the
school must provide this information to the guaranty agency.

[[Alternatives to borrowing --State aid]]
Any loan counseling should also include information about
alternatives to borrowing. Schools must inform all eligible
FFEL borrowers of the availability of State grants in the State
in which the school is located, and must refer out-of-State
borrowers to the source of information for aid from their home
State. (A list of State agencies is provided in Chapter Nine of
this Handbook.) While this information can be made available
to students through printed materials, it would be useful to
mention these alternatives when counseling students applying
for loans.

[[Use of audio visual and written materials]]
There is no prescribed format for adequate financial aid
counseling. For example, the use of audiovisual materials can
be very effective. In fact, the FFEL regulations now authorize
schools to use videotape presentations to provide the initial
counseling given to a borrower. However, the school must
make sure that someone who is well-informed about the SFA
programs is reasonably available shortly after the counseling
presentation to answer borrowers' questions. (Correspondence
schools must provide borrowers with written counseling materials by
mail prior to disbursing the loan proceeds.) For a complete
discussion of loan counseling requirements, please see Chapters Six
and Ten of this Handbook.


DRUG AND ALCOHOL ABUSE PREVENTION INFORMATION

Schools that participate in the campus-based programs are
required to provide information under the Drug-Free
Workplace Act of 1988 (P.L. 101-690), including a notice to
its employees of unlawful activities and the actions the school
will take against an employee who violates these prohibitions.
More recently, the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act
(P.L. 101-226) requires schools that participate in any SFA
program to provide information to its students, faculty, and
employees to prevent drug and alcohol abuse. Schools must
provide the following in its materials --

[[Information to be included in drug prevention materials]]
- Standards of conduct that clearly prohibit, at a minimum, the
unlawful possession, use, or distribution of drugs and alcohol by
students and employees on the school's property, or as a part of
the school's activities,

- A description of the applicable legal sanctions under local,
State, and Federal law for unlawful possession, use, or
distribution of illicit drugs and alcohol,

- A description of any drug and alcohol counseling, treatment, or
rehabilitation programs available to students and employees,

- A description of the health risks associated with the use of
illicit drugs and alcohol, and

- A clear statement that the school will impose sanctions on
students and employees (consistent with local, State, and
Federal law) and a description of these sanctions, up to and
including expulsion or termination of employment, and referral
for prosecution of the standards of conduct.

The appendices and Comments and Responses sections of the
August 16, 1990 regulations provide additional guidance and
information for schools to use in developing these materials.

[[Distribution of materials to all students and employees]]
The school may include this information in publications such
as student or employee handbooks, provided that these
publications are distributed to each student and employee.
Merely making drug prevention materials available to those
who wish to take them is not sufficient. The school must use
a method that will reach every student and employee, such as
the method used to distribute grade reports or paychecks.
The school must distribute these materials annually. If new
students enroll or new employees are hired after the initial
distribution for the year, the school must make sure that they
also receive the materials. For more information on anti-drug
abuse requirements, see Section Two.


MISREPRESENTATION

[[Definition of misrepresentation]]
The General Provisions permit the Department to fine a
school, or limit, suspend, or terminate the participation of any
school that substantially misrepresents the nature of its
educational program, its financial charges, or the employability
of its graduates.

[[The graphic entitled "Misrepresentation", on page 3-164 is
currently unavailable for viewing. Please reference your paper
document for additional information.]]

[[Accreditation facilities, etc.]]
[[Misrepresentation of scholarships]]
Misrepresentation of the educational program includes false or
misleading statements about the school's accreditation, the
school's size, location, facilities, or equipment.
Misrepresentation of financial charges includes false or
misleading statements about scholarships provided for the
purpose of paying school charges. To be considered a
scholarship, it must actually be used to reduce tuition charges
made known to the student before the scholarship was offered
to the student. (The tuition charges must be charges that are
applied to all students NOT RECEIVING A SCHOLARSHIP.) It is
also considered misrepresentation if the school gives false or
misleading information as to whether a particular charge is a
customary charge for that course at the school.

[[Misrepresentation of employability of graduates]]
Misrepresentation of the employability of the school's
graduates includes any false or misleading statements --

- That the school is connected with any organization or is an
employment agency or other agency providing authorized
training leading directly to employment,

- That the school maintains a placement service for graduates or
will otherwise secure or assist graduates in securing a job,
unless it provides the student with a clear and accurate
description of the extent and nature of the service or assistance,
or

- Concerning government job market statistics in relation to the
potential placement of its graduates.

The regulatory provisions concerning misrepresentation are
given in detail on the next page.

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