Consumer Information and School Reporting

This chapter describes information that a school must disclose to the public and report to the Department. This is information about: financial aid; the school’s campus, facilities, and student athletes; campus security and fire safety; drug and alcohol abuse prevention and programs about them. The chapter also discusses counseling for students receiving FSA loans and disclosures that must be made for private education loans. Additional disclosure requirements that are specific to disbursements of FSA loans are described in Volume 4.

The obligation of schools to disclose information to the public and report it to the Department is consequential. In addition to limiting, suspending, or terminating the participation of any school that fails to comply with the consumer information requirements, the Department may impose civil fines of up to $62,689 for each violation. See the April 20, 2022, Federal Register for information about the adjustment of civil monetary penalties for inflation. To assess your school’s compliance with the provisions of this chapter, see the FSA Assessment module “Consumer Information.”

Each year a school must distribute to all enrolled students a notice of the availability of the information it must provide in the following general categories:

The notice must list and briefly describe the information and tell students how to obtain it. It must be provided on an individual basis through an appropriate mailing or publication, including direct mailing through the U.S. Postal Service, campus mail, or electronic mail. Posting on an Internet or intranet website does not constitute a notice.

A school may meet the requirements for the general disclosures and the EADA, security, and fire safety reports by posting the information online.

A school that uses Internet or intranet disclosure for this purpose must include in its annual notice to enrolled students the exact electronic address of the information and a statement that the school will provide a paper copy of the information on request.

With Internet or intranet distribution of the security and fire safety reports to current employees, a school must distribute to them by October 1 of each year a notice that includes a statement of the reports’ availability, the exact electronic address at which they are posted, a brief description of their contents, and a statement that the school will provide a paper copy of the reports upon request.

The same information must be included in a notice to prospective students and employees if a school decides to use the Web to provide annual security or fire safety reports to them. The difference is that there is no annual date for distribution of this notice; also note that the school must use an Internet, rather than an intranet, site.

The National Postsecondary Education Cooperative (NPEC) issued Information Required to Be Disclosed Under the Higher Education Act of 1965: Suggestions for Dissemination (NPEC 2010-831), which is available on the website for the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Note: NPEC was established by the NCES in 1995 as a voluntary organization comprising federal agencies, postsecondary schools, associations, and others with an interest in postsecondary education data collection. The information and opinions in NPEC publications do not necessarily represent the policy or views of the U.S. Department of Education.

A school must designate an employee or group of employees who shall be available on a full-time basis to assist enrolled or prospective students in obtaining information on the school, financial assistance, graduation and completion rates, security policies, and crime statistics, as described in the following sections. If the school designates one person, he shall be available upon reasonable notice to any enrolled or prospective student throughout the normal administrative working hours of the school. If more than one person is designated, their combined work schedules must be arranged so that at least one of them is available upon reasonable notice throughout the normal administrative working hours of the school.

The Department may waive this requirement if the school’s total enrollment or the portion participating in the FSA programs is too small to necessitate an employee or group of employees being available on a full-time basis. The granting of a waiver does not exempt an institution from designating a specific employee or group of employees to carry out on a part-time basis the information dissemination requirements. The school must request this waiver from the Department.

A school must make the following information available to any enrolled or prospective student through appropriate publications, mailings, or electronic media.

At a minimum, the school must publish and make readily available to current and prospective students a description of all the federal, state, local, private, and institutional need-based and non-need-based student financial assistance programs available to them.

For each of these financial aid programs, the information provided by the school must describe

The school may describe its own financial assistance programs by listing them in general categories.

The school must also describe the rights and responsibilities of students receiving financial aid (and specifically federal aid). This description must include

Although it is not among the financial aid disclosures given to all students, you should be aware of the following information that must be provided in writing to students who are selected for verification:

See the Application and Verification Guide, Chapter 4, for complete information about verification.

Prospective student definition—One who has requested from an eligible school information about enrolling there or who has been contacted by the school directly, or indirectly through advertising, about enrolling.

The Department is required to make available to schools, lenders, and secondary schools descriptions of the FSA programs to assist students in gaining information through school sources and to assist schools in carrying out the FSA program requirements. We provide comprehensive student aid information to students and their families through the Student Aid website. Colleges and high schools may find student/ borrower publications such as the College Preparation Checklist under resources in the Financial Aid Toolkit.

At a minimum, the school must provide to enrolled and prospective students the following information about itself.

The Department’s College Affordability and Transparency Center contains information for students, parents, and policymakers about costs at America’s colleges. The website allows users to view schools by sector with the highest and lowest tuition and net prices (the price of attendance after considering all grant and scholarship aid). The site also includes the College Scorecard, which displays the typical student cost, graduation rate, loan default rate, and median borrowing amount for the school one types in. The site also links to the net price calculators for many schools and to the College Navigator website, which allows students to search for schools they might want to attend according to various criteria.

A school that requires students receiving Title IV aid to agree to a pre-dispute arbitration agreement and/or a class action waiver as a condition of enrollment must make available to enrolled and prospective students and the public a plain language disclosure of those conditions of enrollment. This disclosure also must state that

All statements in the plain language disclosure must be in 12-point font on the school’s admissions information webpage and in the admissions section of its catalogue. The school may not rely solely on an intranet website to provide this notice to prospective students or the public.

Note that paragraphs xiii, xiv, and xv in the highlighted section citing regulations later in the chapter also pertain to these agreements and waivers and how schools must inform Title IV loan borrowers about them as part of entrance counseling.

Class action—a lawsuit or an arbitration proceeding in which one or more parties seeks class treatment pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 or any State process analogous to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23.

Class action waiver—any agreement or part of an agreement, regardless of its form or structure, between a school, or a party acting on behalf of a school, and a student that relates to the making of a Direct Loan or the provision of educational services for which the student received title IV funding and prevents an individual from filing or participating in a class action that pertains to those services.

Pre-dispute arbitration agreement—any agreement or part of an agreement, regardless of its form or structure, between a school, or a party acting on behalf of a school, and a student requiring arbitration of any future dispute between the parties relating to the making of a Direct Loan or provision of educational services for which the student received title IV funding.

All Title IV schools that enroll full-time, first-time degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduate students must have on their website a net price calculator. The net price is the cost of attendance minus the average yearly grant and scholarship aid. The calculator provides estimated net price information to current and prospective students and should be based, as much as possible, on their individual circumstances.

ED’s National Center for Education Statistics has developed a template that schools can use to create their own customized net price calculator, or they can develop their own calculator. If they develop their own, it must include at a minimum the same data elements found in the Department’s calculator template. The Net Price Calculator Information Center provides the template, FAQs, and other resources for schools to develop their own calculators. See also GEN-13-07.

Estimates produced by the net price calculator must be accompanied by a clear and conspicuous disclaimer stating that they may change; that it does not represent a final determination or actual award; and that it is not binding on the Department, the school, or the state. The disclaimer must include a link to the FAFSA website and state that students must complete the FAFSA to receive an actual Title IV financial aid award.

The Financing Plan is a resource to help consumers understand educational costs and the aid available to meet those costs. It is a single page the Department developed that may be used as a stand-alone financial aid offer or as a cover sheet with a school’s existing aid offer. The standard format helps consumers easily compare the cost of attendance and aid offers across schools. Use of the plan is voluntary, though we encourage schools to adopt it for their students. Also, for schools that receive federal funds under the military and veterans educational benefits programs, using the plan helps meet a disclosure requirement of Executive Order 13607 (see the end of Chapter 3). For more information, including templates, technical specifications, and FAQs, go to the College Financing Plan webpage. There are separate forms for undergraduate and graduate/professional students. The format of the College Financing Plan has been updated for 2022-2023 to include revised data elements, a responsive design, and the ability to customize the colors of the College Financing Plan to match those of your institution.

The Department has also issued some recommendations for schools about their aid offers. See the October 28, 2021 announcement for an explanation of the following main points:

Each year a school must determine the completion or graduation rate of its certificate- or degree-seeking, first-time, full-time undergraduate students and report it to the Department via the IPEDS website. If the school’s mission includes providing substantial preparation for students to enroll in another eligible school, it must also determine the transfer-out rate of its certificate- or degree-seeking, first-time, full-time undergraduate students.

The annual rates are based on the 12-month period that ended August 31 of the prior year. The rates will track the outcomes for students for whom 150% of the normal time for completion or graduation has elapsed. Normal time is the amount of time necessary for a student to complete all requirements for a degree or certificate according to the institution’s catalog. This is typically four years for a bachelor’s degree in a standard term-based institution, two years for an associate degree in a standard term-based institution, and the various scheduled times for certificate programs. (See the IPEDS instructions for further details on calculating the rate.)

A school must make these annual rates available to the public no later than July 1st. With requests from prospective students, the information must be made available prior to them enrolling or entering into any financial obligation with the school.

A school does not have to calculate and make available its completion or graduation rate (and, if applicable, transfer-out rate) if it is a member of an athletic association or conference that has voluntarily published completion or graduation rate data or has agreed to publish data and the Department has granted a waiver of the requirements to provide these rates to coaches and guidance counselors.

To receive a waiver, your school or its athletic association or conference must submit a written application to the Department that explains why it believes the data the athletic association or conference publishes are accurate and substantially comparable to the information required by this section.

Even if the waiver is granted, your school must comply with the requirements of §668.41(d)(3) (upon request, providing its retention rate to a prospective student) and (f) (providing retention rates and completion or graduation rates for prospective student athletes and their parents, high school coach, and guidance counselor).

In addition to calculating the completion or graduation rate as described, a school may, but is not required to

The graduation, completion, and transfer-out rates are reported through the Department’s Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) website. The IPEDS survey is conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). You can also find tutorials, instructions, FAQs, tip sheets, and other information on the website.

Information can only be reported to this system by the school’s designated “keyholder.” Schools may change keyholders any time during the year by contacting the IPEDS Help Desk at 1-877-225-2568 or ipedshelp@rti.org or by contacting

Schools’ graduation rates are displayed on the IPEDS College Navigator website.

The school must also provide information on

Schools have Title IV responsibilities related to campus crime. They must: (1) maintain a log that records details about crimes that occur within the schools’ “Clery geography;” (2) submit statistics about these crimes to the Department annually; and (3) create an annual security report that contains those statistics as well as relevant policies and other information and distribute that report to students and employees. Similarly, schools that have on-campus student housing must also maintain a log that records details of fires that occur in that housing, submit statistics about the fires to the Department annually, and create an annual fire safety report containing the statistics and other relevant information and distribute the report to students and employees.

The full title of the Clery Act is the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act. It has been amended several times, most recently by the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2022 (VAWA). Among other provisions, VAWA requires institutions to compile statistics for certain crimes that are reported to campus security authorities or local police agencies, including incidents of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. These crime statistics must be reported to the Department through the web-based data collection. Schools must also include certain policies, procedures, and programs pertaining to these crimes in their annual security reports.

See the Campus Safety and Security website for the campus crime and fire safety statistics for schools. Crime statistics are also on the College Navigator site.

Any institution that has a campus police or security department must create, maintain, and make available an easily understood daily crime log. The daily crime log must include the nature, date, time, general location of each crime that occurs within the institution’s Clery geography, and the disposition of the complaint, if known. Entries must be made within two business days of the report of the information, unless the disclosure is prohibited by law or would jeopardize the confidentiality of the victim.

An institution may withhold this information if there is clear and convincing evidence that releasing it would jeopardize an ongoing criminal investigation or safety of the individual, cause the suspect to flee or evade detection, or result in the destruction of evidence. The school must disclose any withheld information once the adverse effect is no longer likely to occur.

An institution is required to make the crime log for the most recent 60-day period open to public inspection during normal business hours.

The school must make any portion of the log older than sixty days available within two business days of a request for public inspection.

A school must report to the Department and disclose in its annual security report statistics for the three most recent calendar years the number of each of the following crimes that occurred on or within its Clery geography (see Definitions Related to Crime Reporting in this chapter) and that are reported to local police agencies or to a campus security authority:

If a school contracts with an entity to provide bookstore services and the bookstore is on campus or if it is in any off-campus building or property owned or controlled by the school, the school must include the bookstore among the locations for which it reports campus crime and safety information.

A school must include in its crime statistics all crimes listed above occurring on or within its Clery geography that are reported to a campus security authority for the purpose of Clery Act reporting. Clery Act reporting does not require initiating an investigation or disclosing personally identifying information about the victim.

A school may not withhold or remove a reported crime from its crime statistics based on a decision by a court, coroner, jury, prosecutor, or other similar noncampus official. But a school may withhold or remove a reported crime from its statistics when sworn or commissioned law enforcement personnel have fully investigated the reported crime and have made a formal determination that the crime report is false or baseless and therefore unfounded. Only sworn or commissioned law enforcement personnel may “unfound” a crime report for these purposes. The recovery of stolen property, the low value of stolen property, the refusal of the victim to cooperate with the prosecution, and the failure to make an arrest do not unfound a crime report.

A school must report to the Department and disclose in its annual security report statistics the total number of crime reports that were unfounded and subsequently withheld from its crime statistics.

Any institution that maintains on-campus housing facilities must maintain a fire log. The fire log must be a written and easily understood record of any fire that occurred in an on-campus student housing facility. The log must include the nature, date, time, and general location of each fire. Fires must be recorded in the log within two business days.

Institutions must make the fire log for the most recent 60-day period open to public inspection and any portion of the log older than 60 days available within two business days of a request for public inspection.

Each year, the Department sends a letter to the school’s president or chief executive officer with information on accessing the Campus Safety and Security Survey website https://surveys.ope.ed.gov/security, where schools submit statistics for the crimes described under Crimes to be Reported in this chapter, and for fire safety (see below) for the three most recent calendar years that have available data. The website explains how to tabulate these statistics. The letter contains any changes to the survey, the collection dates for the survey, the name of the person who completed the reporting (the campus safety survey administrator) at the school the previous year, and a new ID and password for completing the survey.

Schools with any on-campus student housing facility must submit annual fire safety statistics to the Department. The report must include statistics on the number and causes of fires, as well as fire-related injuries, death, and property damage for each on-campus student housing facility. The fire safety statistics are due at the same time as the crime statistics.

The two reports can be published together or separately. If published together, the title of the document must clearly state that it contains both the Annual Security Report and the Annual Fire Safety Report. If published separately, each report must contain information on how to directly access the other report.

By October 1 of each year, a school must distribute to all enrolled students and current employees its annual security and fire safety reports through appropriate publications and mailings including

For each of the reports, the school must provide a notice to prospective students and prospective employees that includes a statement of the report’s availability, a description of its contents, and an opportunity to request a copy. A school must provide its annual security report and annual fire safety report, upon request, to a prospective student or prospective employee.

If the school chooses to provide either its annual security report or annual fire safety report to prospective students and prospective employees by posting the disclosure on an Internet website, the school must follow the procedures for Web dissemination described earlier.

A school that provides on-campus student housing must establish a missing student notification policy and include a description of the policy in its annual security report to the campus community. The policy must

When a student who resides in an on-campus student housing facility is determined to have been missing for 24 hours, the school must notify within 24 hours

In all cases, the school must inform the local law enforcement agency that has jurisdiction in the area within 24 hours that the student is missing.

The requirements for a school to establish missing persons procedures do not provide a private right of action to any person to enforce a provision of the subsection or create a cause of action against any institution of higher education or any employee of the institution for any civil liability.

A school must develop emergency response and evacuation procedures and include a description of its procedures in its annual security report to the campus community.

A school must develop procedures to immediately notify the campus community upon the confirmation of a significant emergency or dangerous situation involving an immediate threat to the health or safety of students or employees occurring on the campus.

At a minimum, schools must have procedures to

The school must publicize its emergency response and evacuation procedures in conjunction with at least one test per calendar year. The school must document each test with a description of the exercise, stating the date and time, and indicating whether it was announced or unannounced. Tests are defined as regularly scheduled drills, exercises, and appropriate follow-through activities designed for assessment and evaluation of emergency plans and capabilities.

The school must compile a list of the titles of those persons or organizations responsible for determining whether an emergency or dangerous situation exists and who are authorized to initiate the notification process and include this information in the annual report.

In an emergency or a dangerous situation, a school must, without delay and accounting for the safety of the community, determine the content of the notification and initiate the notification system unless issuing a notification will, in the judgment of responsible authorities, compromise efforts to assist a victim or contain, respond to, or otherwise mitigate the emergency.

A school must, in a manner that is timely and that withholds as confidential the names and other identifying information of victims, and that will aid in the prevention of similar crimes, report to the campus community on crimes that are

A school is not required to provide a timely warning with respect to crimes reported to a pastoral or professional counselor.

If there is an immediate threat to the health or safety of students or employees occurring on campus, a school must follow its emergency notification procedures. A school that follows its emergency notification procedures is not required to issue a timely warning based on the same circumstances; however, the school must provide adequate follow-up information to the community as needed.

A school that participates in the FSA programs must provide to its students, faculty, and employees information to prevent drug and alcohol abuse, and it must also have a drug and alcohol prevention program, as discussed later.

In addition, a school that participates in the Campus-Based Programs must have a drug-free awareness program for its employees that includes a notice to them of unlawful activities and the actions the school will take against an employee who violates these prohibitions.

A school must provide the following in its materials:

Pursuant to the FAFSA Simplification Act (P.L. 116-260), on June 11, 2021, the Department published Dear Colleague Letter (GEN-21-04). This letter discussed, among other things, the early implementation of the provision that removed the suspension of eligibility for Title IV aid for drug-related convictions that occurred while receiving Title IV aid of federal aid recipients. As it relates to the federal Title IV aid programs, schools are not required to provide information and written notice to their student and employee population regarding the penalties associated with drug-related offenses and the impacts on Title IV aid eligibility. The Federal Register Notice announcing early implementation was posted on June 17, 2021.

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.

Every participating school must certify that on the date it signs the Program Participation Agreement it has a drug and alcohol abuse prevention program in operation that is accessible to any officer, employee, or student at the school. The program adopted by the school must include an annual distribution to all students, faculty, and staff of information concerning drug and alcohol abuse and the school’s prevention program.

A school must review its program once every two years to determine its effectiveness and to ensure that its sanctions are being enforced. As a part of this biennial review, the school must determine

The school must make available upon request the results of the review as well as the data and methods supporting its conclusions.

The effectiveness of a school’s prevention program may be measured by tracking the number of drug- and alcohol-related disciplinary actions, treatment referrals, and incidents recorded by campus police or other law enforcement officials. You may also find it useful to track the number of students or employees attending self-help or other counseling groups related to alcohol or drug abuse and to survey student, faculty, and employee attitudes and perceptions about the drug and alcohol problem on campus.

If a school does not certify that it has a prevention program or fails to carry out a prevention program, the Department may terminate any or all forms of federal financial aid to the school and may require it to repay any or all federal financial aid that it received while not in compliance.

Schools that are developing prevention programs should consult the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), in particular the Drug-Free Workplace webpage and helpline (1-800- 967-5752). These provide information about workplace programs and drug testing. SAMHSA is a division of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services and also provides a treatment and referral hotline 1-800-662-HELP (1-800-662-4357) as well as publications on drug abuse and prevention, among other topics.

Because schools apply for and receive their Campus-Based allocation directly from the Department, they are considered to be federal grant recipients and as such are required to make a continuing, good faith effort to maintain a drug-free workplace. The steps a school must take include

A school’s administrative cost allowance may be used to help defray related expenses, such as the cost of printing informational materials given to employees. The administrative cost allowance is discussed in Volume 6: Campus-Based Programs.

The drug-free workplace requirements apply to all offices and departments of a school that receives Campus-Based funds. Organizations that contract with the school are considered subgrantees not subject to the requirements of the Drug-Free Workplace Act.

The Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act (EADA) requires a school that has an intercollegiate athletic program to make prospective students aware of its commitment to provide equitable athletic opportunities for its male and female students. As part of this requirement, each fall schools must report information to the Department and make it available to students, prospective students, and the public in easily accessible places. The annual report, officially called The Report on Athletic Program Participation Rates and Financial Support Data and commonly referred to as the EADA Report, must include information on

A school must publish its EADA report by October 15 and make it available upon request to students, prospective students, and the public. For example, a school may make hard copies of the report available in intercollegiate athletic offices, admissions offices, or libraries, or by providing a copy to all students in their electronic mailbox.

A school must provide the report promptly to anyone who requests the information. For example, a school may not refuse to provide a copy of the report to the news media, and the school may not require an individual requesting the information to come to the school to view the report. A school may not charge a fee for the information.

A school must submit its equity in athletics report to the Department via the EADA survey website annually within 15 days of making it available to students, prospective students, and the public. Note that a password and user ID are required for use of this website. They are sent by the Department to the chief administrator at the school. For help with this site, contact eadahelp@westat.com. The Department posts the EADA reports for participating schools on the Web.

For specific categories and reporting rules, please see the EADA User’s Guide for the online survey. Please reference 34 CFR 668.47(c) for specific information that must be included in the report.

As part of their EADA disclosures, schools that offer athletically related student aid must produce an annual report that includes the following:

A school must provide this report to prospective student athletes, their parents, high school coaches, and guidance counselors. A school does not have to provide the report to the high school coach and guidance counselor if

The definition of athletically related student aid used here is the same definition that is also used for the EADA disclosure requirements. The definitions of certificate- or degree-seeking students, first-time undergraduate students, undergraduate students, and normal time are the same as those used for the calculation of completion or graduation and transfer-out rates for a school’s general student body cohort.

Undergraduate students—For purposes of §668.45 and 668.48 (completion and graduation rates for students and student athletes) only, means students enrolled in a bachelor’s degree program, an associate degree program, or a vocational or technical program below the baccalaureate. 34 CFR 668.41(a)

Certificate or degree-seeking student—one enrolled in a course of credit and recognized by the school as seeking a degree or certificate.

To the maximum extent practicable, a school must post verified textbook pricing information for both required and recommended materials for all classes (i.e., not just the school’s online classes) on the schedule that the school has posted online.

This pricing information must include the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) and retail price for all required and recommended textbooks and supplemental materials for each course listed in the institution’s course schedule used for preregistration and registration. If the ISBN is not available, the pricing information must include the publisher and copyright date, as well as the title and author. If the school determines that disclosure of this pricing information is not practicable, it may substitute the designation “To Be Determined (TBD)” in lieu of the required pricing information.

If applicable, the school must include on its written course schedule a reference to the textbook information available on its Internet schedule and the Internet address for that schedule.

Schools are encouraged to provide information on renting textbooks, purchasing used textbooks, textbook buy-back programs, and alternative content delivery programs.

A school must provide the following information to its bookstore if the bookstore requests it:

The statutory requirement about textbook disclosures was described in DCL GEN-08-12. Further guidance was given in GEN-10-09. Also note that the law requires textbook publishers to provide information to faculty about pricing, copyright dates of previous editions, content revisions, alternate formats, etc.

Entrance counseling is required for all first-time student Direct Loan borrowers. Before making the first disbursement of a Direct Subsidized or Unsubsidized Loan to a borrower who has not received a prior Direct Subsidized or Unsubsidized Loan or Federal Stafford or SLS Loan, you must ensure that he receives entrance counseling. Similarly, you must ensure that a graduate or professional student who is borrowing a Direct PLUS Loan has received entrance counseling, unless he received a prior graduate/professional Direct or Federal PLUS Loan. Entrance loan counseling is not required for parent PLUS borrowers.

Entrance counseling must give borrowers comprehensive information on the terms and conditions of, and their responsibilities regarding, the loan; see “DL Entrance Counseling—Required Elements” in this chapter. This information may be provided during an in-person counseling session, on a separate written form that the borrower signs and returns to the school, or online or by interactive electronic means, with the borrower acknowledging receipt of the information.

If entrance counseling is conducted online or through interactive electronic means, the school must take reasonable steps to ensure that students finish the counseling, which may include completing a test of their understanding of the terms and conditions of the loan. If a standardized, interactive electronic tool is used for counseling, the school must give the borrower any required information that is not addressed in the tool in person or in a separate written or electronic document.

A school must have someone with expertise in the Title IV programs reasonably available shortly after the counseling to answer students’ questions. As an alternative, if students are enrolled in an approved correspondence, distance education, or study-abroad program, they may be provided with written counseling materials before the loan is disbursed.

You may not require that students complete additional counseling beyond entrance counseling. However, your entrance counseling policy can require more than the minimum specified by the regulations (as detailed later in this chapter) as long as the additional requirements are reasonable as to time, effort, and relevance to the students’ borrowing and are not administered in a way that unreasonably impedes students’ ability to borrow. For example, your entrance counseling can

Also, although you cannot mandate it, you can encourage borrowers to participate in counseling beyond entrance counseling to be better informed about borrowing, the terms of their Direct Loans, their repayment responsibilities and options, and the consequences of default. And your school has the academic prerogative, of course, to provide financial literacy classes, on a credit or non-credit basis, that include information on budgeting, debt management, anticipated earnings by profession, elements of loan counseling, etc., though receipt of a Direct Loan cannot be contingent on such a class. See DCL GEN-15-06.

Special loan counseling is required for any PLUS Loan applicant, student or parent, who has an adverse credit history but who qualifies for a PLUS Loan either by getting a loan endorser or by documenting to the satisfaction of the Department that there are extenuating circumstances related to the adverse credit. While the special PLUS counseling is mandatory only for these borrowers, any PLUS borrower can voluntarily complete this counseling. See 34 CFR 685.200(b)(5) and (c)(2)(viii).

Note that the special counseling described above is separate from the entrance counseling that all graduate and professional student PLUS Loan borrowers must complete in accordance with 34 CFR 685.304(a)(2).

In a Nov. 21, 2019 Electronic Announcement, FSA informed schools about a change to the approved Master Promissory Note (MPN) confirmation processes. The Annual Student Loan Acknowledgment process would require student and parent borrowers to view how much they currently owe in federal student loans, and to acknowledge that they have seen this amount before a school can make the first disbursement of the first Direct Loan that a student or parent borrower receives for each new award year.

The Annual Student Loan Acknowledgement process continues to be available on StudentAid.gov. However, borrower completion of the Annual Student Loan Acknowledgement prior to disbursement will not be required for the 2022-2023 award year and beyond.

Per existing business rules of the Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) System, schools will continue to receive information about a borrower’s completion of the Annual Student Loan Acknowledgment process on StudentAid.gov. However, we will not reject disbursement records submitted to the COD System prior to the completion of the Annual Student Loan Acknowledgment.

Schools must adjust borrower notifications and make system modifications, as appropriate, to reflect that the Annual Student Loan Acknowledgment is not required.

If schools have questions about this process, contact the COD School Relations Center at 1-800-848-0978. The email address is: CODSupport@ed.gov.

See the January 21, 2022 announcement for more information.

A Direct Loan student borrower or a Perkins Loan borrower who is graduating, leaving school, or dropping below half-time enrollment is required to complete exit counseling. If he drops out without notifying your school, you must confirm that he has completed online counseling or mail exit counseling material to him at his last known address. It is also acceptable to email the information to his home (not school) email address if you have it. The PDF version of the Exit Counseling Guide for Federal Student Loan Borrowers satisfies this requirement for Direct Loan student borrowers. You may also send the student a direct link to the exit counseling materials online. Whatever method you choose must be used within 30 days of learning that the borrower has withdrawn or failed to participate in an exit counseling session.

When mailing exit materials to students who have left school, you’re not required to use certified mail with a return receipt requested, but you must document in their file that the materials were sent. If they don’t provide updated contact information, you don’t need to take further action.

Personal information collected for exit counseling provided by the school must be given to students’ loan servicers within 60 days. Students authorize their school to release information to servicers in the loan promissory note they signed. No further permission is needed. Students who complete loan exit counseling online fulfill this requirement; NSLDS provides the completion information to the loan holders.

The Direct Loan Program offers online entrance and exit counseling for students on the Studentaid website. PLUS loan credit counseling for parents and graduate students is also available there. Your school will receive notification (via SAIG) of online loan counseling completed by borrowers, and completion information can also be viewed on the COD website. If your school documents that borrowers have completed the Department’s online counseling, it has satisfied its counseling responsibility.

Your school may also elect to provide entrance counseling through an in-person session or by providing a separate written form to the student that she signs and returns to the school. If your staff are conducting in-person counseling sessions, charts, handouts, audiovisual materials, and question-and-answer sessions can help convey the information in a more dynamic manner. We also recommend the use of written tests or interactive programs to ensure that the student understands the terms and conditions of his loans. Counseling materials, such as the entrance and exit counseling guides, are available in the Financial Aid Toolkit. The DL regulations explain how a school may adopt alternative approaches as a part of its quality assurance plan; see 34 CFR 685.304(a)(8).

Regardless of the counseling methods your school uses, it must document that the student received entrance and exit counseling, and it must ensure that an individual with expertise in the FSA programs is reasonably available shortly after the counseling to answer the student’s questions.

All TEACH Grant recipients must have initial counseling before receiving their first grant and subsequent counseling before receiving each subsequent TEACH Grant. TEACH Grant initial and subsequent counseling, as well as the TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve or Repay, must be completed on the StudentAid.gov website. TEACH Grant Conversion Counseling is also available and should be completed when a student’s TEACH Grant is converted to a Direct Unsubsidized Loan. The counseling explains the terms and conditions that apply to the loan, how the new loan affects the student’s overall loan balance, and options available to help with repayment.

Schools that participate in the TEACH Grant Program must also ensure that all grant recipients get exit counseling before they cease enrollment at the school where they received TEACH Grants, at a time determined by the school. Schools may provide TEACH Grant exit counseling themselves, or they may require grant recipients to complete the counseling on the StudentAid.gov site.

Your school will receive daily system generated responses from COD when a student has completed TEACH Grant exit counseling and chosen to notify your school. Your school will also receive a weekly report from COD on all students who have completed TEACH exit counseling and chosen to notify your school.

If a student fails to complete exit counseling electronically on StudentAid.gov, you must ensure that the counseling is provided either in person, through interactive electronic means, or by mailing written counseling materials (such as the PDF version of the exit counseling guide) to the student’s last known address. Instead of mailing the counseling materials, you may also simply send the student a direct link to the counseling materials online.

For students who are unofficial withdrawals (see Volume 5, Chapter 1), you must provide exit counseling within 30 days of learning of the withdrawal.

If the student has enrolled in a study-abroad program (approved by a U.S. school for credit) or a correspondence or distance learning program and has not previously received a Direct Loan at that school, the school must document that the student has completed online entrance counseling that meets FSA requirements or provide entrance counseling information by mail before releasing loan money.

In the case of exit counseling for correspondence programs or study abroad programs, the school may mail or email the borrower written counseling materials within 30 days after the borrower completes the program, with a request that he provide the contact and personal information that would ordinarily have been collected through the counseling process.

Your school can take additional steps to counsel students, for example, in developing a budget, estimating need for loans, and planning for repayment. You can reinforce messages to borrowers; for example, with each disbursement you can remind them about the importance of SAP, planning for future employment, and staying in touch with the loan servicer. More ideas for loan counseling are given in the “Sample Default Prevention Plan” that can be found in 34 CFR 668 Subpart N, Appendix A.

You should provide borrowers with counseling at various stages of enrollment, interactive tools to manage debt, repayment options, school contact information, and information about the income potential of occupations relevant to their course of study. You can give this information through a variety of media such as face-to-face counseling, classes, publications, e-tutorials, e-mailed newsletters, and supplements to financial aid offers. You can offer a financial literacy course on a credit or non-credit basis as long as receiving a loan is not contingent upon taking the course.

In addition, the Financial Literacy and Education Commission, which includes the Departments of Education and the Treasury among other federal agencies, has published a report, Best Practices for Financial Literacy and Education at Institutions of Higher Education, which schools may find helpful with their financial literacy counseling.

You should identify and provide special counseling for at-risk students, such as those who withdraw prematurely from their educational programs, who do not meet SAP standards, or both.

A private education loan is a non-FSA loan that is made to a borrower expressly for postsecondary education expenses, regardless of whether the loan is provided through the educational institution that the student attends or directly to the borrower from the private educational lender. (See the following definition of private education loan for exclusions.)

Loans made under Titles VII and VIII of the Public Health Service Act, which are administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration, are considered to be private education loans. These include Health Professions Student Loans, Primary Care Loans, Loans for Disadvantaged Students, and Nursing Student Loans.

If a private education loan is part of a preferred lender arrangement, it is subject to the rules for those arrangements (described later in this section).

Note: Electronic Announcement – GENERAL-22-12 clarified that income share agreements (ISAs) used to finance expenses for postsecondary education are private education loans under 34 C.F.R. 601.2(b).

A school or institution-affiliated organization that provides information regarding a private education loan from a lender to a prospective borrower must provide the following disclosures, even if it does not participate in a preferred lender arrangement.

The private education loan disclosures must

The school or affiliate must ensure that information about private education loans is presented in such a manner as to be distinct from information about FSA loans.

The school must, upon the request of the applicant, discuss with her the availability of federal, state, and institutional student financial aid.

A lender must obtain a signed, completed Private Education Loan Applicant Self-Certification from the loan applicant before initiating a private education loan. The applicant may get a copy of the form from the private lender and submit it to your school for completion or confirmation. Your school may also, at its option, provide the information needed to complete the form directly to the lender.

If the loan applicant (the student or parent) requests a copy of the self-certification form from your school, you must provide it. You may post an exact copy of the form on your website for applicants to download, or you may provide them a paper copy directly.

The applicant may also ask, if the student has been enrolled or admitted to your school, that you complete section 2 before providing him the form. You must do that to the extent that you have the information. Section 2 of the form collects the student’s cost of attendance (see Volume 3, Chapter 2), the estimated financial assistance (EFA), and the difference between them. The EFA includes, for students who have completed the FAFSA, the amounts of aid that replace the EFC, which you determined according to the rules in Volume 3, Chapter 7; it does not include the private education loan(s) that the self- certification form is for.

The self-certification must be printed by the school or lender with black ink on white paper. The typeface, point size, and general presentation of the form may not be changed from the version approved by OMB. The only changes that may be made to the form are:

Note that if a school solicits, makes, or extends private education loans, it is considered to be a private educational lender subject to the Federal Reserve’s regulations on such. When the school is the lender, it must complete and give the self-certification form to the loan applicant and get the signed form back from the applicant before making the private education loan.

In some cases a school may be making more than one private education loan to an applicant. For example, a school may be providing a loan funded by the school (or from donor-directed contributions) and a Public Health Service loan. In such cases, the school can provide one self- certification form to the applicant.

Private educational lender—(1) a financial institution, as defined in section 1813 of Title 12 that solicits, makes, or extends private education loans; (2) a federal credit union, as defined in section 1752 of Title 12 that solicits, makes, or extends private education loans; or (3) any other person engaged in the business of soliciting, making, or extending private education loans. 15 USC 1650(a)(7)

Private education loan—As defined in 12 CFR 226.46(b)(5), a loan provided by a private educational lender that is not a title IV loan and that is issued expressly for postsecondary education expenses to a borrower, regardless of whether the loan is provided through the educational institution that the student attends or directly to the borrower from the private educational lender. A private education loan does not include—

34 CFR 601.2(b)

Institution-affiliated organization—one that is directly or indirectly related to a covered institution and that recommends, promotes, or endorses education loans for students attending the covered institution or their families. An institution-affiliated organization may include an alumni organization, athletic organization, foundation, or social, academic, or professional organization of a covered institution and does not include any lender with respect to any education loan secured, made, or extended by such lender. 34 CFR 601.2

For any year in which the school has a preferred lender arrangement, it will at least annually compile, maintain, and make available for students attending the school and the families of such students a list in print or other medium of the specific lenders for private education loans that the school recommends, promotes, or endorses in accordance with such preferred lender arrangement.

The school’s preferred lender list must fully disclose

The school is required to

The preferred lender list must also prominently disclose the method and criteria used by the school in selecting lenders to ensure that such lenders are selected on the basis of the best interests of the borrowers, including

The preferred lender list must indicate, for each listed lender, whether the lender is or is not an affiliate of each other lender on the preferred lender list. If a lender is an affiliate of another lender on the preferred lender list, the listing must describe the details of this affiliation.

For each type of private education loan offered under a preferred lender arrangement, a school (or institution-affiliated organization) must disclose

The school must disseminate this information on its website and in all informational materials such as publications, mailings, or electronic messages or materials that are distributed to prospective or current students and their families and describe financial aid that is available at an institution of higher education.

A school or school-affiliated organization that participates in a preferred lender arrangement regarding private education loans must not agree to the lender’s use of its name, emblem, mascot, or logo in the marketing of private education loans to students attending the school in any way that implies that the loan is offered or made by the school or its affiliate instead of the lender. This prohibition also applies to other words, pictures, or symbols readily identified with the school or affiliate.

The school or its affiliate must also ensure that the name of the lender is displayed in all information and documentation related to the private education loans described in this section.

Covered institution—Any institution of higher education, proprietary institution of higher education, postsecondary vocational institution, or institution outside the United States, as these terms are defined in 34 CFR part 600, that receives any federal funding or assistance.

Preferred lender arrangement—An agreement between a lender and a school or an institution-affiliated organization of the school under which the lender provides education loans to the students at the school or their families and that involves the school or its institution-affiliated organization recommending, promoting, or endorsing those loans.

A preferred lender arrangement does not include agreements with respect to loans made under the Direct Loan Program.

For the purpose of this definition, an arrangement does not exist if the private education loan made to a student attending the school is made by the school or by an institution-affiliated organization of the school and the loan is

34 CFR 601.2(b)

Misrepresentation is defined as a false, erroneous, or misleading statement made directly or indirectly to a student, prospective student, state agency, an accrediting agency, the public, or the Department.

A misleading statement includes any statement that has the likelihood or tendency to mislead under the circumstances. Misrepresentation includes any statement that omits information in such a way as to make the statement false, erroneous, or misleading. A statement may still be misleading, even if it is true on its face.

A statement is any communication made in writing, visually, orally, or through other means. This definition applies to statements made by an eligible school, the school’s representatives, or any ineligible institution, organization, or person with whom the eligible institution has an agreement to provide educational programs or those that provide marketing, advertising, recruiting, or admissions services.

Misrepresentation includes the dissemination of a student endorsement or testimonial that a student gives either under duress or because the school required the student to make such an endorsement or testimonial to participate in a program.

A school, one of its representatives, or a related party engages in substantial misrepresentation when it misrepresents the nature of its educational program, its financial charges, or the employability of its graduates. Substantial misrepresentation is defined as any misrepresentation on which the person to whom it was made could reasonably be expected to rely, or has reasonably relied, to that person’s detriment. Substantial misrepresentations are prohibited in all forms, including those made in any advertising or promotional materials or in the marketing or sale of courses or programs of instruction offered by the institution. A school is responsible for the harm caused by its misrepresentations, even if such misrepresentations cannot be attributed to institutional intent or knowledge and are the result of inadvertent or innocent mistakes.

If the Department determines that an eligible institution has engaged in substantial misrepresentation, it may

Under the circumstances described below, schools must report to the Department information about foreign ownership or control and about gifts from or contracts with any foreign source that are, singly or in combination, worth $250,000 or more in a calendar year.

A school (and each campus of a multi-campus school) must report this information if it

Schools that are owned or controlled by a foreign source must file two reports per year: one no later than January 31 and the other no later than July 31. Other schools that receive a gift from or enter into a contract with a foreign source that meets the threshold stated above, must file a report no later than January 31 or July 31, whichever is sooner.

Previously schools reported this information using question 71 on the E-App, but now they must use the online reporting system instead. Data that schools report include:

Note that what schools report has changed from what used to be reported on the E-App. See the June 22, 2020, announcement for more details about the new reporting method and the information that schools will now report. Appendix A of the announcement has an outline of the report, and Appendix B has a list of Q’s and A’s.

Finally, the report contains an acknowledgement of a failure to comply. The information collected in the report is subject to 18 U.S.C. §1001, which provides that a person may be subject to fines and imprisonment if he knowingly falsifies or conceals a material fact, makes any materially false or fraudulent statement or representation, or makes or uses any document that contains a materially false or fraudulent statement. Also, if a school fails to fulfill the obligations of HEA Section 117, the Secretary of Education may request the Department of Justice to undertake a civil action in federal district court.

Background information and resources related to HEA Section 117 can be found on the U.S. Department of Education website. For technical questions or access issues, email ForeignGiftsAccess@ed.gov.

FSA funds may not be used to pay any person for trying to influence a member of Congress, an employee of a member of Congress, or an officer or employee of Congress or any agency.

This prohibition applies to the making of a federal grant or loan, awarding federal contracts, and entering into federal cooperative agreements, as well as to the extension, continuation, renewal, amendment, or modification of a federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement.

Also, FSA funds may not be used to hire a registered lobbyist or pay any person or entity for securing an earmark. Schools receiving FSA funds will have to certify their compliance with these requirements annually.

A school may not use its administrative cost allowance to pay for its membership in professional associations (such as the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, the National Association of College and University Business Officers, etc.), regardless of whether the association engages in lobbying activities.

If a school that receives more than $100,000 in Campus-Based funds has used non-federal funds to pay any person for lobbying activities in connection with the Campus-Based Programs, the school must submit a disclosure form (Standard Form LLL) to the Department. The school must update this disclosure at least annually and when changes occur.

The disclosure form must be signed by the chief executive officer (CEO). A school is advised to retain a copy in its files.

The school must require that this certification be included in the award documents for all subawards at all tiers (including subcontracts, subgrants, and contracts under grants, loans, and cooperative agreements) and that all subrecipients shall certify and disclose accordingly.

Public schools that receive direct grants, including Pell grants, from the Department and that are legally required to abide by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution must comply with protections for freedom of speech, association, press, religion, assembly, petition, and academic freedom. The Department will determine that a public institution has not complied with the First Amendment only if there is a final, non-default judgment by a state or federal court that the school or one of its employees, acting in his or her official capacity, violated the First Amendment. A final judgment is one that the school chooses not to appeal or that is not subject to further appeal.

Private schools must comply with their stated policies regarding freedom of speech, including academic freedom. The Department will determine that a private institution has not complied with its stated policies only if there is a final, non-default judgment by a state or federal court that the school or one of its employees, acting on behalf of the school, violated its institutional policy regarding freedom of speech or academic freedom.

Both public and private schools subject to the above judgments must submit to the Department a copy of the court’s final, non-default judgment no later than 45 calendar days after the judgment is entered. This requirement became effective November 23, 2020; it applies only to violations of the First Amendment or a school’s freedom of speech policy that occur on or after that date and bring a final judgment, as explained above.

Public schools that receive direct grants from the Department cannot deny to any student organization whose stated mission is religious in nature any right, benefit, or privilege that is otherwise afforded to other student organizations at the school because of its beliefs, practices, policies, speech, membership standards, or leadership standards that are informed by sincerely held religious beliefs. Such rights and benefits include but are not limited to full access to the facilities of the school, distribution of student fee funds, and official recognition of the organization by the school. Anyone may report a violation of this requirement to the Department by emailing religiousliberty@ed.gov.

See the November 25, 2020, Federal Register notice for more information about these First Amendment issues.

If a participating school is located in a state that requires voter registration prior to election day and/or does not allow registration at the time of voting, then the school must make a good-faith effort to distribute voter registration forms to its students. This requirement was included in the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (also known as the “NVRA” or “motor voter law”).

The Department of Justice identified that the requirements of the NVRA apply to 44 states and the District of Columbia. Six states—Idaho, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Wisconsin, and Wyoming— are exempt from the NVRA. Likewise, the territories are not covered by the NVRA (Puerto Rico, Guam, Virgin Islands, American Samoa).

The school must make the voter registration forms widely available to its students and must individually distribute the forms to its degree- or certificate-seeking (FSA-eligible) students. The school can mail paper copies, or it may send an electronic message to each student with a voter registration form or with an Internet address where the form can be downloaded. The message must be devoted exclusively to voter registration.

In applicable states, schools must request voter registration forms from the state 120 days prior to the state’s deadline for registering to vote. This provision applies to general and special elections for federal office and to the elections of governors and other chief executives within a state. If a school does not receive the forms within 60 days prior to the deadline for registering to vote in the state, it is not liable for failing to meet the requirement during that election year.

Many of the consumer information requirements described in this chapter do not apply to foreign schools. Following is a list of those that do not apply with the relevant regulatory or statutory citation. For details see the November 2018 Federal Register notice.