Washington News Brief

By Sharon H. Bob, Ph.D., Higher Education Specialist, Powers Pyles Sutter and Verville, PC

IG releases “Semi-Annual Report to Congress” warning the Secretary against repealing gainful employment rule

In November 2018, the Department of Education’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) released its “Semi-Annual Report to Congress” covering the period April 1, 2018 – Sept. 30, 2018. Some of the findings are as follows:

• The audits found that the Office of Management and Federal Student Aid (FSA) did not effectively implement security screening requirements for thousands of contractor personnel. As a result, the Department lacks assurance that contractor personnel are suitable for the level of access they are granted to Department-controlled facilities and systems, unclassified sensitive information, and locations where school children are present.
• The OIG disagreed with the Department’s proposed elimination of the gainful employment rules without an adequate replacement to ensure accountability. The for-profit sector continues to be a high-risk area for the Department, and the OIG resources devoted to postsecondary school investigations continue to be disproportionately devoted to fraud and abuse in the proprietary sector. The proprietary sector also represents a disproportionate share of loan defaults. In addition, findings of misrepresentation of job placement rates and guaranteed employment by Corinthian Colleges and other schools provide a clear demonstration of the need for accountability.
• The audit of the Department’s recognition and oversight of accrediting agencies found that the Department did not provide reasonable assurance that it recognized only agencies meeting Federal recognition criteria. The OIG also found that the Department’s oversight approach may not identify issues soon enough to mitigate or prevent potential harm to accredited institutions of higher education, students, or taxpayers.
• IG investigations into student aid fraud rings resulted in criminal actions taken against participants in fraud rings that targeted nearly $14 million in federal funds. This includes prison sentences for three members of a fraud ring in Arizona that used the identities of nearly 500 people to fraudulently apply for more than $5.2 million in student aid.

A copy of the OIG Report is found at: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oig/semiann/sar77.pdf

OIG releases “FY 2019 Annual Plan”

In November 2018, the Department of Education’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) released its “FY 2019 Annual Plan,” which presents the OIG’s major initiatives and priorities it plans to undertake. Its mission is to “promote the efficiency, effectiveness, and integrity of the Department’s programs and operations through our independent and objective audits, investigations, inspections, and other activities.”

New priority work includes the following:

• Schools’ use of online program management providers;
• School compliance with Career Pathway Programs and ability-to-benefit provisions; and
• FSA’s oversight of contractor’s acceptability review process for proprietary school annual audits.

Continuing work includes the following:

• Department oversight of school compliance and satisfactory academic progress;
• FSA’s controls over the FAFSA verification process;
• Selected school’s compliance with verification and reporting requirements;
• FSA’s oversight of student loan servicers;
• FSA’s use of heightened cash monitoring; and
• Department’s controls over Clery Act reporting.

A copy of the FY 2019 Annual Plan is found at: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oig/misc/wp2019.pdf

FSA describes content of 2019 gainful employment disclosure at FSA conference

During a session at the 2018 FSA Training Conference held at the end of November 2018, Cynthia Hammond, Assistant Director, Policy Liaison and Implementation, Federal Student Aid, announced that the new gainful employment template would be available in 2019 after all of the comments to the request for comments are reviewed. The template is currently open for public comment and the due date for the submission of comments is on or before Jan. 7, 2019. After the template is finalized, ED will announce when institutions need to implement it. Ms. Hammond explained that while ED is continuing to call it a “template,” it will not be a template like those that have been provided in the past. Instead, ED will provide a list of the required disclosures and each institution must provide the required disclosures on program webpages in “a clearly-labeled and conspicuous location.”

The required disclosures include the following:

• Program name;
• Program cost if completed in normal time as published in the catalog (including tuition, fees, books, supplies, and equipment);
• Information about licensure requirements;
• The link for the College Scorecard is https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/; and
• Warning language only if the program’s final, official debt-to-earnings rate failed the standards.

Ms. Hammond also commented that the Department is not planning on producing any new gainful employment debt-to-earnings rates any time soon. The reason given was that the Social Security Administration (SSA) was no longer cooperating with the Department of Education with respect to sharing earnings information. The information-sharing agreement between the SSA and the Department of Education lapsed in May. The Democrats in Congress believe that the SSA is reluctant to share earnings data following a federal court decision made on May 25, 2018, that ruled that the tiered relief system to calculate partial loan relief for students who had attended closed schools based on earnings data used by the Department violated the Privacy Act.

A copy of the proposed gainful employment disclosure is found at: https://ifap.ed.gov/fregisters/attachments/FR110818.pdf

A copy of the decision made by U.S. Magistrate Judge Sallie Kim of the Northern District of California is found at: https://predatorystudentlending.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/show_temp.pl-2.pdf

VA resets timeline for implementing changes to GI Bill

On Nov. 28, 2018, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) issued an announcement regarding major changes in the processing of GI Bill benefits payments under the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017 (Forever GI Bill). The VA said that beginning Dec. 1, 2018, it would be resetting its timeline for implementing changes to housing allowances for student veterans as provided under the Forever GI Bill. The changes were originally slated to be implemented last July, but it will now be ready for the 2020 spring semester. A revision to the way monthly allowances are provided to veterans included in the bill require extensive software changes. The VA has struggled to make the changes, which are currently calculated based on the institution’s main campus but, under the new law, require calculation based on the location in which a student takes the majority of his/her courses. Until the changes are implemented, the VA said that it “will pay monthly housing allowances for the current academic year at uncapped Department of Defense Basic Housing Allowance rates” and based on where an institution’s main campus is located, which will be equal to or higher than students’ current payments.

A copy of the VA announcement is found at: https://www.blogs.va.gov/VAntage/54520/post-9-11-gi-bill-housing-payment-rates-update/

Senate HELP Committee approves Robert King as Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education

On Nov. 29, 2018, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee approved by a vote of 12-11 the nomination of Robert King to serve as the next Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education. Mr. King is a former top Kentucky higher education official and the former head of the State University of New York system. He is now serving as a Senior Advisor in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. Chairman of the HELP Committee Lamar Alexander (R-TN) said he was “well-qualified.” Ranking Member of the HELP Committee Patty Murray (D-WA) expressed her concerns that Mr. King had not been subject to questioning in a Committee hearing. To which Chairman Alexander responded that since he was Education Secretary or before that, there have never been hearings on this postsecondary position before a markup.

House Republicans choose Congresswoman Foxx as Ranking Member of House Education Committee

On Nov. 30, 2018, Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) was chosen by the House Republican Committee to be Ranking Member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee. Congresswoman Foxx said: “It is an honor to have the trust and confidence of my colleagues to help lead all of us to uncovering and implementing more ways to empower Americans to build successful lives.” She will switch roles with incoming Chairman Bobby Scott (D-VA) when the 116th Congress begins in January 2019.

A copy of Congresswoman Foxx’s announcement is found at: https://edworkforce.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=403098

Senators ask for IG investigation into payment of GI Bill benefits

On Nov. 30, 2018, Senators John Boozman (R-AR) and Brian Schatz (D-HI), along with 10 other Senators, sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Inspector General, requesting an investigation into allegations that the VA would not reimburse veterans for missed or underpaid GI Bill benefits. Senator Boozman said in a press release: “When I brought the issue of GI Bill underpayments up to Secretary Wilkie during a hearing in September, he acknowledged the VA’s error and promised that all affected recipients would be compensated. When recent news reports suggested the VA was not acting to help veterans who have been shortchanged, the department outlined its plans to remedy the situation. Those plans fall short. These veterans must be fully repaid for errors they did not cause and this is what I expect the VA to do.”

A copy of Senator Boozman’s press release, including the text of the letter, is found at: https://www.boozman.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?id=2EBC1BDE-9877-4627-8351-F9EDD632DEB2

Senator issues press release regarding impacts of recent school closures on GI Bill recipients

On Dec. 4, 2018, dozens of campuses owned by Education Corporation of America (ECA) closed after the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) withdrew the accreditation of the ECA campuses. According to a press release from Senator Tom Carper (D-DE), a member of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, Senator Carper called on the Department of Education and the Department of Veterans Affairs to ensure that student veterans “have the resources and guidance they need to continue their studies at high-quality institutions of learning, including community colleges.” Senator Carper went on to say:

“Congress also has work to do. The Forever G.I. Bill, which Congress passed last year, took important steps forward to protect student veterans affected by school closures, but the legislation does not provide the same breadth of protections that are available to federal student loan borrowers. And, if we’re serious about preventing future school closures and protecting student veterans and taxpayer dollars, Congress must close the 90/10 loophole once and for all.”

https://www.carper.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?id=3E2AB6E1-F2DC-4BBD-94B2-7F5281623AB8

Senator Duckworth requests that VA repay student veterans their underpaid benefits

On Dec. 6, 2018, Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) sent a letter to Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie expressing concern that the Department is not fully compliant with the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act (P.L. 115-48) (Forever GI Bill). Senator Duckworth said that the basic allowance for housing for thousands of student veterans either was underpaid or not paid at all. The underpayment of benefits was due to the inability of the VA to implement the technology improvements needed to reflect the changes in the law. She requested that the VA make the veterans truly whole by paying the benefits with interest and by paying any penalties incurred by the student veterans due to the missing or unpaid housing allowance. In addition, Senator Duckworth said that the VA should coordinate with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to explain to credit reporting agencies why there may be many veterans incurring damaging financial information on their credit reports.

A copy of the letter is found at: https://www.duckworth.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2016.12.08%20-%20Letter%20to%20Sec.%20Wilkie%20re.%20Post-9-11%20GI%20Bill%20Payments.pdf

House and Senate Democrats send a letter to ED urging release of 90/10 data

On Dec. 10, 2018, Senate and House Democrats, led by Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), sent a letter to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos urging the Department to protect military and student veterans by publishing, as part of the federal 90/10 rule, the amount and percentage of revenue received by for-profit colleges from all federal educational programs. Since only federal student aid funds are counted as federal revenue, the loophole in the law “creates a powerful incentive for for-profit colleges to use high-pressure and often deceptive and misleading marketing tactic to aggressively recruit service members and veterans.”

A copy of the press release, which includes the text of the letter, is found at: https://www.durbin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/durbin-takano-carper-cohen-call-on-department-of-education-to-protect-military-and-veteran-students-

Democratic Senators ask Secretary DeVos to rescind ACICS’ reinstatement

On Dec. 11, 2018, 11 Democratic Senators, led by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), sent a letter to the Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos asking her to rescind her decision to reinstate the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) in light of the recent abrupt closure of the Education Corporation of America (ECA) campuses and “new evidence that reveals substantial erroneous and misleading information” in the report about ACICS that led to its reinstatement. Based on the new evidence, the Senators said that ACICS did not meet the one of the criterion for reinstatement as it had not been “’widely accepted’ by the higher education community.”

A copy of the Senators’ letter is found at:
https://www.warren.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2018.12.11%20Letter%20to%20Department%20of%20Education%20re%20ACICS%20recognition.pdf

California Senators Feinstein and Harris send a letter to Secretary DeVos urging her to ensure that students at campuses owned by ECA may have their loans canceled

On Dec. 11, 2018, Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Kamala Harris (D-CA) urged Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos to ensure that 4,000 students in California affected by the closure of the Education Corporation of America schools are informed about their choices and are able to transfer credits to similar programs. “[W]e request more information be provided to us as soon as possible about the U.S. Department of Education’s outreach efforts to those students affected by the abrupt closure.”

A copy of the press release, which includes the text of the letter, is found at: https://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=91C97D64-D1CF-4030-A0A1-56829BA8384F

Department announces plans to cancel $150 million in student loan debt for students who attended closed schools

On Dec. 13, 2018, the Department of Education announced that it would begin implementing the closed-school discharge provisions included in the borrower defense to repayment rule published on Nov. 1, 2016 in the Federal Register. This announcement comes about two months after Judge Randolph Rudolph ordered the Department to immediately implement the rule, which had been delayed in order for the Department to rewrite the rule. As a result, the Department will automatically cancel $150 million in federal student loans. About half of the students attended Corinthian Colleges, Inc. On Dec. 14, 2018, borrowers began to receive emails informing them that their loans will be discharged.

Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Patty Murray (D-WA) released a statement saying:

“It’s disappointing that it took a court order to get Secretary DeVos to begin providing debt relief to students left in the lurch by predatory for-profit colleges, but I am pleased the Department has finally started implementing this rule and that some of the borrowers who attended schools like Corinthian Colleges and ITT Tech are finally getting their loans cancelled. This is a good first step, but it’s not good enough – and I call on Secretary DeVos to abandon her attempts to rewrite the borrower defense rule to let for-profit colleges off the hook and instead fully implement the current rule and provide relief to more than 100,000 borrowers who were cheated out of their education and savings.”

An electronic announcement describing the process is found at: https://ifap.ed.gov/eannouncements/121318ClosedSchoolDischargeChanges.html

A copy of Senator Murray’s press release is found at: https://www.help.senate.gov/ranking/newsroom/press/murray-statement-on-department-of-education-finally-providing-relief-to-students-left-in-the-lurch-by-for-profit-colleges

Alexander will not seek re-election in 2020

On Dec. 17, 2018, Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, announced that he will not seek re-election in 2020. “The people of Tennessee have been very generous, electing me to serve more combined years as governor and senator than anyone else from our state. I am deeply grateful, but now it is time for someone else to have that privilege.” His decision will likely have consequences for a reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. Senator Alexander has always been known as a bipartisan legislator with an intense interest in the higher education system. He is one of a handful of congressmen with experience as a college president, and he also served as a Tennessee governor and U.S. Secretary of Education under President George H.W. Bush.

A copy of Senator Alexander’s press release announcing his retirement is found at: https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=D00D0EED-BC1F-439E-9E5C-B9210FCB5DF2

Ranking members of the Senate and House Education Committees ask the IG to investigate the decision to reinstate ACICS

An article in Politico stated that on Dec. 17, 2018, Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Patty Murray (D-WA) and Ranking Member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee Bobby Scott (D-VA) sent a letter to the Deputy Inspector General Sandra Bruce of the Department of Education regarding Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos’ decision to reinstate the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS). The letter stated that given the recent closure of the Education Corporation of America, “it appears the Department neglected to examine the accreditor’s statutory and regulatory responsibility to assess its institutions’ fiscal and administrative capabilities, as well as their records of compliance with Title IV program responsibilities.” The Ranking Members urged the IG to audit the Secretary’s decision not only in light of the recent closure but because of the recent evidence obtained by another group of Democratic Senators, which showed that a series of letters supposedly supporting ACICS sent from other accrediting agencies included “substantial erroneous and misleading information.”

A copy of the press release regarding the letter, including the text of the letter, is found at: https://democrats-edworkforce.house.gov/media/press-releases/top-democrats-call-for-investigation-into-education-departments-decision-to-re-recognize-for-profit-accreditor-acics

Senator Brown introduces bill that would restrict institutions from using revenues derived from Federal Educational Assistance; Congressman Grijalva introduces companion bill

On Dec. 18, 2018, Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) introduced S. 3762, which would amend the Higher Education Opportunity Act to restrict institutions of higher education from using revenues derived from federal educational assistance for advertising, marketing, or recruiting purposes. It was referred to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

On Dec. 13, 2018, Congressman Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) introduced H.R. 7303, Protecting Financial Aid for Students and Taxpayers Act, as the companion bill.

Report makes recommendations for new framework to increase accountability and transparency in higher education

On Dec. 18, 2018, two Washington-based groups, Higher Learning Advocates, a higher education policy advocacy group, and the Center for American Progress, a think tank, released a report titled, “Gatekeeping and Continuous Improvement: A Framework for Federal Oversight and Improvement of Higher Education.” The framework outlines a set of principles for rethinking the federal government’s system for ensuring quality in high education and providing students with the skills, knowledge, and credentials needed to fully participate in our economy and society.

The overarching principles include:

• While states and accreditation play a role in assuring quality and providing oversight, these principles apply to the role of the federal government and how it relates to federal financial aid;
• Federal policy should aim to improving student outcomes;
• The federal role should include a gatekeeping function and a continuous improvement function that creates incentives for improving the quality of educational and other student outcomes at participating institutions;
• Measures to address gatekeeping and continuous improvement cannot be one-size fits all; and
• Gatekeeping and continuous improvement effects must consider the possibility of unintended consequences, particularly to ensure that institutions do not deny access to traditionally underserved students.

A copy of the report is found at: https://higherlearningadvocates.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Gatekeeping-and-Continuous-Improvement_v.F.pdf

A copy of the press release is found at: https://higherlearningadvocates.org/news/new-policy-framework-shift-quality-assurance-from-compliance-to-continuous-improvement/

Secretary DeVos meets with leaders of ACE

On Dec. 19, 2018, the Secretary of Education met with leaders of the American Council of Education (ACE) to discuss higher education policy. The Secretary’s prepared remarks outlined her goals to overhaul the Higher Education Act and to rethink how higher education could be improved. She said that everyone should question everything to ensure “nothing limits students from being prepared for what comes next.” Secretary DeVos used accreditation as an example of how to approach the current system. She asked people to rethink which parts of the Department’s accreditation regulations and guidance are directly related to educational quality and student experience and which parts are ambiguous, repetitious, or unnecessarily burdensome. Secretary DeVos also asked how the Department could clarify the roles and responsibilities of each entity within the higher education “triad.”

Secretary DeVos released two documents in conjunction with her remarks. The first document was “Rethinking Higher Education,” which identifies the following goals that require rethinking higher education:

• It is time to challenge our past practices, assumptions, and expectations about what “college” is, what it should be, and how it should operate;
• It is time to restore institutional autonomy and respect for an institution’s unique mission;
• It is time to value the unique goals and challenges that each student brings to the postsecondary experience;
• It is time to include in our assessment of institutions the contributions that each school makes to help its students success;
• It is time to streamline regulations so as to avoid government intrusion;
• It is time to promote innovation; and
• It is time to allow new entrants to educational delivery and reject efforts to maintain the status quo.

The second paper released was “Rethinking Higher Education: Accreditation Reform,” which outlines the goals and offers recommendations for accreditation reform:

• Restore “substantial compliance” as the standard for recognition;
• Restore the regulatory triad by more clearly defining the roles and responsibilities of accreditors, the states, and the Department in oversight of Title IV participating institutions of higher education;
• Increase academic and career mobility for students by eliminating artificial boundaries between institutions due to credential levels an institution offers or the agency that accredits the institution or its programs;
• Provide greater flexibility for institutions to engage in innovative educational practices and meet local and national workforce needs;
• Within the confines of law, protect institutional autonomy, honor individual campus missions, and afford schools the opportunity to build campus communities based on shared values;
• Reward institutional value added, not student selectivity;
• Modify “substantive change” requirements to provide greater flexibility to institutions to innovate and respond to the needs of students and employers;
• Streamline and clarify the Department’s accreditor recognition process; and
• Encourage and enable accreditors to support innovative practices, grant limited accreditation to experimental pedagogies, provide support to accreditors when they take adverse actions, and allow sanctions that do not mandate “all or nothing” access to Title IV.

A copy of the Secretary’s remarks at ACE is found at: https://www.ed.gov/news/speeches/prepared-remarks-secretary-devos-american-council-education.

A copy of “Rethinking Higher Education” is found at: https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.ncher.us/resource/resmgr/daily_briefing/Rethinking_12-18.pdf

A copy of “Rethinking Higher Education: Accreditation Reform” is found at: https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.ncher.us/resource/resmgr/daily_briefing/accredidation_12-18.pdf

FSA releases data on the Federal Direct Loan Program, including borrower defense to repayment claims

On Dec. 20, 2018, Federal Student Aid (FSA) released its quarterly series of updates on the Direct Loan portfolio to include data through Sept. 30, 2018. According to FSA, the outstanding federal student loan portfolio currently totals $1.44 trillion, with Direct Loans encompassing 80 percent of the portfolio.

The report also showed that the Department received almost 35,000 new student loan fraud claims under the borrower defense to repayment rule between the end of June and end of September. However, the Department did not adjudicate any of the claims during that time period.

On Dec. 20, 2018, Senate Democrats led by Dick Durbin (D-IL) sent a letter to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos urging her to take action on the tens of thousands of outstanding clams by students who attended ITT Tech, which closed in 2016.

A copy of the FSA announcement is found at: https://ifap.ed.gov/eannouncements/122018FSAPostsNewReportsToFSADataCenter.html

A copy of the Senate Democrats’ letter is found at: https://www.durbin.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/12.20.2018%20ITT%20Tech%20BD%20Letter%20to%20DeVos.pdf

Senate unanimously passes the Faster Access to Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Act

On Dec. 20, 2018, the U.S. Senate passed, by unanimous consent, S. 3611, the Faster Access to Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Act, which would allow students to have the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) securely send the Department of Education their federal tax information with one click. The bill, which was introduced by Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Ranking Member of the HELP Committee Patty Murray (D-WA), Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO), would allow about 20 million students that complete the FAFSA each year to answer at least 11 and up to 22 questions with one click. [Currently, the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) does not allow the IRS to share taxpayer data with ED. The IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) is designed as a way to work around the lack of data-sharing authority by instead having the applicant obtain his/her own tax information from the IRS, and then import that information onto the FAFSA.

The bill would also permit taxpayer data-sharing between IRS and ED for the purpose of verifying income for applicants requesting or renewing eligibility for the income-driven loan repayment plans as well as for the 3-year monitoring period after a borrower has received a discharge for total and permanent disability. In addition to providing a less burdensome process for students and families, the bill would also create a more secure data-sharing experience, reduce applicant errors in reported income, and reduce improper payments.

A copy of Chairman Alexander’s press release following Senate passage is found at: https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=EBCF94C7-16E3-4DC6-A79A-BF66DB8A8A2F

VA announces that it will assist Veterans impacted by closure of ECA campuses

On Dec. 20, 2018, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced that it will assist student veterans whose education was interrupted due to the closure of the Education Corporation of America campuses. “The VA is in the process of identifying GI Bill beneficiaries currently enrolled at ECA and informing them of follow-on options,” according to the announcement. On Dec. 19, 2018, Senate Democrats wrote to Secretary of the VA Robert Wilkie stating that “school closures continue to disproportionally harm student veterans” and urge the VA to provide to student veterans accurate information about their option so that they are not further harmed.

A copy of the VA announcement is found at: https://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/includes/viewPDF.cfm?id=5168

A copy of the Senate Democrats letter is found at: https://www.carper.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/7/5/75d8002d-f84a-4b1b-a443-d2fb9f647bde/B6F76B064C16C5CDC9C21A953F1F2391.letter-to-secretary-wilkie.-eca-closure.-12.20.18.pdf

SHARON H. BOB PH.D., Higher Education Specialist on Policy and Regulation, is a member of the Education Group at the Washington, DC law firm of Powers Pyles Sutter & Verville, PC. Dr. Bob advises all sectors of higher education regarding strategic issues pertaining to their participation in the federal student financial assistance programs, accreditation, licensure, education tax benefits, and related regulatory matters.