tailieunhanh - GUIDANCE TO INSTITUTIONS AND ACCREDITING AGENCIES REGARDING A CREDIT HOUR AS DEFINED IN THE FINAL REGULATION PUBLISHED

With subprime mortgages representing only about 14 percent of the stock of US mortgages, most observers expected rising delinquencies in this segment to be contained at moderate cost. Testifying in July 2007, Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Bernanke estimated that credit losses associated with subprime mortgages would probably total $50 billion to $100 billion. As we now know, what began as a subprime crisis has proved to be wider, deeper, and more damaging than originally thought. Consider the following snapshot of actual and perspective credit losses, liquidity and credit spreads, recapitalization of financial firms, liquidity injections by central banks, and US home. | UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION OFFICE OF POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY MAR 1 8 2011 GEN-11-06 Subject Guidance to Institutions and Accrediting Agencies Regarding a Credit Hour as Defined in the Final Regulations Published on October 29 2010 Dear Colleague On October 29 2010 the Department published in the Federal Register final regulations on program integrity issues 75 FR 66832 . This letter provides information concerning the definition of a credit hour and guidance on implementing these final regulations. We are providing this letter to highlight the flexibilities inherent in the definition and to correct misunderstandings circulating in the higher education community. We expect to provide further information on other provisions of the program integrity regulations in Dear Colleague Letters in the coming weeks. The definition of a credit hour for Federal purposes is necessary in part because more than 150 billion of Federal financial aid is awarded annually based on an individual student s enrollment as represented in number of credits. The credit hour is a basic unit of student aid eligibility and the new regulations address vulnerabilities in the student aid programs that leave them open to fraud and abuse. However the regulations are grounded in commonly accepted practice in higher education do not intrude on core academic decisions made by institutions and their accrediting agencies and are completely consistent with innovative practices such as online education competency-based credit and academic activities that do not rely on seat time. The regulations reflect the Department s responsibility to taxpayers to ensure value for their investment while respecting recognized accrediting agencies as the reliable authorities regarding the quality of education or training offered by the institutions or programs they accredit. Significantly these regulations were developed only after the Department s Inspector General conducted reviews at .