§668.2. General definitions. — Inbound Citations

(b) A lender, third-party servicer, or guaranty agency, as those terms are defined in 34 CFR 668.2 or 682.200.

(1) A third-party servicer, as defined in 34 CFR 668.2 or 682.200; or

(B) If no recognized tax authority of the institution's home country is recognized by the Secretary for purposes of making determinations of an institution's nonprofit status for title IV purposes, the foreign institution demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Secretary that it is a nonprofit educational institution.

One-academic-year training program: An educational program that is at least one academic year as defined under 34 CFR 668.2.

Preaccreditation: The status of accreditation and public recognition that a nationally recognized accrediting agency grants to an institution or program for a limited period of time that signifies the agency has determined that the institution or program is progressing toward full accreditation and is likely to attain full accreditation before the expiration of that limited period of time (sometimes referred to as “candidacy”).

Recognized equivalent of a high school diploma: The following are the equivalent of a high school diploma—

(1) A General Education Development Certificate (GED);

(2) A State certificate received by a student after the student has passed a State-authorized examination that the State recognizes as the equivalent of a high school diploma;

(3) An academic transcript of a student who has successfully completed at least a two-year program that is acceptable for full credit toward a bachelor's degree; or

(4) For a person who is seeking enrollment in an educational program that leads to at least an associate degree or its equivalent and who has not completed high school but who excelled academically in high school, documentation that the student excelled academically in high school and has met the formalized, written policies of the institution for admitting such students.

Recognized occupation: An occupation that is—

(1) Identified by a Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code established by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) or an Occupational Information Network O*Net-SOC code established by the Department of Labor, which is available at www.onetonline.org or its successor site; or

(2) Regular student: A person who is enrolled or accepted for enrollment at an institution for the purpose of obtaining a degree, certificate, or other recognized educational credential offered by that institution.

Religious mission: A published institutional mission that is approved by the governing body of an institution of postsecondary education and that includes, refers to, or is predicated upon religious tenets, beliefs, or teachings.

Secretary: The Secretary of the Department of Education or an official or employee of the Department of Education acting for the Secretary under a delegation of authority.

State: A State of the Union, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau. The latter three are also known as the Freely Associated States.

State authorization reciprocity agreement: An agreement between two or more States that authorizes an institution located and legally authorized in a State covered by the agreement to provide postsecondary education through distance education or correspondence courses to students located in other States covered by the agreement and cannot prohibit any member State of the agreement from enforcing its own general-purpose State laws and regulations outside of the State authorization of distance education.

Teach-out: A process during which a program, institution, or institutional location that provides 100 percent of at least one program engages in an orderly closure or when, following the closure of an institution or campus, another institution provides an opportunity for the students of the closed school to complete their program, regardless of their academic progress at the time of closure.

Teach-out agreement: A written agreement between institutions that provides for the equitable treatment of students and a reasonable opportunity for students to complete their program of study if an institution, or an institutional location that provides 100 percent of at least one program offered, ceases to operate or plans to cease operations before all enrolled students have completed their program of study.

Teach-out plan: A written plan developed by an institution that provides for the equitable treatment of students if an institution, or an institutional location that provides 100 percent of at least one program, ceases to operate or plans to cease operations before all enrolled students have completed their program of study.

Title IV, HEA program: Any of the student financial assistance programs listed in 34 CFR 668.1(c).

(4) The nursing school certifies only Federal Stafford Loan program loans or Federal PLUS program loans, as those terms are defined in § 668.2, for students attending the nursing school.

(iii) A certification that, as of the date of the application, each proposed career pathway program intended for use through the State process constitutes an “eligible career pathway program” as defined in § 668.2 and as documented pursuant to § 668.157;

(B) The date the student completed the cumulative number of credit hours associated with the student's enrollment status in all prior terms that the student attended under the definition of a subscription-based program in § 668.2.

(A) (1) A student who completes all the requirements for graduation from his or her program before completing the days or hours in the period that he or she was scheduled to complete is not considered to have withdrawn;

(2) In a program offered in modules, a student is not considered to have withdrawn if the student successfully completes—

(i) One module that includes 49 percent or more of the number of days in the payment period, excluding scheduled breaks of five or more consecutive days and all days between modules;

(ii) A combination of modules that when combined contain 49 percent or more of the number of days in the payment period, excluding scheduled breaks of five or more consecutive days and all days between modules; or

(iii) Coursework equal to or greater than the coursework required for the institution's definition of a half-time student under § 668.2 for the payment period;

(3) For a payment period or period of enrollment in which courses in the program are offered in modules—

(i) A student is not considered to have withdrawn if the institution obtains written confirmation from the student at the time that would have been a withdrawal of the date that he or she will attend a module that begins later in the same payment period or period of enrollment; and

(ii) For standard and nonstandard-term programs, excluding subscription-based programs, that module begins no later than 45 calendar days after the end of the module the student ceased attending;

(4) For a subscription-based program, a student is not considered to have withdrawn if the institution obtains written confirmation from the student at the time that would have been a withdrawal of the date that he or she will resume attendance, and that date occurs within the same payment period or period of enrollment and is no later than 60 calendar days after the student ceased attendance;

(5) For a non-term program, a student is not considered to have withdrawn if the institution obtains written confirmation from the student at the time that would have been a withdrawal of the date that he or she will resume attendance, and that date is no later than 60 calendar days after the student ceased attendance; and

(6) A student is not considered to have withdrawn if—

(i) The institution's records treat a student as having never attended courses for that payment period or period of enrollment;

(ii) The institution returns all the title IV grant or loan assistance, including all title IV credit balances provided to the student or parent, that were disbursed for that payment period or period of enrollment;

(iii) The institution refunds all institutional charges to the student for the payment period or period of enrollment; and

(iv) The institution writes off or cancels any payment period or period of enrollment balance owed by the student to the institution due to the institution's returning of title IV funds to the Department.

(3) Except as provided under this part or 34 CFR part 682, with regard to complying with the provisions under this section a third-party servicer must follow the procedures contained in the audit guides developed by and available from the Department of Education's Office of Inspector General. A third-party servicer is defined under § 668.2 and 34 CFR 682.200.

(ii) Is enrolled in an eligible career pathway program as defined in § 668.2;

(2) The Secretary uses the median annual earnings of students with a high school diploma or GED using data from the Census Bureau to calculate the earnings threshold described in § 668.2.

(v) Whether the program is a qualifying graduate program whose students are required to complete postgraduate training programs, as described in the definition under § 668.2;

Student, for purposes of the phrases “grants to students”, “emergency financial aid grants to students” or “financial aid grants to students” as used in the Higher Education Emergency Relief (HEERF) programs, is defined as any individual who is or was enrolled (as defined in 34 CFR 668.2) at an eligible institution (as defined in 34 CFR 600.2) on or after March 13, 2020, the date of declaration of the national emergency concerning the novel coronavirus disease.

(3) For purposes of paragraph (c)(1) of this section, a “parent” includes the individuals described in the definition of “parent” in 34 CFR 668.2 and the spouse of a parent who remarried, if that spouse's income and assets would have been taken into account when calculating a dependent student's expected family contribution.

(G) For purposes of this paragraph (c), the Secretary may determine that extenuating circumstances exist based on documentation that may include, but is not limited to—

(1) An updated credit report for the parent; or

(2) A statement from the creditor that the parent has repaid or made satisfactory arrangements to repay a debt that was considered in determining that the parent has an adverse credit history.

(3) For purposes of paragraph (c)(2) of this section, a “parent” includes the individuals described in the definition of “parent” in 34 CFR 668.2 and the spouse of a parent who remarried, if that spouse's income and assets would have been taken into account when calculating a dependent student's expected family contribution.

(ii) For a period of enrollment that is in a subscription-based program as defined in § 668.2, the institution must apply the reduction under paragraph (m)(1) based on the student's enrollment status determined by the institution as follows:

(A) For the first and second subscription periods, in any case in which the institution has determined that a student is enrolled in an eligible program on a less than a full-time basis, the amount of any Direct Loan that student may borrow for an academic year or its equivalent shall be reduced in direct proportion under (m)(1)based on the student's enrollment status determined by the institution for the subscription-based program and the number of credit hours calculated by the institution for the student to complete before receiving subsequent disbursements for that program; and

(B) For the third subscription period and for each subsequent subscription period, the institution would treat the student as enrolled full-time in a non-term program.

(i) A full-time course load must be commensurate with the requirements listed in paragraphs (1) through (6) of this definition; and

(i) A full-time course load must be commensurate with the requirements listed in paragraphs (1) through (6) of this definition; and

(i) A full-time course load must be commensurate with the requirements listed in paragraphs (1) through (6) of this definition; and

(i) A full-time course load must be commensurate with the requirements listed in paragraphs (1) through (6) of this definition; and

(i) A full-time course load must be commensurate with the requirements listed in paragraphs (1) through (6) of this definition; and

(i) A full-time course load must be commensurate with the requirements listed in paragraphs (1) through (6) of this definition; and

(8) For a subscription-based program, completion of a full-time course load commensurate with the requirements in paragraphs (1), (3), and (5) through (7) of this definition.

Gainful employment program (GE program): An educational program offered by an institution under § 668.8(c)(3) or (d) and identified by a combination of the institution's six-digit OPEID number, the program's six-digit CIP code as assigned by the institution or determined by the Secretary, and the program's credential level.

Graduate or professional student: A student who—