Hearings Kick Off Negotiated Rule Making

Inside Higher Ed

Katherine Knott

April 17, 2023

Speakers urged the department to strengthen rules for accreditors and rethink recent guidance for third-party servicers.

The Education Department’s latest round of negotiated rule making is officially underway, though officials remain mum on what changes they are planning to propose as part of an ambitious regulatory agenda for the next year.

The Education Department heard from dozens of speakers during a two-day virtual public hearing on its regulatory agenda for the next year. The docket for this year includes amending regulations on accreditation, cash management, Return to Title IV, TRIO programs, state authorization, the definition of distance education and third-party servicers. (Title IV references Title IV of the Higher Education Act, which authorizes federal financial aid programs.)

“The goal here is building a higher education system that promotes upward mobility, equity and economic growth,” Education Under Secretary James Kvaal said at the beginning of the hearings. “We see the regulatory process as a tool to improve our programs and better serve students and taxpayers.”

Speakers from higher education associations, advocacy groups and other entities weighed in on just how exactly the department should approach those topics and who could be included on the committees that will negotiate the policies. Some speakers in particular urged the department to ensure that students serve as negotiators on the committees as well as faculty members.

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