Yesterday the US Department of Education issued a notice to announce that hearings will be held to discuss rules to be developed ‘to ensure colleges and universities are giving students a high-quality education that prepares them for the workforce and lifelong success.’ Topics to be included in these hearings include state authorisation for online programs, management of federal student aid funds by institutions, and gainful employment.  The Department will also be considering state authorisation of foreign institutions.  The notice says, “the Department is interested in ideas for how foreign locations of domestic institutions should be treated under the state authorization regulations since current rules do not specifically address foreign locations.”

These hearings will be held in May in San Francisco, Minneapolis and the District of Columbia. Following these hearings and based on comments provided, the Department will draft a list of topics to be considered by rulemaking committees. Negotiations would likely begin this fall and include foreign institutions in the new rules being developed on these issues. 

Follow this link to read the US Department of Education notice: http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-department-education-announces-new-hearings-conversations-higher-education-ru

Chronicle article “Education Dept. to Renew Efforts at Gainful-Employment and State-Authorization Rules”: http://chronicle.com/article/Education-Dept-to-Renew/138547/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

Inside Higher Ed article “Trying Again on 'Gainful'”: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/04/16/us-announces-rulemaking-gainful-employment-state-authorization-and-long-term-agenda

The British Council USA will continue to follow developments on the development of these rules and attend the hearing in Washington DC in May.