| DCLPublicationDate: 6/1/97 DCLID: GEN-97-5 AwardYear: Summary: Information concerning the restructuring of the Institutional Participation and Oversight Service June, 1997 GEN-97-5 SUMMARY: Information concerning the restructuring of the Institutional Participation and Oversight Service Dear Colleague: The Institutional Participation and Oversight Service (IPOS) is one of six Services within Student Financial Assistance Programs of the U. S. Department of Education's Office of Postsecondary Education. The purpose of this letter is to describe the Service and, in particular, focus on the restructuring of the Service which became effective November, 1996. Phone numbers and contacts to which you may have referred in the past, as well as those numbers and contact provided to you by the Department in prior mailings or resource materials, may have changed as a result of this restructuring. Further, information and resources you and your staff may have used in the past may have also changed. The full text of the reorganization of IPOS has been available on the Student Financial Aid Bulletin Board Service (BBS), as well as the Department of Education's World Wide Web Home Page. Also, it was described in an article of the December 12, 1996 Newsletter of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. PRIOR STRUCTURE The Institutional Participation and Oversight Service (IPOS) is charged with the responsibility to monitor the eligibility of postsecondary institutions to participate in the Title IV Federal Student Financial Assistance programs. Through IPOS, the Department of Education certifies institutions for participation in the Title IV student aid programs by reviewing their administrative and financial capabilities to assure compliance with the operational and fiscal requirements of Title IV law. In the past you may have known the various divisions of IPOS as the INSTITUTIONAL PARTICIPATION DIVISION (IPD) which handled matters related to new and recertified institutional eligibility and financial analyses of institutions for the financial responsibility portion of the statutory requirements, the INSTITUTIONAL MONITORING DIVISION (IMD) which handled audit resolution and the REGIONAL OPERATIONS DIVISION (ROD) which was responsible for training activities and program reviews of institutions within the 10 regions of the Department. In addition there were the ACCREDITING AND STATE LIAISON DIVISION AND THE COMPLIANCE AND ENFORCEMENT DIVISION. REORGANIZATION: IPD + IMD + ROD = CASE MANAGEMENT DIVISIONS In order to improve coordination and efficiency in the Department's monitoring activities as well as provide more cohesive service to institutions, most of the activities which had been handled by the INSTITUTIONAL PARTICIPATION, INSTITUTIONAL MONITORING AND REGIONAL OPERATIONS DIVISIONS have been consolidated into four CASE MANAGEMENT DIVISIONS, whereby staffs in each of the Department's ten regions and in Washington are assigned a portfolio of schools to monitor and assist. Processes such as recertification (the renewal of already- participating institutions), audit resolution, annual financial analysis and program reviews have been consolidated into a case management approach and are handled by staff teams within an assigned region in four Quadrants (Northeast, Southeast, Northwest, Southwest). Thus, in dealing with matters related to audit, program review, financial analysis and recertification, schools will be directed to one regional team which will provide integrated oversight services, including specialized training and institutional improvement opportunities, as resources permit. Within the four Quadrants or Case Management Divisions, there are ten teams, one for each of the Department's regions. INITIAL PARTICIPATION, MERGERS AND CHANGES OF OWNERSHIP An exception to the region-based case team management process involves initial participation of schools and changes of ownership or control of institutions. These functions, once performed by the Institutional Participation Division (IPD) will now be performed by a specialized branch of the new Accrediting and Eligibility Determination Division called the Initial Participation Branch. Applications from schools seeking first-time eligibility, changes of ownership or mergers of institutions will be reviewed by the Initial Participation Branch (IPB). OTHER DIVISIONS In addition to the four Case Management Divisions (Northeast, Southeast, Northwest and Southwest), there are now five additional divisions located in Washington, DC which are described in more detail in the enclosed information. These are: 1. Accreditation and Eligibility Determination Division 2. Data Management and Analysis Division 3. Administrative Actions and Appeals Division 4. Default Management Division 5. Performance Improvement and Procedures Division Nine divisions, the five enumerated above and the four Case Management Divisions make up the restructured IPOS. WHY THIS REORGANIZATION WAS MADE By increasing the integration and coordination of what used to be individual functional processes, the Department will be able to have a more thorough understanding of an institution's overall compliance with regulatory requirements and will be able to process actions and provide service more quickly by having most information about the compliance activity related to an institution available in one place. The restructuring of IPOS is intended to respond to concerns that the separate functional units of IPOS, each of which had responsibility for individual aspects of institutional monitoring, may have at times created an environment which was fragmented and confusing to institutions. Because no one unit had all the data and information about a particular school, it was difficult to provide cohesive monitoring and technical assistance. A detailed description of the new IPOS structure is enclosed for your reference. Please be sure to replace any phone numbers which you may have used in the past with the phone numbers and contacts enclosed. We are optimistic that this reorganization will result in an IPOS that will provide better service to institutions while enhancing efficiency and effective oversight of the student financial aid programs. For additional information, please visit our Web site at www.ed.gov/offices/OPE/Professionals/sfaorg/ipos.html. Sincerely, Marianne R. Phelps Director, Institutional Participation and Oversight Service Attachment |