Gainful Employment (GE)

34 C.F.R. Part ..., Subpart S
in effectEffective: 2024-07-01

34 C.F.R. § 668.601 Gainful employment (GE) scope and purpose.

(a) General. Except as provided under paragraph (b) of this section, this subpart applies to an educational program offered by an eligible institution that prepares students for gainful employment in a recognized occupation and establishes rules and procedures under which the Secretary determines that the program is eligible for title IV, HEA program funds. (b) Applicability. (1) This subpart does not apply to programs offered by institutions located in U.S. Territories or freely associated states. (2) For each award year that the Secretary calculates D/E rates or the earnings premium measure under § 668.402, this subpart does not apply to an institution if, over the most recently completed four award years, it offered no groups of substantially similar programs, defined as all programs in the same four-digit CIP code at an institution, with 30 or more completers in total.

34 C.F.R. § 668.602 Gainful employment criteria.

(a) A GE program provides training that prepares students for gainful employment in a recognized occupation if the program— (1) Satisfies the applicable certification requirements in § 668.604; (2) Is not a failing program under the D/E rates measure in § 668.402 in two out of any three consecutive award years for which the program's D/E rates are calculated; and (3) Is not a failing program under the earnings premium measure in § 668.402 in two out of any three consecutive award years for which the program's earnings premium measure is calculated. (b) If the Secretary does not calculate or issue D/E rates for a program for an award year, the program receives no result under the D/E rates for that award year and remains in the same status under the D/E rates as the previous award year. (c) In determining a program's eligibility, the Secretary disregards any D/E rates that were calculated more than five calculation years prior. (d) If the Secretary does not calculate or issue earnings premium measures for a program for an award year, the program receives no result under the earnings premium measure for that award year and remains in the same status under the earnings premium measure as the previous award year. (e) In determining a program's eligibility, the Secretary disregards any earnings premium that was calculated more than five years prior.

34 C.F.R. § 668.603 Ineligible GE programs.

(a) Ineligible programs. If a GE program is a failing program under the D/E rates measure in § 668.402 in two out of any three consecutive award years for which the program's D/E rates are calculated, or the earnings premium measure in § 668.402 in two out of any three consecutive award years for which the program's earnings premium measure is calculated, the program is ineligible and its participation in the title IV, HEA programs ends upon the earliest of— (1) The issuance of a new Eligibility and Certification Approval Report that does not include that program; (2) The completion of a termination action of program eligibility, if an action is initiated under subpart G of this part; or (3) A revocation of program eligibility if the institution is provisionally certified. (b) Basis for appeal. If the Secretary initiates an action under paragraph (a)(2) of this section, the institution may initiate an appeal under subpart G of this part if it believes the Secretary erred in the calculation of the program's D/E rates under § 668.403 or the earnings premium measure under § 668.404. Institutions may not dispute a program's ineligibility based upon its D/E rates or the earnings premium measure except as described in this paragraph (b). (c) Restrictions—(1) Ineligible program. Except as provided in § 668.26(d), an institution may not disburse title IV, HEA program funds to students enrolled in an ineligible program. (2) Period of ineligibility. An institution may not seek to reestablish the eligibility of a failing GE program that it discontinued voluntarily either before or after D/E rates or the earnings premium measure are issued for that program, or reestablish the eligibility of a program that is ineligible under theD/E rates or the earnings premium measure, until three years following the earlier of the date the program loses eligibility under paragraph (a) of this section or the date the institution voluntarily discontinued the failing program. (3) Restoring eligibility. An ineligible program, or a failing program that an institution voluntarily discontinues, remains ineligible until the institution establishes the eligibility of that program under § 668.604(c).

34 C.F.R. § 668.604 Certification requirements for GE programs.

(a) Transitional certification for existing programs. (1) Except as provided in paragraph (a)(2) of this section, an institution must provide to the Secretary no later than December 31, 2024, in accordance with procedures established by the Secretary, a certification signed by its most senior executive officer that each of its currently eligible GE programs included on its Eligibility and Certification Approval Report meets the requirements of paragraph (d) of this section. The Secretary accepts the certification as an addendum to the institution's program participation agreement with the Secretary under § 668.14. (2) If an institution makes the certification in its program participation agreement pursuant to paragraph (b) of this section between July 1 and December 31, 2024, it is not required to provide the transitional certification under this paragraph (a). (b) Program participation agreement certification. As a condition of its continued participation in the title IV, HEA programs, an institution must certify in its program participation agreement with the Secretary under § 668.14 that each of its currently eligible GE programs included on its Eligibility and Certification Approval Report meets the requirements of paragraph (d) of this section. As provided under 34 CFR 600.21(a)(11)(vi), an institution must update the certification within 10 days if there are any changes in the approvals for a program, or other changes for a program that render an existing certification no longer accurate. (c) Establishing eligibility and disbursing funds. (1) An institution establishes a GE program's eligibility for title IV, HEA program funds by updating the list of the institution's eligible programs maintained by the Department to include that program, as provided under 34 CFR 600.21(a)(11)(i). By updating the list of the institution's eligible programs, the institution affirms that the program satisfies the certification requirements in paragraph (d) of this section. Except as provided in paragraph (c)(2) of this section, after the institution updates its list of eligible programs, the institution may disburse title IV, HEA program funds to students enrolled in that program. (2) An institution may not update its list of eligible programs to include a GE program, or a GE program that is substantially similar to a failing program that the institution voluntarily discontinued or became ineligible as described in § 668.603(c), that was subject to the three-year loss of eligibility under § 668.603(c), until that three-year period expires. (d) GE program eligibility certifications. An institution certifies for each eligible GE program included on its Eligibility and Certification Approval Report, at the time and in the form specified in this section, that such program is approved by a recognized accrediting agency or is otherwise included in the institution's accreditation by its recognized accrediting agency, or, if the institution is a public postsecondary vocational institution, the program is approved by a recognized State agency for the approval of public postsecondary vocational education in lieu of accreditation.

34 C.F.R. § 668.605 Student warnings.

(a) Events requiring a warning to students and prospective students. Beginning on July 1, 2026, the institution must provide a warning with respect to a GE program to students and prospective students for any year for which the Secretary notifies an institution that the GE program could become ineligible under this subpart based on its final D/E rates or earnings premium measure for the next award year for which D/E rates or the earnings premium measure are calculated for the GE program. (b) Subsequent warning. If a student or prospective student receives a warning under paragraph (a) of this section with respect to a GE program, but does not seek to enroll until more than 12 months after receiving the warning, the institution must again provide the warning to the student or prospective student, unless, since providing the initial warning, the program has passed both the D/E rates and earnings premium measures for the two most recent consecutive award years in which the metrics were calculated for the program. (c) Content of warning. The institution must provide in the warning— (1) A warning, as specified by the Secretary in a notice published in the Federal Register, that— (i) The program has not passed standards established by the U.S. Department of Education based on the amounts students borrow for enrollment in the program and their reported earnings, as applicable; and (ii) The program could lose access to Federal grants and loans based on the next calculated program metrics; (2) The relevant information to access the program information website maintained by the Secretary described in § 668.43(d); (3) A statement that the student must acknowledge having viewed the warning through the program information website before the institution may disburse any title IV, HEA funds to the student; (4) A description of the academic and financial options available to students to continue their education in another program at the institution, including whether the students could transfer credits earned in the program to another program at the institution and which course credits would transfer, in the event that the program loses eligibility for title IV, HEA program funds; (5) An indication of whether, in the event that the program loses eligibility for title IV, HEA program funds, the institution will— (i) Continue to provide instruction in the program to allow students to complete the program; and (ii) Refund the tuition, fees, and other required charges paid to the institution by, or on behalf of, students for enrollment in the program; and (6) An explanation of whether, if the program loses eligibility for title IV, HEA program funds, the students could transfer credits earned in the program to another institution in accordance with an established articulation agreement or teach-out plan or agreement. (d) Alternative languages. In addition to providing the English-language warning, the institution must also provide translations of the English-language student warning for those students and prospective students who have limited proficiency in English. (e) Delivery to enrolled students. An institution must provide the warning required under this section in writing, by hand delivery, mail, or electronic means, to each student enrolled in the program no later than 30 days after the date of the Secretary's notice of determination under § 668.406 and maintain documentation of its efforts to provide that warning. The warning must be the only substantive content contained in these written communications. (f) Delivery to prospective students. (1) An institution must provide the warning as required under this section to each prospective student or to each third party acting on behalf of the prospective student at the first contact about the program between the institution and the student or the third party acting on behalf of the student by— (i) Hand-delivering the warning as a separate document to the prospective student or third party, individually or as part of a group presentation; (ii) Sending the warning to the primary email address used by the institution for communicating with the prospective student or third party about the program, provided that the warning is the only substantive content in the email and that the warning is sent by a different method of delivery if the institution receives a response that the email could not be delivered; or (iii) Providing the warning orally to the student or third party if the contact is by telephone. (2) An institution may not enroll, register, or enter into a financial commitment with the prospective student with respect to the program earlier than three business days after the institution delivers the warning as described in this paragraph (f). (g) Acknowledgment prior to enrollment and disbursement. An institution may not allow a prospective student seeking title IV, HEA assistance to sign an enrollment agreement, complete registration, or make a financial commitment to the institution, or disburse title IV, HEA funds to the student until the student or prospective student completes the acknowledgment described in paragraph (c)(3) of this section. (h) Discharge claims. The provision of a student warning or the acknowledgment described in paragraph (c)(3) of this section does not mitigate the institution's responsibility to provide accurate information to students concerning program status, nor will it be considered as dispositive evidence against a student's claim if applying for a loan discharge.

34 C.F.R. § 668.606 Severability.

If any provision of this subpart or its application to any person, act, or practice is held invalid, the remainder of this part and subpart, and the application of this subpart's provisions to any other person, act, or practice, will not be affected thereby.

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