What the federal government has to say about serving students in other states, third-party servicers, and Artificial Intelligence
Digitally delivered education is affected by the increasing development and use of AI. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) released, rescinded, and plans to rewrite guidance about Third Party Servicers (TPS). ED released new final regulations last fall that will be effective July 1, 2024, as well as convened a new negotiated rulemaking. The new regulations as well as the outcomes of the newest rulemaking have current and future policy implications.
Attendees will learn about the various policy and compliance developments affecting the delivery of education when using digital technology. We will address the new final regulations and provide an update on the status of the newest rulemaking committee that will conclude in early March. Current additional issues of note include responses to the increase in Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools and the release of guidance from the U.S. Department of Education addressing institutional use of Third-Party Servicers (TPS).
The Department has also presented an ambitious rulemaking plan. In March 2023, the Department announced the intention to establish a rulemaking to address multiple issues affecting digital learning including interstate distance education, accreditation, and the definitions related to distance education. That rulemaking is currently in progress and will conclude in early March with proposed rules noted in the Unified Agenda to be released October 2024. In October 2023, the Department released proposed regulations that were the final five issues from the previous rulemaking held in Winter 2022. Most notable are the financial transparency and gainful employment rule and certification procedures that include regulations affecting interstate compliance and providing programs leading to a professional license. It is important to note that the Department recently completed a rulemaking to address loan forgiveness in light of the July U.S. Supreme Court decision to strike down the Biden Administration’s debt relief plan. The rulemaking concluded in December 2023 with anticipated proposed regulations to be released in May 2024.
Institutions and other stakeholders will wish to keep a keen eye on the direction these issues will go over the next several months. Ultimately, the development of policy and compliance requirements in these areas will require institutions to rethink how they are creating and supporting digital learning, including course design, contracting for third-party services, serving out-of-state students, and fulfilling the special obligations associated with programs that lead to a professional license or certification.
Although much of the conversation around AI in higher education has focused on discussions of academic integrity, generative AI is posed to impact a number of policy areas on the institutional, system/state, and federal level. In addition to exploring third-party providers and the emerging regulatory landscape, we will also explore the emerging regulatory landscape of generative AI.
Original TPS guidance was released in February 2023. The original Dear Colleague Letter vastly expanded the type of service for which an institution contracts to be considered a TPS. A TPS is a classification of the servicer for which there are increased responsibilities for the institution as well as the company itself in order for the institution to participate in Title IV HEA programs. Additionally, the Department was interested in public input about the 2011 bundled services exception when working with an Online Program Manager (OPM). The Department received more than 1000 public comments regarding the February 2023 guidance and officially announced in May 2023 that it chose to delay and amend the guidance. Institutions and organizations are still waiting for the amended guidance for which the Department indicated will become effective six months after its release.
We plan to guide the participants through applicable policy considerations and regulations as well as responding to participant questions. We will conclude with specific steps that institutional staff may take to communicate with their stakeholders about the development of new policies as well as new and revised rules. Participants will be directed to additional resources on these issues.
Cheryl Dowd, Senior Director, State Authorization Network & WCET Policy Innovations, and Cyber Fellow for WICHE
Track: Online Admin/Leadership
DAY 2 : February 29, 2024
Time 3:45PM – 4:45PM
