News and updates

The US Department of Education has revealed new rules impacting distance learning; the Distance Learning and Innovation regulation is available in the Federal Register and is now open for a 30 day public comment period. The Department plans to publish a final regulation prior to November 1st, 2020.

The new regulation would implement:

• Emphasize demonstrated learning over seat time.
• Remove confusion over whether a course is eligible for Title IV aid by defining “regular and substantive” interaction between students and instructors.
• Clarify and simplify the requirements for direct assessment programs, including how to determine equivalent credit hours.
• Add a definition of “juvenile justice facility” to ensure that incarcerated students remain Pell eligible.
• Allow students enrolled in Title IV, Higher Education Act (HEA)-eligible foreign institutions to complete up to 25% of their programs at an eligible institution in the United States. This provision is particularly important for students temporarily unable to attend courses abroad due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Encourage employer participation in developing educational programs.
• Create a new, student-centric system for disbursing Title IV, HEA assistance to students in subscription-based programs.
• Require prompt action by the Department on applications to participate, or continue to participate, as an eligible institution in the HEA, Title IV program. In the past, these applications have been stalled for months or even years.

The Department emphasized that this regulation has been in the works for over a year, although it is now extremely relevant as colleges shift to online learning due to COVID-19.