Potential Impact of US DOE Guidance on Education Abroad
On Wednesday, February 15, the U.S. Department of Education’s (DOE) issued Dear Colleague Letter Guidance on “(GEN-23-03) Requirements and Responsibilities for Third-Party Servicers and Institutions”
It was updated on Tuesday, February 28, and the public comment period was extended until Thursday, March 30, and the guidance will take effect on Friday, September 1, 2023.
The potential negative impact of this guidance on study abroad cannot be overstated. Therefore, we are urging all our members and the higher education community to take action.
What can you do?
Submit a Comment to the Department of Education before March 30, 2023
Submit comments regarding the guidance presented in this Dear Colleague Letter before March 30, 2023 via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at Regulations.gov, under Docket ID ED-2022-OPE-0103.
Submit comments to the DOE
Information on using Regulations.gov, including instructions for finding a rule on the site and submitting comments, is available on the site under FAQ “Click here” and scroll down to click on Comments.
Below are some talking points we encourage you to consider in crafting your comments to DOE. It is especially important to communicate the impact on your students and on your institution’s ability to offer study abroad programs.
If implemented as currently written, the potential for negative impact on the ability of colleges and universities to provide high quality education abroad experiences for their students cannot be overstated. It would likely result in a complete halt to the participation of students receiving Title IV funding, which could:
- Negatively impact their retention and graduation rates, since study abroad is widely recognized as a High Impact Practice;
- Disadvantage financially needy students, who are often from underrepresented and underserved populations, from their peers;
- Negatively impact the nation’s capacity for international understanding and competitiveness by severely limiting students’ exposure to programs that bridge the gap between theory and practice.
Urge your elected officials to advocate
Urge your elected officials to advocate for making education abroad accessible to every student regardless of financial need by clicking on the link below. You can write your own message or we have created a template letter that you can just copy, paste and submit.
Urge your USA elected officials
Click here to download a Letter template for your elected officials