Significant New Financial Responsibility, Administrative Capability and Certification Requirements Loom Ahead for Title IV Institutions
Jonathan D. Tarnow
February 27, 2024
At a Glance
The U.S. Department of Education has issued a final rule that significantly revises its financial responsibility, administrative capability, certification and ability-to-benefit regulations.
These regulatory changes create significant new compliance obligations for higher education institutions that participate in the Title IV federal student aid programs.
This final rule reflects a second comprehensive package of Title IV regulations that are scheduled to take effect July 1, 2024.
On October 31, 2023, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) published in the Federal Register a Final Rule that significantly revises the financial responsibility, administrative capability and certification requirements applicable to higher education institutions that participate in federal student financial aid programs under Title IV of the Higher Education Act (Title IV). The Final Rule also amends Title IV participation requirements for ability-to-benefit (ATB) programs. Most of the revisions are consistent with ED’s earlier Proposed Rule, which was published in May 2023, and we discussed in a prior alert. (The Proposed Rule also included ED’s new Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment regulations, which ED finalized in a separate final rule on October 10, 2023, and which we summarized here.) All of these important regulatory changes take effect on July 1, 2024.
