Quality  Assurance  and  Federal  Policies

Bob  Collins,  WGU  Mary  Alice  McCarthy,  New  America  

Founda=on  

Competency  Based  Educa1on  Financial  Aid  Overview  Bob  Collins,  Vice  President,    

Western  Governors  University  June  2015  

Federal  Financial  Aid  Delivery  

•  Academic  Year  (AY)  –  payment  periods  –  ED  defines  AY  as  minimum  of  24  credits  and  30  weeks    

•  Standard  Term  (Full-­‐=me,  ¾  =me,  ½  =me)  –  Semester/Quarter/Trimester  –  Fall/Spring  and  some=mes  summer  (header  or  trailer)  

•  Non-­‐Standard  Term  (Full-­‐=me,  ¾  and  ½  =me)  –  Mul=ple  entry  points  -­‐  Borrower  Based  Academic  Year  

•  Non-­‐Term  and  Clock  Hour  –  Full-­‐=me  -­‐  successfully  complete  24  credits  or  900  hours  

 

Measurement  of  SAP  Competency  Based  Model  

•  Degree  Plan  –  no  elec=ves  •  Academic  Ac=vity  Verifica=on  (AAV)  •  Qualita=ve  Measure  (Pass  =  B  or  be[er)  

–  Mastery  of  subject  ma[er  (3.0  GPA  exceeds  2.5  required)  

•  Quan=ta=ve  Measure  –  A[empted  versus  completed  –  Ins=tu=onal  policy  on  treatment  of  transfer  credits  

•  SAP  appeal  approval  requires  Academic  Plan  •  On-­‐Time  Progress  (OTP)  to  Gradua=on  

–  At  least  12  CUs  per  six  month  term  for  undergrad/  8  CUs  grad  

SAP  Overview  •  Financial  aid  only  awarded  up  to  150%  of  the  program  

length  •  At  least  66.67%  Cumula=ve  SAP  =  Good  Standing  •  Less  than  66.67%  Term  SAP  =  Warning  •  New  students  less  than  3  CUs  per  term  =  Terminated  •  Termina=on  and  SAP  Appeals  

–  Extenua=ng  circumstances  -­‐  documenta=on  &  situa=on  improvement  

–  If  approved,  must  complete  100%  un=l  cum  SAP  >  66.67%  

•  Unintended  consequences  •  Mee=ng  OTP  in  a  term  does  not  necessarily  mean  the  student  

is  mee=ng  cumula=ve  SAP  requirements  •  12/20  =  60.00%  -­‐  OTP  is  good,  SAP  is  bad  -­‐  discouraging  

Student  Fraud  Considera1ons  

• WGU  New  Student  Orienta=on  –  Begins  each  month  prior  to  start  –  no  cost,  non-­‐credit  –  Sekng  proper  expecta=ons  –  academic  and  financial    

•  Delay  loan  disbursement  for  all  new  students  –  30  day  delay  (45+  days  of  academic  effort  before  $$$  )  

•  Duplicate  address  reports  (US  and  E-­‐mail,  IP)  •  Third  party  iden=ty  management/biometrics  •  Verifica=on  of  iden=ty  

–  Notarized  statement  of  educa=onal  purpose    

Other  Regulatory  •  Direct  Assessment  34  CFR  668.10  

–  DCL  GEN-­‐13-­‐10  (March  19,  2013)  

•  Defini=on  of  Credit  Hour  34  CFR  600.2  –  www.ifap.ed.gov    Hot  Topics  -­‐  Program  Integrity      

•  Distance  Educa=on  Defini=on  34  CFR  600.2  –  …support  regular  and  substan=ve  interac=on  between  students  and  faculty  

•  Return  to  Title  IV  (R2T4)  34  CFR  668.22  –  Academic  -­‐related  ac=vity  

•  CBE  Dear  Colleague  Le[er  –  December  2014  –  h[p://ifap.ed.gov/dpcle[ers/GEN1423.html  

Experimental  Sites,  Legisla1on,  Thought-­‐Leaders  

•  Federal  Register:  July  31,  2014  –  Four  new  experiments  to  consider  –  Invi=ng  schools  to  new  experimental  sites  ini=a=ves  –  h[ps://experimentalsites.ed.gov/exp/index.html  

•  HEA  Reauthoriza=on  –  Accountability,  Accredita=on,  Affordability  and  Fin  Aid  

•  American  Enterprise  Ins=tute  –  h[p://www.aei.org/?s=competency+based+educa=on  

•  NASFAA  Task  Force  on  Innova=ve  Learning  Models  July  2015  •  www.CBEinfo.org    

Approval  for  Veterans  Programs  

•  Department  of  Veteran  Affairs  –  Educa=on  Liaison  Representa=ve  (ELR)  

•  State  Approving  Agency  –  Consumer  protec=ons  

•  Regional  Processing  Office  –  Student  eligibility  –  Cer=fica=on  –  Disbursement    

Approval  for  Ac1ve  Duty  Program  

•  Payment  is  capped  at  $4,500  per  fiscal  year  and  a  maximum  of  $250  per  credit  hour.  

•  Execu=ve  Order  13607  and  the  Principles  of  Excellence  –  All  ins=tu=ons  providing  postsecondary  educa=on  programs  through  the  Department  of  Defense  (DoD)  Tui=on  Assistance  (TA)  Program  must  agree  to  the  DoD  Memorandum  of  Understanding  (MOU)  

Repor1ng  Post  9/11  (CH  33)    

•  Rate  of  pursuit  applies  specifically  to  Chapter  33.  It  differs  from  training  =me,  which  is  used  for  all  other  Chapters.  Schools  cer=fy  actual  credit.  VA  calculates  rate  of  pursuit  by  dividing  the  number  of  credit  (or  credit  hour  equivalents)  being  pursued  by  the  number  of  credits  considered  to  be  full-­‐=me  at  the  school.  The  resul=ng  percentage  is  the  student’s  rate  of  pursuit.    

 Examples:  If  full-­‐=me  is  12  credits,  rate  of  pursuit  for:      6  credits  (or  credit  equivalents)  is  50%  (6  ÷  12  =  50%)      7  credits  (or  credit  equivalents)  is  58%  (7  ÷  12  =  58%    

     which  rounds  to  nearest  10th  =  60%)    

Reporting Training Time •  The VA has a formula to calculate training

time. This formula is used for all chapters of benefits except Post 9/11 (CH 33).

•  Double-click in the table below to input other dates and weeks.

BEGINNING ENDING   SEMESTER  EQU. TRAININGDATE DATE WEEKS HOURS HOURS TIME

02/01/13 07/31/13 26 12 8.3076923 1/2

FOR SEMESTER HOURS - INPUT BEGINNING DATE ENDING DATE AND NUMBER OF SEMESTER HOURS BEING CERTIFIED.

Regional  Processing  Centers