The definition for distance education courses changes next year, as well as requirements for reporting student enrollment in distance education. Bookmark our blog as a guide for final rules and Program Integrity.
By Rick Cox
The Department of Education has issued final rules on Program Integrity and Institutional Quality. A number of the proposed rules will not be finalized at this time and those are noted at the end of this blog. Below, we’ve provided a summary of the final rules. These are effective July 1, 2026; however, some are eligible for early implementation. Additionally, the reporting for distance education will not begin until July 1, 2027.
You can access this Federal Register here.
- A technical change to TRIO regulations reflects the current status of the Republic of Palau as a member of the Freely Associated States and removes references to the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. This is the only change to the TRIO regulations. None of the other proposals affecting these outreach programs will be finalized.
- A new definition for distance education courses has been added to 600.2. However, the final rule removes “residency experiences” from the definition.
- Adds 668.41(h), which requires institutions to report students enrolled in distance education or correspondence courses. The procedure will be determined by the Department of Education (probably through NSLDS) and will not begin until July 1, 2027.
- Return to Title IV is not required if:
° A student is treated as never having begun attendance.
° The institution returns all Title IV aid for the payment period (or period of enrollment), including any credit balances provided to the student or parent.
° The institution refunds all institutional charges for that payment period (or period of enrollment).
° The institution writes off or cancels any balance owed for that payment period as a result of returning all of the Title IV aid.
The Return to Title IV provision is eligible for early implementation as of February 3, 2025. Also, please note that this is optional. You don’t have to implement this exemption. Institutions can also do this on a case-by-case basis, depending on your institution’s policy.
Additionally, you will need to include this in your policies and procedures manual to document your decision for early implementation.
- For attendance-taking institutions, 668.22(b)(2) is being amended to include the long-standing requirement that the Date of Determination (DOD) not be more than 14 calendar days after the Last Date of Attendance (LDA).
- A module will only be used in the denominator if the student began attendance in the module.
- A student enrolled in a Prison Education Program who takes a Leave of Absence will be allowed to return to any coursework, which will not have to be the same coursework they were enrolled in at the time of the LOA, even if this is a term-based program. This is eligible for early implementation as of February 3, 2025. Additionally, you will need to include this in your policies and procedures manual to document your decision to early implement this provision.
- Clock hour R2T4s must now use the scheduled hours in a payment period starting with the date the student began the payment period. Currently, institutions may use a cumulative method or only those hours in the payment period. Under these final rules, the cumulative method is no longer allowed. Institutions must now use only the hours in the payment period starting with the date the student began attending the payment period.
The following is an example provided by the department to illustrate the differences between the two methods. This program has a 900 clock-hour academic year consisting of two payment periods of 450 hours each. The student is scheduled to attend eight hours per day. From the beginning of the academic year to the withdrawal date, the student was scheduled for a total of 560 hours. The student completed 450 hours on day 68 and withdraws on day 70.
560 – 450 = 110 hours 70 – 68 = 2 days, 16 hoursR2T4 calculation:
Proposed Rules That Will Not Be Finalized
- TRIO final rules (other than the technical change noted above).
- Virtual Additional Location – this was going to be required for schools that offered distance education programs so these students could be tracked separately. This will not move forward. However, institutions will be required to report enrollment of distance education students as noted in the previous section.
- Prohibition on asynchronous coursework in a clock-hour program.
- Requiring institutions to take attendance for all online classes. Other parts of R2T4 will be implemented, as noted in the previous section. But this requirement will not be finalized.
The department had proposed that a student with a Title IV credit balance for a payment period they never began attending would be allowed to repay those funds in accordance with their promissory note, instead of the 30-day demand required now. The department will not go forward with this proposal.
Rick Cox is Global’s Executive Director of Regulatory Affairs and Compliance.
March 28, 2025