Rule2022-02305
Clarification Concerning Tuition and Fees Payment Plans for Standard Terms and 85/15 Calculations
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
February 4, 2022
Issuing agencies
Veterans Affairs Department
Abstract
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides notice of a policy advisory issued on August 31, 2021, by VA's Education Service. The policy advisory clarifies and amends VA's previous regulatory interpretation of tuition and fees (T&F) payment plans to differentiate between types of payment plans. Some payment plans should no longer be categorized as institutional support to a student when calculating the ratio of "supported" to "non-supported" students in a program pursuant to the 85/15 Rule. While VA is retaining the general rule that a student who has a payment plan with an Educational Training Institute (ETI) should be considered supported, a student participating in a payment plan that meets the criteria set forth in this notice should not be considered supported and, instead, should be counted on the non- supported side of the 85/15 ratio.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 24 (Friday, February 4, 2022)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 24 (Friday, February 4, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 6427-6428]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-02305]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
38 CFR Part 21
Clarification Concerning Tuition and Fees Payment Plans for
Standard Terms and 85/15 Calculations
AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs.
ACTION: Policy interpretation.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides notice of a
policy advisory issued on August 31, 2021, by VA's Education Service.
The policy advisory clarifies and amends VA's previous regulatory
interpretation of tuition and fees (T&F) payment plans to differentiate
between types of payment plans. Some payment plans should no longer be
categorized as institutional support to a student when calculating the
ratio of ``supported'' to ``non-supported'' students in a program
pursuant to the 85/15 Rule. While VA is retaining the general rule that
a student who has a payment plan with an Educational Training Institute
(ETI) should be considered supported, a student participating in a
payment plan that meets the criteria set forth in this notice should
not be considered supported and, instead, should be counted on the non-
supported side of the 85/15 ratio.
DATES: This policy interpretation is applicable from February 4, 2022.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cheryl Amitay, Chief of Policy and
Regulations Team, Education Service (225), Veterans Benefits
Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20420, Telephone: 202-461-9800 (This is not a toll-free
number).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 85/15 rule (38 U.S.C. 3680A(d); 38 CFR
21.4201(a)) prohibits VA from paying educational assistance benefits to
any new students once ``more than 85 percent of the students enrolled
in the [program of education] are having all or part of their tuition,
fees or other charges paid to or for them by the educational
institution or by the Department of Veterans Affairs'' (38 U.S.C.
3680A(d)(1)). VA refers to students who receive such institutional or
VA aid as ``supported'' students. Conversely, no less than 15 percent
of the students enrolled in the program must be attending without
having any of their tuition, fees or other charges paid to or for them
by the educational institution or VA (referred to as non-supported
students).
Currently, in accordance with 38 CFR 21.4201, educational
institutions are
[[Page 6428]]
required to track the percentage of supported and non-supported
students enrolled in each of their approved programs and to confirm
their compliance with the required 85/15 percent ratio (38 CFR
21.4201(e)-(f)). During the time the ratio of supported students to
non-supported students exceeds 85 percent, no new students can be
certified to receive VA education benefits for that program (38 CFR
21.4201(g)(2)). For the 85/15 calculations, new students include
students returning after a break in enrollment unless the break is
wholly due to circumstances beyond the student's control (38 CFR
21.4201(g)(6)). The 85/15 rule allows VA to continue to pay benefits
for students already enrolled in the program and receiving benefits
prior to the ratio of supported students exceeding 85 percent of the
total population enrolled in the program (38 CFR 21.4201(g)(2)).
A program suspended for violating the 85/15 rule still may retain
all of its current students. VA beneficiaries already enrolled in the
program will be allowed to receive benefits for the program as long as
they remain continuously enrolled, even if the ratio of supported
students rises above 85 percent. Also, a beneficiary enrolled at an
educational institution organized on a term, semester or quarter basis
need not attend summer sessions to maintain continuous enrollment.
Further, as provided in 38 U.S.C. 3680A(d) and 38 CFR 21.4201, any
school is permitted to request a waiver from 85/15 reporting. Finally,
there are exceptions to compliance with the 85/15 rule, such as the
following:
<bullet> VA beneficiaries receiving Veteran Readiness and
Employment (Chapter 31), or Survivors' and Dependents' Educational
Assistance (Chapter 35) benefits.
<bullet> Certain types of education and training institutions such
as high schools, aero clubs, and farm cooperative courses.
<bullet> Sites approved for on-the-job or apprenticeship training.
In 2020, the VA Education Service informed schools that a student
who has a payment plan with an ETI also should be considered supported
for calculating the 85/15 ratio. After consulting with various partners
as well as striving to interpret T&F payment plans in a manner which
balances the best interests of students with the statutory mandate of
the 85/15 rule, VA amended its guidance regarding payment plans at ETIs
in a policy advisory issued on August 31, 2021: Clarification
Concerning Tuition and Fees Payment Plans for Standard Terms and 85/15
Calculations. The policy set forth in the aforementioned advisory is as
follows:
For classifying a student as supported or non-supported on VA form
22-10215, Statement of Assurance of Compliance with 85/15 Enrollment
Ratios, a student enrolled in an ETI will be considered to be supported
by the ETI unless all of the following apply (i.e., if all of the
following apply the student will be considered non-supported):
1. The availability and requirements of the payment plan are
available for review and/or inspection by students, the State approving
agency and VA (a) on the school's website and (b) in a dated hard copy
on file at every campus of the ETI.
2. The ETI T&F payment plan includes the following provisions:
a. The payment plan is available to any enrolled student who is
interested in participating.
b. The payment plan explicitly requires the student to pay the
outstanding balance by the end of the 85/15 reporting period (academic
term or calendar quarter) (i.e., the ETI requires the payment plan to
be paid off in full no later than the end of the term).
c. The payment plan must be paid in full before students can begin
training for the next term.
To reiterate, unless all of the aforementioned conditions are met
by the ETI and its T&F payment plan, the school's payment plan will
still be considered a source of institutional support and should still
be reported on the supported student count side of the 85/15 supported
to non-supported ratio (i.e., the side that cannot exceed 85%).
Conversely, if all of the aforementioned apply, the T&F payment plan
should not be construed as providing institutional support so a student
participating in one is not to be considered supported and should be
reported on the non-supported side of the 85/15 ratio (i.e., the side
that must be at least 15%).
The 85/15 rule ensures a minimum number of students who are not
receiving VA funds are willing to pay for the full cost of the program
to ensure the price of the program responds to the general demands of
the open market and a minimum number of non-VA beneficiaries find the
program worthwhile and valuable. VA cannot ensure compliance with the
85/15 rule nor ensure GI Bill beneficiaries are not being overcharged
if there is an unpaid balance at the end of the reporting period that
could subsequently be waived or otherwise written off.
Signing Authority
Denis McDonough, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, approved this
document on January 28, 2022 and authorized the undersigned to sign and
submit the document to the Office of the Federal Register for
publication electronically as an official document of the Department of
Veterans Affairs.
Luvenia Potts,
Regulation Development Coordinator, Office of Regulation Policy &
Management, Office of General Counsel, Department of Veterans Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2022-02305 Filed 2-3-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8320-01-P
</pre></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on February 4, 2022.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.