DCLPublicationDate: 8/1/97 DCLID: GEN-97-6 AwardYear: Summary: How to report changes to the information you provided on your Application for Approval to Participate in Federal Student Financial Aid Programs. Dear Colleague: We are pleased to announce a streamlined process for submitting requests for institutional changes to the Department. We have made this process available through our ongoing commitment to minimize the administrative burden to institutions. The letter below (GEN-97-6) describes the process for submission of required updates to the information that was provided in the Application for Approval to Participate in Student Financial Aid Programs ("Application"). By separately listing those substantial changes which require not only notification but explicit approval of the Department from those changes which require notification only, we believe this letter will assist your institutional officials in determining more easily how to comply with regulatory requirements. In addition, by having the institution complete only those sections of the Application which pertain to the particular institutional changes, rather than an entirely new Application, we have reduced the time it will take to submit and process changes. The Application question numbers which are referred to in the instructions are taken from the current version of the Application. You may obtain a copy of the current Application from the Department's World Wide Web hompage at the address noted in the letter (http://www.ed.gov/offices/OPE/Professionals/pubs.html). Complete and submit only those pages (along with any required supporting documents) which are pertinent to the changes your institution is making. You may also contact the appropriate Case Team to obtain photocopies of the relevant pages and instructions for submission. We hope the process outlined in the letter will assist you in this important matter. Future enhancements will include an entirely electronic application process which we will be announcing . Sincerely, Elizabeth M. Hicks August 1997 GEN-97-6 SUMMARY: How to report changes to the information you provided on your Application for Approval to Participate in Federal Student Financial Aid Programs. Dear Colleague: U.S. Department of Education (ED) regulations require you to update certain information provided on your Application for Approval to Participate in Federal Student Financial Aid Programs (ED Form E40-34P) AS CHANGES OCCUR. Please note that the application is available on ED's Web page at-- http://www.ed.gov/offices/OPE/Professionals/pubs.html The charts enclosed with this letter tell you what information must be updated, how to update the information, and what supporting documentation (if any) is required. ENCLOSED CHART 1: In instances where the change involves a substantial modification to your program or structure, you must complete the appropriate question on the application and submit required supporting documentation. (In some instances, such as for change in ownership, ED will then notify you that you must submit a full application.) For all substantial changes, written approval from ED is required before you are authorized to disburse funds on the basis of the change. Chart 1 lists the changes where ED's written approval is required. ENCLOSED CHART 2: In other instances, you are required only to notify ED of the change. This is done by completing the appropriate question on the application and (if required) providing supporting documentation. Chart 2 lists those changes. ATTACHMENT A amplifies Chart 1 by describing when and how to report proposed changes in your institution-wide accreditation. Note that you must notify ED when you begin the process of obtaining accreditation from a different agency. Information from the application that is not listed on these charts is to be updated when you next apply for recertification. Note: Two changes are not listed on the application. If you close or if you file for bankruptcy, you must notify us within 10 calendar days by sending us a letter on your school's letterhead. Tell us the date you closed (or plan to close) or the date you filed for bankruptcy. IF SENT BY U.S. POSTAL SERVICE, SEND ALL CHANGES TO THE FOLLOWING ADDRESS U.S. Department of Education Institutional Participation and Oversight Service P.O. Box 44805 L'Enfant Plaza Station Washington, DC 20026-4805 IF SENT BY COMMERCIAL OVERNIGHT MAIL/COURIER DELIVERY, SEND ALL CHANGES TO THE FOLLOWING ADDRESS U.S. Department of Education Institutional Participation and Oversight Service 7th and D Streets, SW GSA Building, Room 3522 Washington, DC 20407 We hope that this information will help you comply with our regulatory reporting requirements. If you have any questions, please call the case management team responsible for the state in which you are primarily authorized to offer instruction. The teams are listed in ATTACHMENT B; the teams also are listed in the Introduction to the application beginning on page 5. Sincerely, Elizabeth M. Hicks Deputy Assistant Secretary for Student Financial Assistance Programs Enclosures: Charts 1 and 2 Attachment A: Reporting Proposed Changes to Institution-Wide Accreditation Attachment B: Case Management Team Contacts CHART 1 -- CHANGES THAT REQUIRE WRITTEN APPROVAL CHANGES YOU MUST REPORT TO US, FOLLOWED BY THE QUESTION NUMBER FROM THE APPLICATION. FOR THESE CHANGES, YOU MUST RECEIVE OUR WRITTEN APPROVAL OR ACKNOWLEDGMENT BEFORE YOU DISBURSE FEDERAL STUDENT FINANCIAL AID ON THE BASIS OF THE CHANGES. TO REPORT A CHANGE IN... USE... Accrediting agency (see below)* Question 15 State authorizing agency Question 17 Institutional structure Question 18 Educational programs outside the scope of your current approval Question 26 Addition of non-degree programs outside the scope of your current approval Question 27 Changing from or to clock or credit hours Question 27 Addition of a location Question 30 Addition of a federal student financial aid program Question 37 (such as the Direct Loan Program or the Federal Family Education Loan Program) (see below )** FOR for-profit institutions only Type of ownership Question 22 Ownership Question 24 Notifying us of any of these changes is a two-step process. 1. No later than 10 calendar days after the change is made, you must send us a letter on your school's letterhead notifying us of the change and the date the change was made. 2. As soon as you have received approvals for the change from your accrediting agency and state authorizing agency, you must send us: - a letter on your school's letterhead stating the change you are reporting, your 8-digit Office of Postsecondary Education Identification (OPE ID) number, and your 9-digit Employer Identification Number (EIN); - copies of the approvals for the change; - the completed portion of the application relevant to the change; and - (Include any documentation asked for in the question. If necessary, use the space provided in Question 69 to supply additional information or explanations.) - Section L of the application that contains the original signature of the appropriate person. We expect that within 35 days after we receive all of your information, either we will send you a letter of approval or acknowledgment, or we will ask you to submit a new application. Note: Two changes are not listed on the application. If you close or if you file for bankruptcy, you must notify us within 10 calendar days by sending us a letter on you school's letterhead. Tell us the date you closed (or plan to close) or the date you filed for bankruptcy. * Notify us when you BEGIN making ANY change that deals with your school's institution-wide accreditation. See Attachment A for details. ** Approvals from your accrediting agency and state authorizing agency are NOT required for this change. CHART 2 - CHANGES THAT REQUIRE ONLY NOTIFICATION -- CHANGES YOU MUST REPORT TO US, FOLLOWED BY THE QUESTION NUMBER FROM THE APPLICATION. FOR THESE CHANGES, YOU DO NOT NEED OUR WRITTEN APPROVAL OR ACKNOWLEDGMENT BEFORE YOU DISBURSE FEDERAL STUDENT FINANCIAL AID ON THE BASIS OF THE CHANGES. TO REPORT A CHANGE IN... USE... Name of institution (see below)* Question 2 Name of CEO/president/chancellor Question 10 Name of chief fiscal officer/financial officer Question 11 Principal location--address change only Question 29 (see below)* Other locations--address change only Question 30 (see below)* Third-party servicers that deal with federal Question 58 student financial aid For private nonprofit and for-profit institutions (NOT public institutions) Board of directors (but NOT trustees) Question 20 For foreign schools only (including foreign graduate medical schools) Postsecondary authorization Question 42 Degree authorization Question 43 Program equivalence Question 44 Program criteria Question 45 U.S. administrative and/or recruitment Question 46 offices For foreign graduate medical schools only Facility at which you provide graduate Question 47 medical instruction Authorizing entity Question 48 Approval of authorizing entity Question 49 Length of program Question 50 Programs located in the U.S. Question 51 Notify us of any of these changes no later than 10 calendar days after the change is made. Send us: - a letter on your school's letterhead stating-- - the change you are reporting, - the date the change was made, - your 8-digit Office of Postsecondary Education Identification (OPE ID) number, and - your 9-digit Employer Identification Number (EIN); - the completed portion of the application relevant to the change; and - (Include any documentation asked for in the question. If necessary, use the space provided in Question 69 to supply additional information or explanations.) - Section L of the application that contains the original signature of the appropriate person. *As soon as you have received approvals for the change from your accrediting agency and state authorizing agency, you must send us copies of the approvals for the change. We expect that within 35 days after we receive all of your information, we will send you a letter saying that we have updated our records. Augus 1997 GEN-97-6 Additional Information on Reporting Proposed Changes to Institution-Wide Accreditation This attachment tells you when and how to report proposed changes to the information you provided about your institution-wide accreditation on your Application for Approval to Participate in Federal Student Financial Aid Programs (ED Form E40-34P). Reporting a proposed change in your primary institution-wide accreditation If you decide to change your primary accrediting agency, you must notify the U.S. Department of Education (ED) when you begin the process of obtaining accreditation from a different agency. As part of the notice, you must submit to us materials about your current accreditation AND materials demonstrating reasonable cause for changing your accreditation. NOTE: If you fail to notify us of the proposed change to your primary institution-wide accreditation, or if you do not provide the materials described here, the U.S. Secretary of Education will no longer recognize your existing accreditation. This means you would no longer have accredited status, and you would no longer be eligible to award federal student financial aid or take part in other programs under the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA). Reporting proposed accreditation by more than one institution-wide accrediting agency If you decide to become accredited by more than one institution-wide accrediting agency, you must notify us when you begin the process of obtaining additional accreditation. As part of the notice, you must submit to us (and to your current institution-wide accrediting agency and the prospective institution-wide accrediting agency) the reasons you wish to be accredited by more than one accrediting agency. NOTE: If you obtain the additional institution-wide accreditation and fail to notify us of the reasons for that additional accreditation, the U.S. Secretary of Education will not recognize your accredited status with either agency. This means you would no longer have accredited status, and you would no longer be eligible to award federal student financial aid or take part in other programs under the HEA. If you become accredited by more than one institution-wide accrediting agency, you must tell us which agency's accreditation is the primary accreditation you wish us to use in determining your eligibility for federal student financial aid programs. We hope that this information will help you comply with our reporting requirements. If you have any questions, please call the appropriate case management team listed in Attachment B; the teams also are listed in the Introduction to the application beginning on page 5. [[This file contains the "Attachment B - Case Management Team Contacts" in Portable Document Format (PDF). It can be viewed with version 3.0 or greater of the free Adobe Acrobat Reader software.]] |