Compliance

1. Student Aid Improvements

The institution must evaluate the possible impact on, and demand for your institutional aid as a result of the many changes made in student aid, including changes made to the need analysis.

Financial Aid
(Barbatis)

For the three (3)-year period from 2012 AY through 2015 AY, FAFSA applications decreased by 4.4%

2. Transfer of Credit

Assure that your institution has a transfer-of-credit policy, and that it is published on your institution's website.

As part of the law's consumer information requirements, these policies must be "easily accessible" on the Palm Beach State College website.

Registrar's Office (Barbatis)

Finance
(Duffie)

Transfer of Credit Manual

3. College Costs

Become familiar with provisions for the publication of college cost watch lists and price calculators, and take note of the use of a new, standard net price calculation.

Institutions must post on their websites a net price calculator no later than two years after the Secretary of Education develops a model net price calculator.

Financial Aid (Barbatis)

The Net Price Calculator was posted to the Financial Aid web site.  It is being used on average over 250 times a month with an average session lasting 16 minutes 22 seconds

Net Price Calculator

4. Textbooks

The institution must begin preparations to assure that by July 1, 2010, required information about textbooks will be posted on the website and provided to the bookstore. Colleges will be required, "to the maximum extent practicable," to disclose information on required textbooks on all internet-based course schedules.

Academic Affairs
(Yohe)

Required part of each course syllabus to be posted on the web site and Follett Textbooks posting of book information on their web site.

Textbook Certification & Affordability

5. Crime Reporting

The institution must assure that campus officials responsible for preparing required reports are aware of additional hate crimes to be included in campus crime reports. The new law makes several changes to the campus crime provisions (commonly referred to as the "Clery Act") of the Higher Education Act.

Safety Report Polices: Current requirements regarding campus law enforcement policies would be expanded to include plans for coordination with state and local law enforcement agencies for the investigation of alleged criminal offenses.

New Hate Crime Reporting: The list of hate crimes to be reported is expanded to include four new crimes: larceny-theft; simple assault; intimidation, and destruction, damage, or vandalism of property.

Emergency Procedures/Notification: Institutions must prepare a statement of campus policies regarding immediate emergency response and evacuation procedures.

Security  
(Duffie)

Campus Crime Statistics

Security & Risk Management Director Delsa Bush has read the pertinent sections of the HEA act and clearly understands the requirements within.

6. Campus Emergency Procedures

Institutions must prepare a statement of campus policies regarding immediate emergency response and evacuation procedures. This must include procedures for notifying the campus community "immediately" of a "significant emergency or dangerous situation" "involving an immediate threat" occurring at any of the locations specified in the Cleary Act (i.e. on campus, non-campus buildings or property, and public property). The procedures must be publicized and tested annually.

Security 
(Duffie)

Emergency Operations Plan

7.Consumer Information

The institution must assure that campus officials responsible for preparing required reports are aware of new IPEDS collection items.  In the college cost section of the new law is a lengthy list of information about each intuition of higher education that is to be posted on the Department of Education's College Navigator Website.

IT 
(Duffie)

Controller James Duffie has read the pertinent sections of the HEA act and clearly understands the requirements within.

The Gainful employment information is on every program web page.

8. Disaggregation of Graduate

Graduation data under the "Student Right to Know" provisions of the law would have to be disaggregated by gender, by major racial and ethnic subgroup, by recipients of Pell Grants, by recipients of a subsidized federal loan who did not receive a Pell Grant, and by recipients of neither a Pell Grant nor a subsidized loan.

IT 
(Duffie)

Data for Palm Beach State College is generated from the Student Database and uploaded to the DOE. The DOE feeds the data to IPEDS for reporting purposes.

9.  Disciplinary Proceedings

The institution must bring campus disciplinary proceedings into compliance.

Student Services (Barbatis)

Campus disciplinary procedures include clear guidelines and assurance of due process - see  Student Handbook.

10. Disclosures to Students

Campus officials must be responsible for required disclosures to students to ensure students are aware of new requirements.

Student Services (Barbatis)

A Student Updates page is maintained on the College website and mass e-mails are sent to student college e-mail addresses.  Student Updates page

11. Drug and Alcohol Abuse Prevention

The institution must assure that campus officials responsible for preparing required reports are aware of additional data to be added to the next biennial drug and alcohol review.

The number of drug and alcohol-related incidents and fatalities occurring on campus, or as part of an institution's activities that are reported to campus officials.

The number and type of sanctions imposed as a result of such incidents and fatalities.

Student Services (Barbatis)

Security (Duffie)

Security & Risk Management Director Delsa Bush has read the pertinent sections of the HEA act and clearly understands the requirements within.

12.  Drug Violation Penalty Notice

The institution is responsible for required disclosures to students including written notice advising students of the penalties for drug violations.

Student Services (Barbatis)

Possession, promotion, manufacture, distribution, sale, use, transfer, purchase or delivery of drugs (including drugs not prescribed for the user) or alcoholic beverages is expressly prohibited in the Student Code of Conduct.  Also prohibited is possession of drug paraphernalia or any other item that could potentially contain or does contain

illegal residue.  The Code of Conduct is included in the Student Handbook, published prominently on the College website, and in the online orientation program.  Penalties or sanctions for violation of the Code are also included in the Student Handbook, ranging from parent notification to dismissal.

The Student Handbook also describes federal,  state and county penalties for distribution or possession of narcotics or drug paraphernalia - Student Handbook

13.  Fire Safety

The institution must establish procedures and policies to comply with new fire safety requirements.

Security (Duffie)

Primarily related to dormitories which the College does not possess. Security & Risk Management Director Delsa Bush has read the pertinent sections of the HEA act and clearly understands the requirements within.

14. Lobby Certification

Each institution must annually "demonstrate and certify" to the Secretary of Education that it has not used any funds under the Higher Education Act to attempt to influence a member of Congress in connection with any federal grant, contract, loan, or cooperative agreement. No student aid funding under HEA may be used to hire a registered lobbyist or to pay for securing an earmark.

Geovanni Jose Denis

Colleges that distribute Title IV financial aid funds (HEA) must submit an annual report (FISAP -- Fiscal Operations Report and Application to Participate) to the US Department of Education.  In addition to reporting on the amounts of aid disbursed by fund type and numbers of students receiving such aid,  the President of the College is required to sign a statement certifying that no HEA student aid funds are used for lobbying.  

15.  Missing Person Procedures

Institutions must establish procedures and policies to address missing person's procedures. Institutions providing on-campus student housing must establish a missing student notification policy and procedures for those who reside on campus. Among other things, the student must be given the option to provide confidential contact information for a person to be notified in the event the student is officially reported as missing.

N/A

Not applicable

16. Peer-to-Peer File Sharing

The institution must develop a plan to combat Illegal file sharing and determine alternatives practicable for your institution. The new law requires institutions to make disclosures to students about institutional policies and sanctions related to copyright infringement.

IT (Duffie)

Code of Conduct
(Barbatis)

The College employs a device (Procera PacketLogic PL7720) on its internet connection that monitors and limits volume and speed of P2P traffic in and out of the College. We limit the speed of P2P traffic to make using P2P transfers so slow as to be undesirable to do so on the College network.   

17.  Post Graduate Information

Campus officials must be responsible for required disclosures to employment and graduate school/professional education students and institution graduates. Each institution must disclose information about the employment of, and participation in graduate and professional education by its graduates.

 N/A

Not applicable

18. Teacher Preparation Report Cards

Institutions with teacher preparation programs and that receive federal student assistance will have increased reporting requirements on the Institutional Report Cards. Most importantly, institutions will need to set annual goals regarding teacher development in shortage areas identified by their state, and provide assurances that they are working toward those goals.

Academic Affairs
(Yohe)

Below is the link on the Teacher Certificate Program website that addresses how the College prepares our teachers under the Higher Education Act:  

Teacher Certificate Program

19. Voter Registration

Since the 1998 reauthorization of the HEA, colleges and universities have been required to distribute hard copies of in-state voter registration forms to students prior to their state's voter registration deadline. Although the 1998 statute anticipated changes in distributing voter registration forms in the future, it did not specifically state that electronic transmission of the forms was legal. The new law clarifies that e-mail messages with links to the state forms are acceptable, as long as the messages are devoted exclusively to voter registration.

Student Services (Barbatis)

Palm Beach State College participates in the Turbo Vote system which encourages all students to register and vote. Notices were sent to all students via student email. Turbo Vote webpage

20.  LEAP

The institution must evaluate the possible impact on, and demand for your institutional aid as a result of the many changes made in student aid, including replacement of Special LEAP (a grant program to states to promote innovative college access programs) by Grants for Access and Persistence (GAP); which may change the institution's relationship with the state grant program. Special LEAP was replaced with a new partnership program called Grants for Access and Persistence (GAP).

Financial Aid (Barbatis)

Palm Beach State College has not received LEAP funding in recent years. Consequently, this change has had no impact on the demand for institutional aid.

21.  Student Aid Simplification

Simplification initiatives in the new law primarily focus on changes to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to ensure it is not a barrier to college access.

The new law includes a requirement for the Secretary to evaluate the current financial aid award letters used by colleges with an eye toward creating a single, national disclosure form. Not included in the law, however, are any of the earlier proposals to eliminate several core student aid programs including Perkins Loans, Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant (SEOG), and LEAP in the name of "simplification."

Financial Aid (Barbatis)

Palm Beach State College uses the approved Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Based on the number of students completing the FAFSA, it does not appear to be a barrier to college access.

The Secretary has not mandated the form or content for financial aid award letters.  Neither Perkins nor SEOG has been eliminated.  Elimination of LEAP is addressed in item 20.

22. Student Loan Sunshine

The law imposes new restrictions on colleges and student loan lenders (both federal and private). In order to prevent conflicts of interest between colleges' lender relationships and their responsibilities to students, issues addressed include "prohibited inducements" by lenders, new disclosures to borrowers, and requirements for institutional codes of conduct. The law also defines the requirements for preferred lender lists.

Under the new law, colleges can be held liable for the actions of certain "institutional-affiliated organizations," such as alumni associations and athletic booster clubs.

Financial Aid (Barbatis)

Effective July 1, 2010, all federal student loans are made directly with the federal government via the Federal Direct Loan Program.  All student loans processed at Palm Beach State College are now in the Federal Direct Loan Program.  The College does not process private, alternative loans; has no relationship or contact with lenders; and maintains no preferred lender list.

23. Veterans Readmission

The institution must comply with new readmission requirements for veterans. The law includes a new section requiring institutions to readmit veterans who left in order to perform military service.

Student Services (Barbatis)

College requires that a Veteran provide updated information at time of reentry, the same as any student who has been out for a major term. Veterans Readmission Forms