NASFAA sent a letter yesterday to education leaders in the House and Senate urging them not to adopt an amendment proposed by the U.S. Department of Education to change "Master Calendar" requirements as part of H.R. 1777, a bill to make technical corrections to the HEA.
In a May 4 letter to lawmakers, Education Secretary Arne Duncan urged Congress to change Master Calendar requirements that delay the effective date of certain student aid regulations. The HEA currently requires that regulations implementing the student aid programs under Title IV of the HEA that are published on or before November 1 of a given year do not take effect until July 1 of the next year - a delay of eight months after promulgation. Duncan proposed to limit the application of this requirement to only those regulations that affect the calculation of grant, loan, or work assistance under those programs.
"This delayed effective date prevents the timely implementation of many substantive legislative changes to the student aid programs that are enacted by Congress and constrains the Secretary in regulating the numerous other aspects of the student aid programs for which more prompt action is needed, such as loan collection, and guaranty procedures, recognition of accrediting agencies, institutional eligibility and certification, and compliance matters," Duncan wrote in the letter.
NASFAA President and CEO Dr. Phil Day responded in a letter to lawmakers urging them to reject the Department's proposal.
"Requiring institutions to implement new regulations in as little as 30 days (as the Department suggests) demonstrates a lack of awareness about how institutions operate," Day wrote in the letter. "Shorter timeframes for implementing regulatory change should be reserved for issues impacting fraud and abuse, not normal modifications of student aid procedure," Day said.
Day also noted that the Department's claim that the implementation of student aid programs can take from one year up to 20 months is inaccurate.
"Congress sets legislative effective dates irrespective of when regulations are issued, and schools are required to make a good-faith effort to comply with all legislative directives upon their dates of enactment." Day wrote. "The additional time to formulate thoughtful regulations required by the Master Calendar helps ensure that students do not experience any unintended negative consequences."
NASFAA is not alone in its opposition to the Department's proposal to change Master Calendar provisions. Twelve other higher education associations have signed a letter from the American Council on Education asking lawmakers to oppose the Department's proposal.
Posted 05/13/09 to www.NASFAA.org. Redistribution to non-NASFAA institutions is prohibited. Please submit Web site questions or comments to Web@NASFAA.org.
