Negotiated Rulemaking
Negotiated Rulemaking (or “Neg Reg”) is a process used by the U.S. Department of Education and other federal agencies, in which representatives from a government agency and affected interest groups negotiate the terms of a proposed administrative rule. The agency publishes the proposed rule in the Federal Register and then follows the usual rulemaking procedure of soliciting public comments, which are evaluated for inclusion in the final rule. NASFAA has historically participated in Neg Regs pertaining to federal student aid program regulations, by supporting and sending financial aid administrators from members institutions, NASFAA staff, and others to the negotiating table.
View recent NASFAA News Coverage of Negotiated Rulemaking below or browse the archive for previous articles.
To view NASFAA's official comments on negotiated rulemaking and proposed/interim final rules, please visit NASFAA On the Record.
*NEW* Download our chart summarizing the 2023-24 Negotiated Rulemaking topics and current statuses.
NASFAA Negotiated Rulemaking Coverage
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Summary Chart of 2023-24 Rulemaking Topics and Current Statuses
September 10, 2024 - NASFAA created this chart to summarize the 2023-24 Negotiated Rulemaking topics and current statuses. -
Deep Dive: Proposed Rules on R2T4, Distance Education, and TRIO programs
July 25, 2024 - On Wednesday the Department of Education (ED) released proposed rules on three of the six topics negotiated in its Program Integrity and Institutional Quality rulemaking session held over the winter of 2024. Wednesday’s proposal includes change... -
Education Department to Publish NPRM on Distance Education, R2T4, and Federal TRIO Programs
July 18, 2024 - The Department of Education (ED) on Wednesday unveiled proposed regulations for the federal TRIO programs, distance education, and Return to Title IV (R2T4). -
Is Your Campus Ready for New Regulations Effective July 1, 2024?
May 6, 2024 - NASFAA knows this year’s FAFSA rollercoaster has consumed more of the financial aid office’s energies than in years past. However, this year’s changes aren’t limited to FAFSA simplification. They include several regulatory cha... -
ED Releases Draft Rules to Provide Student Debt Relief for Subsets of Borrowers
April 17, 2024 - The Department of Education (ED) on Wednesday published its first set of draft rules to provide targeted student debt relief to borrowers, just 10 months after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Biden administration’s initial student debt r... -
Biden’s Second Attempt at Student Debt Cancellation Gets an “Initial” Outline
April 9, 2024 - Following an unsuccessful first attempt at implementing widespread student debt forgiveness and a monthslong regulatory negotiating process President Joe Biden on Monday unveiled “initial” details on his administration’s new attempt... -
Third Day of Neg Reg Session Focuses on Cash Management, Accreditation
March 7, 2024 - The Department of Education (ED) on Wednesday carried on its negotiated rulemaking session, which focused on cash management and accreditation. -
ED Continues Neg Reg Session With Discussions on Federal TRIO Programs, State Authorization, and Cash Management
March 6, 2024 - The Department of Education (ED) on Tuesday continued its session of negotiated rulemaking – known as neg reg – touching on multiple issues, including federal TRIO programs, state authorization, and cash management. -
ED Kicks Off Final Negotiated Rulemaking Session On R2T4 and Distance Education
March 5, 2024 - The Department of Education (ED) on Monday started its final negotiated rulemaking session on program integrity and institutional quality, focusing on the return of Title IV funds (R2T4) and distance education. -
Consensus: Student Debt Relief Committee Agrees on Financial Hardship Language
February 26, 2024 - The Department of Education (ED) concluded its final negotiated rulemaking session for its student loan debt relief committee and reached consensus on the drafted financial hardship regulatory text. -
Student Loan Debt Negotiating Committee Reconvenes for Financial Hardship Discussion
February 23, 2024 - The student loan debt relief committee reconvened on Thursday for a fourth session of negotiated rulemaking to discuss how the Department of Education (ED) can provide student loan debt relief to borrowers facing financial hardships — a topic t... -
ED Unveils ‘Hardship’ Draft Text, Detailing New Effort to Carry Out Student Loan Debt Relief
February 16, 2024 - The Department of Education (ED) on Thursday unveiled its draft regulatory text for next week’s negotiated rulemaking session – known as neg reg – that will focus on the issue of “hardship,” and seek to deliver stu... -
ED Wraps Up Second Week of Program Integrity and Institutional Quality Negotiations with Continued Discussion of Accreditation
February 9, 2024 - The Department of Education (ED) and non-federal negotiators wrapped up their fourth and final day of negotiations related to program integrity and institutional quality on Thursday, concluding the day with a continued conversation on accreditation. -
ED Continues Neg Reg Session With Discussion of Return to Title IV Funds and Accreditation
February 8, 2024 - The Department of Education (ED) continued its negotiated rulemaking session on Wednesday, this time with negotiators discussing issues around return to Title IV funds (R2T4) and accreditation. -
ED Continues Neg Reg Session With Discussion on State Authorization and Distance Education
February 7, 2024 - The Department of Education (ED) on Tuesday continued its negotiated rulemaking session on program integrity and institutional quality, gathering stakeholders to discuss the topics of state authorization and distance education. -
ED Hosts Second Neg Reg Session Focusing on Cash Management
February 6, 2024 - The Department of Education (ED) kicked off its second negotiated rulemaking session on program integrity and institutional quality on Monday, focusing solely on the issue of cash management. -
ED Wraps Up First Week of Program Integrity and Institutional Quality Negotiations
January 12, 2024 - The Department of Education (ED) and non-federal negotiators wrapped up their fourth and final day of negotiations related to program integrity and institutional quality on Thursday, focusing the entire day on the topic of accreditation. The day bega... -
Neg Reg Committee Works Through R2T4 and Begins Overview of Accreditation
January 11, 2024 - The Department of Education (ED) on Wednesday worked through another pair of issue papers during its third day of negotiated rulemaking (neg reg) for issues related to the Return of Title IV funds (R2T4) and accreditation. -
Neg Reg Committee Dives Into State Authorization and Distance Education
January 10, 2024 - The Department of Education (ED) on Tuesday hosted its second day of negotiated rulemaking for issues related to program integrity and institutional quality, this time focusing on state authorization and distance education. -
ED Kicks Off First Negotiated Rulemaking Session for Program Integrity and Institutional Quality
January 9, 2024 - The Department of Education (ED) on Monday began its latest negotiated rulemaking, or “neg reg,” focused on a number of regulations that directly impact institutions of higher education and their oversight providing entities. As a reminde... -
A Mixed Bag: Student Debt Relief Committee Does Not Reach Consensus On Multiple Proposals During Final Neg Reg Session
December 13, 2023 - The Department of Education (ED) on Tuesday held its final negotiated rulemaking session on student loan debt relief, where the committee ultimately did not reach consensus on several proposals. Along with the votes on consensus, the committee discus... -
Student Debt Relief Negotiators Discuss New Amendments in Third and Final Neg Reg Session
December 12, 2023 - The Department of Education (ED) on Monday inched closer to developing a regulatory framework for student loan debt relief as a stakeholder committee kicked off its final negotiated rulemaking session, discussing several updates ED made to the draft ... -
ED Releases Updated Draft Regulatory Text for Student Debt Relief
December 5, 2023 - The Department of Education (ED) on Monday released an updated draft regulatory text to provide student debt relief to several groups of borrowers ahead of next week’s third and final negotiated rulemaking session. -
Student Debt Relief Negotiators Dive into ‘Hardship’ Discussion in Second Day of Neg Reg
November 8, 2023 - The Department of Education (ED) on Tuesday wrapped up its second session of the student loan debt relief committee, as negotiators discussed drafted text and provided their insight on parameters for a “hardship” category of borrowers to ... -
ED Kicks Off Second Negotiated Rulemaking Session for Student Debt Relief
November 7, 2023 - The Department of Education (ED) on Monday resumed its negotiated rulemaking — or “neg reg” — sessions on student loan debt relief. During Monday’s session stakeholders began to weigh in on the department’s first d... -
Deep Dive: Final Rules on Administrative Capability, Certification Procedures, Financial Responsibility, and Ability to Benefit
November 1, 2023 - On Tuesday, the Department of Education (ED) released final rules on the four remaining topics from its 2020-21 Institutional and Programmatic Eligibility negotiated rulemaking session. The rules become effective July 1, 2024. -
ED Releases Draft Regulatory Text to Provide Student Debt Relief Through Neg Reg
October 31, 2023 - The Department of Education (ED) on Monday outlined options for student debt relief in draft regulatory text that detailed proposals for four different subsets of borrowers. -
ED Releases Final Rule Package on Ability to Benefit, Administrative Capability & Certification Procedures and Financial Responsibility
October 25, 2023 - The Department of Education (ED) on Tuesday released final rules on a number of topics that the department says will “raise the bar” on institutional accountability and better protect students and taxpayers. The rules released Tuesday are... -
Student Debt Relief Negotiators Discuss Parameters for Cancellation in Second Day of Neg Reg
October 12, 2023 - The Department of Education (ED) on Wednesday hosted its second day of negotiated rulemaking – known as neg reg – to provide a path to student loan cancellation, and gave an update on what the process will look like in the coming months. -
ED Kicks Off First Negotiated Rulemaking Session for Student Debt Relief
October 11, 2023 - The Department of Education (ED) on Tuesday began its latest attempt to forge a path toward student loan cancellation through negotiated rulemaking, or “neg reg”— a regulatory process that brings together stakeholders from the highe... -
Borrower Defense Web Center
November 16, 2022 - Borrower defense is a long-existing provision of law [Higher Education Act, Sec. 455(h)] that enables students who have been the victims of certain types of institutional misconduct to have their federal student loans forgiven. -
Negotiated Rulemaking Archive
December 31, 2018