Navigating the ISIR Analysis Tool - IFAP Home

Navigating the ISIR Analysis Tool - IFAP Home FOREIGN SCHOOLS: INSTITUTIONAL ELIGIBILITY This At-A-Glance document provides the eligibility requirements for Foreign Schools to participate in the Title IV (Federal Direct Loan Program). Statutory Authority: As provided under section 498 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (Title IV, HEA programs), the Secretary determines whether foreign institutions choosing to participate or participating in the Title IV, HEA programs meet or continue to meet the institutional eligibility and administrative capability requirements for participation in the Title IV, HEA programs. The Title IV, HEA programs include the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program and the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program. Starting July 1, 2010, foreign schools were transitioned from participation in the FFEL Program to the Direct Loan Program. Participation in the U.S. Department of Education’s (the Department’s) federal student aid programs permits eligible students from the United States (U.S.) to borrow federal student aid to help pay their education expenses while attending an approved institution located outside the U.S. The Secretary also determines whether institutions only seeking designation as an eligible institution (“eligibility only”), rather than Title IV participation, meet or continue to meet the definition of an eligible institution. U.S. students who attend a foreign institution that is certified to participate in the Title IV, HEA programs or has been designated an “eligibility only” institution qualifies for some tax benefits, such as the HOPE and Lifetime Learning Tax Credit programs. In addition, students attending these institutions on at least a half-time basis qualify for in-school deferment of payments on their federal student loans they have previously borrowed. However, only institutions certified by the Department to participate in the federal student aid programs may award Direct Loan program loans. Institutions that are designated as “eligibility only” are not authorized to certify new federal student loans. The implementing regulations for determining institutional eligibility and administrative capability can be found at 34 C.F.R. Part 600 – Institutional Eligibility under the Higher Education Act of 1965, as Amended, and 34 C.F.R. Part 668 – Student Assistance General Provisions. Subpart E of Part 600 is specifically addressed to foreign schools, although some other regulations in Parts 600 and 668 are also applicable. Institutional Eligibility: Three types of foreign institutions are recognized by the Secretary – public, private nonprofit, and for- profit. For-profit foreign institutions may only participate if they are either freestanding graduate medical schools, freestanding veterinary schools or, effective July 1, 2010, freestanding nursing schools. A foreign institution is eligible to apply to participate in the Title IV, HEA Programs if it is comparable to an eligible institution of higher education located in the United States and if it meets the following eligibility criteria (as applicable for the type of institution). Basic Eligibility Criteria: To be eligible under the Title IV, HEA programs, a foreign institution must meet institutional eligibility criteria in 34 C.F.R. Part 600. 34 C.F.R. 600.52 defines the term “foreign institution” and 34 C.F.R. ? 600.54 provides criteria for determining when a foreign institution is eligible to apply to participate in the Direct Loan Program. Last Reviewed: October, 2012; Last Updated: September 2011 Page 1 of 14 Federal Student Aid Assessment Activities FOREIGN SCHOOLS: INSTITUTIONAL ELIGIBILITY Definition of “Foreign Institution” (34 C.F.R. ? 600.52): U.S. Department of Education regulations provide the following definition of a “foreign institution”: For the purposes of students who receive title IV aid, an institution that-- Is not located in a State; Except for clinical training sites for medical, veterinary or nursing programs Has no U.S. location; Has no written arrangements, within the meaning of Sec. 668.5, with institutions or organizations located in the United States for students enrolling at the foreign institution to take courses from institutions located in the United States; Does not permit students to enroll in any course offered by the foreign institution in the United States, including research, work, internship, externship, or special studies within the United States, except that independent research done by an individual student in the United States for not more than one academic year is permitted, if it is conducted during the dissertation phase of a doctoral program under the guidance of faculty, and the research can only be performed in a facility in the United States; Is legally authorized by the education ministry, council, or equivalent agency of the country in which the institution is located to provide an educational program beyond the secondary education level; and Awards degrees, certificates, or other recognized educational credentials that are officially recognized by the country in which the institution is located; or Proof of Legal Authorization (34 C.F.R. ? 600.54(g)): A foreign institution may demonstrate that it is legally authorized by the education ministry, council, or equivalent agency of the country in which the institution is located to provide an educational program beyond the secondary education level may be provided to the Secretary by a legal authorization from the appropriate education ministry, council, or equivalent agency-- For all eligible foreign institutions in the country; For all eligible foreign institutions in a jurisdiction within the country; or For each separate eligible foreign institution in the country. Criteria for Determining whether a Foreign Institution is eligible to apply to participate in the Direct Loan Program (34 C.F.R. ? 600.54): A foreign institution is considered comparable to an eligible institution of higher education in the United States and eligible to apply to participate in the Direct Loan Program if the foreign institution meets the following requirements. The foreign institution: Is a public or private nonprofit educational institution (except for a freestanding foreign graduate medical school, foreign veterinary school, or foreign nursing school). Last Reviewed: October, 2012; Last Updated: September 2011 Page 2 of 14 Federal Student Aid Assessment Activities FOREIGN SCHOOLS: INSTITUTIONAL ELIGIBILITY For a public or private nonprofit foreign institution, it meets the applicable requirements an institution of higher education (34 C.F.R. ? 600.4) For a for-profit foreign medical, veterinary, or nursing school, it meets the applicable requirements of a proprietary institution of higher education (34 C.F.R. ? 600.5) Admits as regular students only persons who-- Have a secondary school completion credential; or Have the recognized equivalent of a secondary school completion credential. Does not have an arrangement under which an ineligible institution or organization provides any portion of one or more of the eligible foreign institution's programs (except for affiliation agreements for medical, veterinary, or nursing clinical training). Has an additional location that separately meets the definition of a foreign institution in Sec. 600.52 if the additional location is-- outside of the country in which the main campus is located, (except for medical veterinary or nursing clinical training); or within the same country as the main campus, but is not covered by the legal authorization of the main campus. Provides an eligible education program-- For which the institution is legally authorized to award a degree that is equivalent to an associate, baccalaureate, graduate, or professional degree awarded in the United States; That is at least a two-academic-year program acceptable for full credit toward the equivalent of a baccalaureate degree awarded in the United States; or That is equivalent to at least a one-academic-year training program in the United States that leads to a certificate, degree, or other recognized educational credential and prepares students for gainful employment in a recognized occupation within the meaning of the gainful employment provisions, and the amount of academic work required by such a program is equivalent to at least the definition of an academic year, as determined by the Secretary. Note: An educational program offered by a foreign school through any use of a telecommunications course, correspondence course, or direct assessment program is not an eligible educational program for purposes of the Title IV, HEA programs. Additional institutional eligibility criteria apply to foreign graduate medical schools, veterinary schools, and schools which offer nursing programs, as described in subsequent sections of this document. Last Reviewed: October, 2012; Last Updated: September 2011 Page 3 of 14 Federal Student Aid Assessment Activities FOREIGN SCHOOLS: INSTITUTIONAL ELIGIBILITY Applicability of Other Title IV, HEA Program Regulations to Foreign Institutions (34 C.F.R. ? 600.51(c)): A foreign institution must comply with all requirements for eligible and participating institutions except when made inapplicable by the HEA or when the Secretary, through publication in the Federal Register, identifies specific provisions as inapplicable to foreign institutions. For purposes of the Title IV, HEA program regulations, an eligible public or nonprofit foreign is considered an “institution of higher education”, and an eligible foreign for-profit medical, veterinary or nursing institution is considered a “proprietary institution” under the definitions in 34 C.F.R. ? 600.2. Gainful Employment (IFAP Gainful Employment Link): Foreign Proprietary Institutions Gainful Employment Programs - The only programs at foreign proprietary institutions that are eligible for the HEA Loan Programs are degree programs in medicine, nursing, and veterinary science. These programs offered at these institutions are GE Programs subject to the new requirements. Not Gainful Employment Programs - None. Foreign Public and Non-profit Institutions Gainful Employment Programs: Non-degree programs, including all certificate programs. Certificate programs include undergraduate certificate programs, post baccalaureate certificate programs, graduate certificate programs, and postgraduate certificate programs. Not Gainful Employment Programs: Programs that lead to a degree, including associate's degrees, bachelor's degrees, graduate degrees, and professional degrees. Programs that are at least two years in length that are fully transferable to a bachelor's degree program. Preparatory courses of study that provide course work necessary for enrollment in an eligible program. Foreign Graduate Medical School Criteria: For purposes of the Title IV, HEA Programs, a foreign graduate medical school is defined as follows: A foreign institution (or, for a foreign institution that is a university, a component of that foreign institution) having as its sole mission providing an educational program that leads to a degree of medical doctor, doctor of osteopathic medicine, or the equivalent. A reference to a foreign graduate medical school as “freestanding” pertains solely to those schools that qualify by themselves as foreign institutions and not to schools that are components of universities that qualify as foreign institutions. Last Reviewed: October, 2012; Last Updated: September 2011 Page 4 of 14 Federal Student Aid Assessment Activities FOREIGN SCHOOLS: INSTITUTIONAL ELIGIBILITY The Department regulations delineate general requirements for foreign graduate medical schools and specific requirements relating to: accreditation, admissions policies, collection and submission of data, clinical training, citizenship and USMLE pass rate percentages, the location of the program, and other criteria. General Criteria for Foreign Graduate Medical Schools To participate in the Direct Loan Program, a foreign graduate medical school must: Provide, and in the normal course require its students to complete, a program of clinical training and classroom medical instruction of not less than 32 months in length, that is supervised closely by members of the school's faculty and that: Is provided in facilities adequately equipped and staffed to afford students comprehensive clinical training and classroom medical instruction; Is approved by all medical licensing boards and evaluating bodies whose views are considered relevant by the Secretary; and As part of its clinical training, does not offer more than two electives consisting of no more than eight weeks per student at a site located in a foreign country other than the country in which the main campus is located or in the United States, unless that location is included in the accreditation of a medical program accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) or the American Osteopathic Association (AOA). Appoint for the medical program only those faculty members whose academic credentials are the equivalent of credentials required of faculty members teaching the same or similar courses at medical schools in the United States. Have graduated classes during each of the two twelve-month periods immediately preceding the date the Secretary receives the school's request for an eligibility determination. Medical School Accreditation To participate in the Direct Loan Program, a foreign graduate medical school must: Be approved by an accrediting body-- That is legally authorized to evaluate the quality of graduate medical school educational programs and facilities in the country where the school is located; and Whose standards of accreditation of graduate medical schools have been evaluated by the NCFMEA or its successor committee of medical experts and have been determined to be comparable to standards of accreditation applied to medical schools in the United States Or Be a public or private nonprofit educational institution that is accredited by a recognized accrediting agency in the U.S. Last Reviewed: October, 2012; Last Updated: September 2011 Page 5 of 14 Federal Student Aid Assessment Activities FOREIGN SCHOOLS: INSTITUTIONAL ELIGIBILITY Medical School Admission Criteria To participate in the Direct Loan Program, a foreign graduate medical school having a post-baccalaureate/ equivalent medical program must: Require students accepted for admission who are U.S. citizens, nationals, or permanent residents to have taken the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) and to have reported their scores to the foreign graduate medical school; and Determine the consent requirements for, and require the necessary consents of, all students accepted for admission for whom the school must report to enable the school to comply with data collection and data submission requirements. Citizenship of Medical School Students and Graduates In order for a foreign graduate medical school to be eligible to participate in the Direct Loan Program: At least 60 percent of its full-time regular students in the medical school and at least 60 percent of the school's most recent graduating class must have been persons who did not meet the Title IV, HEA Program citizenship and residency criteria (i.e., U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, U.S. lawful permanent residents, other eligible non-citizens) during the calendar year preceding the year for which any of the school's students seeks an title IV, HEA program loan, unless: The school had a clinical training program approved by a State prior to January 1, 2008, and continues to operate a clinical training program in at least one State that approves the program; U.S. Medical Licensure Examination (USMLE) Pass Rate Percentage In order for a foreign graduate medical school located outside of Canada to be eligible to participate in the Direct Loan Program: For Step 1, Step 2-CS, and Step 2-CK (or successor examinations) of the USMLE administered by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG), at least 75 percent of the school's students and graduates who took that step/test of the examination in the year preceding the year for which any of the school's students seeks a Title IV, HEA program loan must have received a passing score on that step/test and are taking the step/test for the first time, unless: The school had a clinical training program approved by a State as of January 1, 1992 and continues to operate a clinical training program in at least one State that approves the program, or The USMLE pass rate calculation pass rate would result in any step/test pass rate based on fewer than eight students. If the USMLE pass rate calculation results in any step/test pass rate that is based on fewer than eight students, a single pass rate for the school is determined instead based on the performance of the school's students and graduates on Step 1, Step 2-CS, and Step 2-CK combined; Last Reviewed: October, 2012; Last Updated: September 2011 Page 6 of 14 Federal Student Aid Assessment Activities FOREIGN SCHOOLS: INSTITUTIONAL ELIGIBILITY However, if combining the results on all three step/tests for the year results in a pass rate based on fewer than eight step/test results, the school is deemed to have no pass rate for that year and the results for the year are combined with each subsequent year until a pass rate based on at least eight step/test results is derived. In calculating the USMLE Pass Rate percentage, a foreign graduate medical school: Includes as a graduate each student who graduated from the school during the three years preceding the year for which the calculation is performed and who took that step/test for the first time in that year; and Includes students and graduates who take more than one step/test of the USMLE examination for the first time in the same year in the denominator for each of those steps/tests; Medical School Clinical Training Requirements To participate in the Direct Loan Program, a foreign graduate medical school must have: A formal affiliation agreement with any hospital or clinic at which all or a portion of the school's core clinical training or required clinical rotations are provided Either a formal affiliation agreement or other written arrangements with any hospital or clinic at which all or a portion of its clinical rotations that are not required are provided, except for those locations that are not used regularly, but instead are chosen by individual students who take no more than two electives at the location for no more than a total of eight weeks. To participate in the Direct Loan Program, a formal affiliation agreement must state how the following will be addressed at each clinical training site-- Maintenance of the school's standards Appointment of faculty to the medical school staff Design of the curriculum Supervision of students Evaluation of student performance Provision of liability insurance To participate in the Direct Loan Program, a foreign graduate medical school must notify its accrediting body within one year of any material changes in: The educational programs, including changes in clinical training programs The overseeing bodies and in the formal affiliation agreements with hospitals and clinics where all or a portion of clinical training is provided. Location of a Medical School Program Last Reviewed: October, 2012; Last Updated: September 2011 Page 7 of 14 Federal Student Aid Assessment Activities FOREIGN SCHOOLS: INSTITUTIONAL ELIGIBILITY In order for a foreign graduate medical school to participate in the Direct Loan Program: No portion of the graduate medical educational program offered to U.S. students, other than the clinical training portion of the program, may be located outside of the country in which the main campus of the foreign graduate medical school is located. All portions of a graduate medical education program offered to U.S. students must be located in a country whose medical school accrediting standards are comparable to standards used in the United States, as determined by the NCFMEA, except for clinical training sites that are: Located in the United States, or Included in the accreditation of a medical program accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) or the American Osteopathic Association (AOA), or Located in a country where no individual student takes more than two electives at the location and the combined length of the electives does not exceed eight weeks. In order for a U.S. students to be eligible to borrow title IV, HEA program funds for clinical medical training in a foreign country other than the country in which the foreign graduate medical school’s main campus is located or in the United States: The clinical training site must be located in an NCFMEA approved comparable foreign country; and the institution's medical accrediting agency must have conducted an on-site evaluation and specifically approved the clinical training site; and clinical instruction must be offered in conjunction with medical educational programs offered to students enrolled in accredited medical schools located in that approved foreign country, unless: The clinical training site location is included in the accreditation of a medical program accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) or the American Osteopathic Association (AOA); or No individual student takes more than two electives at the clinical training site location and the combined length of the electives does not exceed eight weeks. Medical School Data Collection and Data Submission Requirements To participate in the Direct Loan Program, a foreign graduate medical school must obtain, at its own expense, and submit: Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) Scores Scores on the MCAT or successor examination, of all students admitted during the preceding calendar year who are U.S. citizens, nationals, or eligible permanent residents, together with a statement of the number of times each student took the examination To its accrediting authority To the Department of Education (upon request) Last Reviewed: October, 2012; Last Updated: September 2011 Page 8 of 14 Federal Student Aid Assessment Activities FOREIGN SCHOOLS: INSTITUTIONAL ELIGIBILITY U.S. Medical Residency Placement Data The percentage of students graduating during the preceding calendar year (including at least all graduates who are U.S. citizens, nationals, or eligible permanent residents) who obtain placement in an accredited U.S. medical residency program To its accrediting authority To the Department of Education (upon request) U.S. Medical Licensure Examination (USMLE) Scores and Pass Rates To the Secretary, all scores, disaggregated by step/test--i.e., Step 1, Step 2--Clinical Skills (Step 2-CS), and Step 2--Clinical Knowledge (Step 2-CK), or the successor examinations-- and attempt, earned during the preceding calendar year by each student and graduate, on Step 1, Step 2-CS, and Step 2-CK, or the successor examinations, of the USMLE, together with the dates the student has taken each test, including any failed tests; In lieu of submitting to the Secretary all USMLE scores disaggregated by step/test, a foreign graduate medical school may agree to allow the ECFMG or other responsible third party to calculate the USMLE pass rate for the preceding calendar year and provide the rate directly to the Secretary on the school's behalf with a copy to the foreign graduate medical school, provided: The foreign graduate medical school has provided by April 30 to the Secretary written consent acceptable to the Secretary to reliance by the Secretary on the pass rate as calculated by the ECFMG or other responsible third party for purposes of determining compliance with the USMLE pass rate requirements for the preceding calendar year; and The foreign graduate medical school agrees in its written consent that for the preceding calendar year the rate as calculated by the ECFMG or other designated third party will be conclusive for purposes of determining compliance with USMLE pass rate requirements; and The pass rate for each step/test (Step 1, Step 2-CS, and Step 2-CK) is based on at least 8 test results for the preceding calendar year Citizenship rates To the Secretary, a statement of its citizenship rate for the preceding calendar year and a description of the methodology used in deriving the rate that is acceptable to the Secretary, unless: The foreign graduate medical school had a clinical training program approved by a State prior to January 1, 2008, and continues to operate a clinical training program in at least one State that approves the program. Deadline for Data Submission Submit required data by April 30 of each year (unless the Secretary specifies a different date through a notice in the Federal Register) Last Reviewed: October, 2012; Last Updated: September 2011 Page 9 of 14 Federal Student Aid Assessment Activities FOREIGN SCHOOLS: INSTITUTIONAL ELIGIBILITY Other Foreign Graduate Medical School Criteria To participate in the Direct Loan Program, a foreign graduate medical school must: Include in its Satisfactory Academic Progress policy as a quantitative component a maximum timeframe in which a student must complete his or her educational program that must be no longer than 150 percent of the published length of the educational program measured in academic years, terms, credit hours attempted, clock hours completed, etc., as appropriate A foreign graduate medical school must document the educational remediation it provides to assist students in making satisfactory academic progress. A foreign graduate medical school must publish all the languages in which instruction is offered. Application Requirements for Foreign Graduate Medical Schools A foreign graduate medical school that is applying for certification to participate in the Direct Loan Program (e.g. Initial, Recertification, Reinstatement) must include in its application: A list of all medical school educational sites and where they are located, including all sites at which its students receive clinical training, except those clinical training sites that are not used regularly, but instead are chosen by individual students who take no more than two electives at the location for no more than a total of eight weeks; and The type of clinical training (core, required clinical rotation, not required clinical rotation) offered at each site listed on the application in accordance with paragraph (a)(3)(i)(A) of this section; and Information about whether the medical school offers: Only post-baccalaureate/equivalent medical programs; Other types of programs that lead to employment as a doctor of osteopathic medicine or doctor of medicine; or Both Copies of formal affiliation agreements with hospitals or clinics providing all or a portion of a clinical training program. A currently designated eligible freestanding foreign graduate medical school, or a foreign institution that includes a foreign graduate medical school, that wishes to expand the scope of its eligibility and certification to participate in the Direct Loan Program and disburse title IV, HEA Program funds to students enrolled in that expanded scope must apply to the Secretary and wait for approval to: add a location that offers all or a portion of the foreign graduate medical school's core clinical training or required clinical rotations, except for those locations that are included in the accreditation of a medical program accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) or the American Osteopathic Association (AOA). Last Reviewed: October, 2012; Last Updated: September 2011 Page 10 of 14 Federal Student Aid Assessment Activities FOREIGN SCHOOLS: INSTITUTIONAL ELIGIBILITY A freestanding foreign graduate medical school, or a foreign institution that includes a foreign graduate medical school, must report to the Secretary in a manner prescribed by the Secretary no later than 10 days after the change occurs if: the school adds a location that offers all or a portion of the school's clinical rotations that are not required, except for those that are included in the accreditation of a medical program accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) or the American Osteopathic Association (AOA), or that are not used regularly, but instead are chosen by individual students who take no more than two electives at the location for no more than a total of eight weeks. Additional Requirements for For-Profit Foreign Graduate Medical Schools No portion of an eligible medical program offered may be at what would be an undergraduate level in the United States; and Title IV, HEA program eligibility does not extend to any joint degree program. Foreign Veterinary School Criteria: For purposes of the Title IV, HEA Programs, a foreign veterinary school is defined as follows: A foreign institution (or, for a foreign institution that is a university, a component of that foreign institution) having as its sole mission providing an educational program that leads to the degree of doctor of veterinary medicine, or the equivalent. A reference to a foreign veterinary school as “freestanding” pertains solely to those schools that qualify by themselves as foreign institutions and not to schools that are components of universities that qualify as foreign institutions. To be eligible, a foreign veterinary school must: Satisfy the foreign institution eligibility criteria in 34 C.F.R. Part 600, Subpart E, except that a foreign veterinary school may also be a for-profit institution. Provide, and in the normal course requires its students to complete, a program of clinical and classroom veterinary instruction that is: Supervised closely by members of the school's faculty Provided in facilities adequately equipped and staffed to afford students comprehensive clinical and classroom veterinary instruction through a training program for foreign veterinary students that has been approved by all veterinary licensing boards and evaluating bodies whose views are considered relevant by the Secretary. Have graduated classes during each of the two 12-month periods immediately preceding the date the Secretary receives the school's request for an eligibility determination. Employ for the program of clinical and classroom veterinary instruction only those faculty members whose academic credentials are the equivalent of credentials required of faculty members teaching the same or similar courses at veterinary schools in the U.S. Effective July 1, 2015, be accredited or provisionally accredited by an organization acceptable to the Secretary for the purpose of evaluating veterinary programs. Last Reviewed: October, 2012; Last Updated: September 2011 Page 11 of 14 Federal Student Aid Assessment Activities FOREIGN SCHOOLS: INSTITUTIONAL ELIGIBILITY Location of a Foreign Veterinary School Program To be eligible, a foreign veterinary school must: Not allow any portion of the foreign veterinary educational program offered to U.S. students, other than the clinical training portion of the program, to be provided outside of the country in which the main campus of the foreign veterinary school is located. If a for-profit foreign veterinary school, require students to: complete clinical training at an approved veterinary school located in the United States If a public or private nonprofit foreign veterinary school, require students to complete clinical training at an approved veterinary school located: In the United States; In the home country; or Outside of the United States or the home country, if: The location is included in the accreditation of a veterinary program accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA); or No individual student takes more than two electives at the location and the combined length of the elective does not exceed eight weeks. Foreign Nursing School Criteria: Effective July 1, 2012 for a foreign nursing school that was participating in any Title IV, HEA program on August 13, 2008, and effective July 1, 2011 for all other foreign nursing schools, a foreign nursing school is eligible to apply to participate in the Direct Loan Program if the foreign nursing school:: Is an associate degree school of nursing, a collegiate school of nursing, or a diploma school of nursing. Has an agreement with a hospital or accredited school of nursing located in the U.S. that requires the students of the nursing school to complete the students' clinical training at such hospital or accredited school of nursing. Has an agreement with an accredited school of nursing located in the U.S. providing that the students graduating from the nursing school located outside of the U.S. also receive a degree from the accredited school of nursing located in the U.S. Certifies only Federal Stafford Loans Program loans or Federal PLUS Loan program loans for students attending the nursing school. Reimburses the Secretary for the cost of any loan defaults for current and former students included in the calculation of the institution's cohort default rate during the previous fiscal year. The cost of a loan default is the estimated future cost of collections on the defaulted loan. Last Reviewed: October, 2012; Last Updated: September 2011 Page 12 of 14 Federal Student Aid Assessment Activities FOREIGN SCHOOLS: INSTITUTIONAL ELIGIBILITY The Department continues to collect on the Direct Loan after a school reimburses the Secretary for the estimated future cost of collections on the defaulted loan until the loan is paid in full or otherwise satisfied, or the loan account is closed out. Demonstrates that not less than 75 percent of the individuals who were students or graduates of the nursing school who are U.S. citizens, nationals, or eligible permanent residents who took the NCLEX-RN in the year preceding the year for which the institution is certifying a Federal Stafford Loan or a Federal PLUS loan, passed the examination. Determines the consent requirements for and requires the necessary consents of all students accepted for admission who are U.S. citizens, nationals, or eligible permanent residents to enable the school to comply with the following collection and submission requirements: The nursing school annually either-- Obtains, at its own expense, all National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) test results, including any failed examinations and dates the student has taken the examination, achieved by students and graduates who are: U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, or eligible U.S. permanent residents or Obtains a report or reports from the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSB), or an NCSB affiliate or NCSB contractor, reflecting the percentage of the school's students and graduates taking the NCLEX-RN in the preceding year who passed the examination, or the data from which the percentage could be derived, and provides the report to the Secretary. Has graduated classes during each of the two twelve-month periods immediately preceding the date the Secretary receives the school's request for an eligibility determination. Employs only those faculty members whose academic credentials are the equivalent of credentials required of faculty members teaching the same or similar courses at nursing schools in the United States. Ensures that no portion of the foreign nursing program is offered to U.S. students is located outside of the country in which the main campus of the foreign nursing school is located, except for clinical sites located in the United States. Last Reviewed: October, 2012; Last Updated: September 2011 Page 13 of 14 Federal Student Aid Assessment Activities FOREIGN SCHOOLS: INSTITUTIONAL ELIGIBILITY Administrative Capability Criteria: Institutions must also meet the administrative capability standards set forth in 34 C.F.R. ?668.16, which include, but are not limited to, requirements that the institution— Appoint a capable individual responsible for administering the federal loan programs; Have a system of internal checks and balances for administering federal student financial aid; Have a division of functions among personnel determining student awards and those disbursing funds that result from those award decisions; Establish and maintain records required under program regulations; Perform frequent, periodic reconciliation of fiscal office and financial aid office award data; Maintain a system to identify and resolve discrepancies in information the institution receives from various sources about a student's application for financial aid; Establish a satisfactory academic progress policy for recipients of federal student financial aid; Establish a policy for refunding tuition when a student withdraws from classes; Establish a process to ensure that the institution submits required annual financial statements on time; Establish a process to ensure that the institution submits required annual compliance audit on time; Establish notifies the Department within 10 days of required changes at the institution; and Participate in the electronic processes that the Department provides at no substantial charge to the institution. To be in compliance with the administrative capability requirement that a school participate in the Department’s electronic processes, the school must: Use the electronic application (E-App) to submit and update the school’s eligibility information; Enroll in the Student Aid Internet Gateway (SAIG). Use FAA Access or its SAIG mailbox to exchange student or applicant data on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR) with the Department’s Central Processing System (CPS); Use the COD Web site or its SAIG mailbox to exchange award and disbursement data for Direct Loans; Submit to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) student enrollment records, federal student aid program overpayments, and NSLDS Transfer Student Monitoring records; Use its SAIG mailbox to receive its draft and official cohort default rate information electronically; Use the Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) Web site to review Foreign School Updates, Electronic Announcements, Dear Colleague Letters, Federal Registers, and other important information. Last Reviewed: October, 2012; Last Updated: September 2011 Page 14 of 14 Federal Student Aid Assessment Activities