Chapter 8

Federal Compliance and Related Issues

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A. Quick Summary of Chapter 8

B. Credits, Program Length and Tuition

C. Institutional Compliance with the Higher Education Reauthorization Act

D. Institution's Advertising and Recruitment Materials

E. Public Notification of Comprehensive Evaluation Visit

Section A: Quick Summary of Chapter 8

Washburn's compliance with various issues of concern to the federal government, but outside the general scope of the North Central accreditation process, is outlined in this chapter. Washburn's programs are of traditional length, and requirements for receiving course credit follow norms of higher education. Only three program specific tuition rates exist. The University carefully complies with provisions of the Higher Education Reauthorization Act. The University has made appropriate announcements regarding the opportunity for third-party comment from the public.

Section B: Credits, Program Length and Tuition

Washburn bases course credits on standard academic semesters. The semesters are 15 weeks in length, plus a week of final exams. Three-credit courses, which comprise the majority of courses offered, typically meet either 2 or 3 times per week, though some three- credit courses meet on a weekly basis. Four- or five- credit courses are usually laboratory or studio courses and meet more often. The basic meeting time requirement for Washburn courses is 750 minutes per credit hour to be granted. Thus a typical Monday-Wednesday-Friday class will meet for fifteen 50-minute class periods per credit hour. Classes meeting less frequently adjust their meeting lengths upward accordingly. Some classes are held over shorter than semester length intervals, but they must be scheduled to satisfy the 750-minute per credit-hour requirement.

Academic degree programs at Washburn have the traditional lengths in higher education, two or four years for undergraduate, 2-3 years for masters or J.D. degrees. Program length assumes full-time attendance, of course, and many part-time students require considerably longer periods to complete a four-year program.

Tuition for Washburn students is based on the usual groupings for public institutions, resident or non-resident and undergraduate or graduate. Students enrolling at least half-time pay a student activity fee, but no other fees (such as lab or computer use fees) are assessed. Tuition and fee information is published annually in the catalogs (University and Law) and each semester in the class schedule.

There are three program specific tuition rates at Washburn:

1. Students in the School of Law pay a substantially higher tuition rate than do students in other graduate programs. The School of Law operates on a separate financing plan. The University has for a number of years provided a fixed base of support for the Law School. Any additional revenues needed over and above that base are generated by the Law School through tuition and fund-raising. That is, the Law School "keeps" its own tuition, and must manage its own budgetary affairs accordingly. The cost of a legal education is greater than costs associated with Washburn's other graduate programs. Earning potential of law students is also typically higher. In 1997-98, Law School tuition is $227 per credit for residents and $337 per credit for non-residents. Information about Law School tuition is published in the Law School catalog.
2. Students in the Washburn Early College Enrollment Program (WECEP) pay only half ($50 per credit hour) of the undergraduate resident tuition rate. This program involves delivering college courses to high school students on their campuses. Students must receive permission of their schools to participate in the program, and would normally take only one course per semester. The lower rate for this program is based in part on lower costs (Washburn incurs no facilities cost and the cost of instruction is also usually lower, since adjunct faculty normally teach the courses) and in part on a public service (helping students with the transition from high school to college).
3. Washburn receives $84 per credit hour from the Kaw Area Technical School (KATS) for students who participate in the Washburn/KATS cooperative program (see chapter 1, section F.4). This program provides students with a way to add an associate degree program to their technical training. This rate was established several years ago when Washburn's tuition rate, less the student fee assessment, was $84 per credit hour. Washburn has not increased its charge to KATS for participating students since the inception of the program.

Section C: Institutional Compliance with the Higher Education Reauthorization Act

Program eligibility, participation, authorization and re-authorization are dependent upon compliance. Washburn is a fully-certified participant in the Title IV program. The most recent reauthorization certification was Dec. 1996.

A comprehensive Policy and Procedures Handbook is maintained in the Financial Aid Office and the Business Office. The most recent U.S. Department of Education review of this handbook was completed in July, 1994, during the University's financial aid program review by Corrinne D. Jepson, U.S. Dept. of Education Institutional Review Specialist, Region VII, Kansas City. The handbook was determined to be in compliance with Federal regulations.

The Office of Financial Aid uses the following sources to ensure that policies and procedures are updated and kept current:

1. The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) provides a monthly newsletter that is extremely complete in analyzing federal regulations and current issues. They also provide copies of Federal Registers and other publications.
2. The Kansas Association of Financial Aid Administrators (KASFAA) provides fall and spring state-wide conferences which include a variety of workshops and training opportunities. This training is also extended to financial aid support staff at least once a year. A state newsletter is also published.
3. The U.S. Department of Education provides a bulletin board system that provides on-line access to all federal documents, Dear Colleague letters, Federal Registers and memorandums from the DOE.
4. Commonline is the Stafford Loan Program policy manual that is made available by lenders and guaranty agencies and loan servicers. It is produced in paper and electronic formats.
5. The Internet provides access to our state and federal associations and other financial aid staff throughout the state through e-mail and web sites.

The federal government demands compliance reporting on a regular basis. The following is a summary of these reports:

1. Fiscal Operations Report (annual): Transmitted electronically to the DOE, this report details all activity in our campus-based Title IV programs: Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, Federal Work Study Programs and the Federal Perkins Loan Program. It is also the application for funding for the next fiscal year.
2. Pell Grant Reports: The Institutional Payment Summary is due on the 15^th of every other month beginning with August. The data is processed on tape and set to the DOE via the Recipient Data Exchange Program. The Yearly Reconciliation Report is due each year by September 30.
3. Student Status Confirmation Reports: Due every 60 days, this report provides the enrollment status of our Stafford Loan borrowers, and is sent through the Title IV Wide Area Network system and the National Student Loan Data System of the DOE.

The DOE also requires that the Financial Aid Office maintain student financial aid folders for all students who have applied for federal aid, enrolled and/or received aid. These files must be maintained for a minimum of three years after a student has graduated, transferred or stopped attending Washburn. The required documents include: scholarship application, Federal Institutional Student Aid Report need analysis documentation, verification documents, tax returns, W-2 forms, verification worksheets, Social Security/AFDC documentation, other forms as necessary to complete the verification process, Stafford Loan application, certification worksheet, entrance/exit interview documents, 30 day hold forms, grade review forms, satisfactory progress documentation, reinstatement requests/action, financial aid transcripts from all previously attended institutions since high school/GED, and other documents that may be appropriate such as Independent Appeal, special condition calculations and repayment forms.

The Financial Aid Office must by necessity coordinate its activities with a number of other areas of the University. The University Registrar provides the student's master record for student data, transcript file for grade reviews and loan certification data, class schedule for grade reviews and other eligibility status for the various financial aid programs.

Federal regulations require the Financial Aid Office to be responsible for awarding aid and for record retention. A separate office must disburse the funds. The Business Office works in conjunction with the Financial Aid Office on holds, integration of all scholarship and federal program accounts, disbursements and repayments for scholarship, FSEOG, Perkins, Pell Grant, and Kansas Tuition Grant programs, and emergency student loans.

The Admissions Office and the Financial Aid Office work together to determine basic student eligibility for all financial aid programs. Such data as admission status, classification, financial aid transcripts and grade point averages are critical.

All of the above ventures depend on the help provided by Administrative Data Processing. ADP developed and maintains the financial aid tracking system. The University currently has nearly 650 individual endowed/current gift scholarship accounts. About 140 of these are unrestricted; the rest have various restrictions that must be adhered to in the awarding/assigning of these funds. Account summaries provided by ADP provide essential help in managing this complex and critical portion of the Financial Aid Office's work.

Section D: Institution's Advertising and Recruitment Materials

Chapters 2 and 7 of this report document the ways in which the University ensures that fair and accurate information regarding its programs and policies affecting students is provided.

Beginning with 1997-98, each institution of higher education is required to provide the CIHE's address and phone number whenever the institution makes reference to its affiliation with the Commission. Washburn's 1998-99 catalog, to be published during the Spring 1998 semester, will contain this information.

Section E: Public Notification of Comprehensive Evaluation Visit

The University is complying with the Commission's policy on third-party comment. Public notification of the forthcoming visit has been published in 14 newspapers in the northeast Kansas area. Display ads have appeared in the public notice sections of these papers on or about September 16, 1997. They will appear again in these publications in late February. Tear sheets will be available to the evaluation team. The announcements contain the required content, and are modeled after the examples provided by the Commission.

In addition, three articles have appeared in the Washburn Alumni Magazine describing the accreditation process and inviting comment about the self-study. Washburn's Self-Study home page provides information regarding public comment. Also, Washburn's self-study report has been available on the web for public inspection since the first draft stage.