On July 31, 2008, Congress passed the first full reauthorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (P.L. 105-244), since 1998. After more than five years of consideration, Congress approved the Higher Education Opportunity Act (P.L. 110-315) (“HEOA” or the “Act”) on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis. The President then signed the Act into law on August 14, 2008. The Act imposes a substantial number of new reporting and disclosure obligations on institutions that participate in Title IV federal student financial aid programs. Unless otherwise specified in the Act, those reporting and disclosure requirements are applicable as of the date of enactment. It is expected that the Secretary of Education (the “Secretary”) will provide guidance in the near future on compliance with some of the new requirements; nonetheless, for those requirements that are effective upon the date of enactment (August 14, 2008), the obligation to comply commences upon the date of enactment as well.
Because the reporting and disclosure requirements are linked to an institution's participation in the Title IV federal student financial aid programs, the Secretary is authorized to take administrative action, including the imposition of fines, against institutions that do not comply. The most severe penalty the Department could impose for failure to comply, however, is a limitation or termination of the institution's participation in the Title IV financial aid programs.
This Note addresses, in general terms, the major new reporting and disclosure requirements included in the Act organized by general topic. (A separate Note, also published today, addresses the student lending specific reporting requirements. Thus, this Note will focus only on the new reporting and disclosure obligations that do not relate to student lending). Attached to this Note is a more detailed explanation of each new reporting and disclosure requirement of the HEOA on a section-by-section basis . The two documents are meant to be used in conjunction with one another – with the general overview presented in this Note and the specifics of each new reporting obligation set forth in the attachment. Appropriate hyperlinks to the relevant text in the attachment are provided for each section of this Note. At the conclusion of the Note are links to additional helpful resources. Neither this Note nor the attachment constitute legal advice. Counsel are encouraged to review the HEOA for its impact on their specific institutions. |
