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Legal and Regulatory Issues

ACICS Recognition Review Continues to be a Dynamic Process

By Jay Vaughan, Partner and Chair of Education Practice Group, and Naomi Harralson May, Associate, Cooley LLP
While ACICS prepares an updated submission for consideration by a Senior Department Official, who is expected to make a determination by the end of July, other federal and state agencies are once again considering ACICS to be a federally recognized accrediting agency and reviewing the impact on status on a case-by-case basis.

Negotiated Rulemaking Committee on Affordability and Student Loans – Session One

Hidden Requirements for Calculating Graduate Employment

By Bryan M. Westhoff, Shareholder, Polsinelli PC
How do state and federal prosecutors use consent orders to enforce new rules for the way that propriety schools calculate their graduate employment rates? In the absence of any uniform rules for calculating graduate employment rates, many state and federal prosecutors have adopted their own views about which students schools can count as “employed.”

Negotiated Rulemaking Committee on Affordability and Student Loans – Session One

Knowing Your Responsibility as a Plan Sponsor

By Robert J. Behr, CPA, Senior Manager, McClintock & Associates, PC
There are many responsibilities that a plan sponsor has in order to keep the school’s retirement plan in compliance with the Department of Labor’s rules and regulations. Not only does a plan sponsor need to be familiar with the plan document and manage third-party service providers, the plan sponsor must also communicate with payroll and human resources departments and perform internal recordkeeping and review.

Negotiated Rulemaking Committee on Affordability and Student Loans – Session One

Practical Strategies That Harden Your Admissions Process to Avoid Being a Soft Target

By Edward Cramp, Partner, Higher Education Practice Group, Duane Morris LLP
This article outlines some simple and effective strategies colleges can employ for protection. A smart, defensive approach to admissions will deter most baseless student claims and defeat the few that get made.

Negotiated Rulemaking Committee on Affordability and Student Loans – Session One

How Accommodating is Your College?

By Darren K. Sharp, Partner, Co-leader of the Higher Education Industry Team, Armstrong Teasdale
College students with disabilities are afforded legal rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), as amended, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (§504), including the right to seek reasonable accommodations from their schools to participate and succeed in their academic careers. This article addresses the more common legal accommodations provided under applicable federal statutes.

Negotiated Rulemaking Committee on Affordability and Student Loans – Session One

Court Rules Students Training in Clinics are Not Employees Under the FLSA

By Bill Ojile, Partner, Armstrong Teasdale, LLP
In a decision relevant for any school that provides services to the public as a means to provide training for its students, the United States District Court for the District of Colorado recently ruled that such students are not employees for purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Negotiated Rulemaking Committee on Affordability and Student Loans – Session One

ED Issued its Final Rule on Borrower Defense to Repayment, and Then…

By Katherine Lee Carey, Special Counsel, Cooley LLP
The final rule on Borrower Defense to Repayment was published on Nov. 1, and then … there was the election. Although we can’t be sure what the election will mean for the rule, schools should be prepared for a July 1, 2017 effective date.

Negotiated Rulemaking Committee on Affordability and Student Loans – Session One