Administration of VA Educational Benefits-Centralized Certification, 20425-20428 [E7-7810]
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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 79 / Wednesday, April 25, 2007 / Rules and Regulations
ACTION:
Correction to final regulations.
SUMMARY: This document contains a
correction to final regulations (TD 9315)
that were published in the Federal
Register on Monday, March 19, 2007 (72
FR 12902) regarding dual consolidated
losses. Section 1503(d) generally
provides that a dual consolidated loss of
a dual resident corporation cannot
reduce the taxable income of any other
member of the affiliated group unless, to
the extent provided in regulations, the
loss does not offset the income of any
foreign corporation.
DATES: This correction is effective April
25, 2007.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jeffrey P. Cowan, (202) 622–3860 (not a
toll-free number).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The correction notice that is the
subject of this document is under
section 1503(d) of the Internal Revenue
Code.
Need for Correction
As published, final regulations (TD
9315) contain an error that may prove to
be misleading and is in need of
clarification.
Correction of Publication
Accordingly, the publication of the
final regulations (TD 9315), which was
the subject of FR Doc. E7–4618, is
corrected as follows:
On page 12904, column 1, in the
preamble, under the paragraph heading
‘‘C. Elimination of the Consistency
Rule’’, third line from the bottom of the
paragraph, the language ‘‘application of
the dual consolidated’’ is corrected to
read ‘‘application of the dual
consolidated loss’’.
LaNita Van Dyke
Chief, Publications and Regulations Branch,
Legal Processing Division, Associate Chief
Counsel, (Procedure and Administration).
[FR Doc. E7–7780 Filed 4–24–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4830–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS
AFFAIRS
38 CFR Part 21
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RIN 2900–AL43
Administration of VA Educational
Benefits—Centralized Certification
Department of Veterans Affairs.
Final rule.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
SUMMARY: This document adopts as a
final rule a proposed rule amending
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Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
rules governing certification of
enrollment in approved courses for the
training of veterans and other eligible
persons under the education benefit
programs VA administers. Under this
rule, educational institutions with
multi-state campuses may submit
certifications to VA from a centralized
location.
DATES: This final rule is effective June
25, 2007.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Lynn M. Nelson, Education Advisor,
Veterans Benefits Administration,
Department of Veterans Affairs (225C),
810 Vermont Avenue, NW.,
Washington, DC 20420, 202–273–7187.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In a
document published in the Federal
Register on February 22, 2006 (71 FR
9052), VA proposed a rule that would
amend subpart D of 38 CFR part 21
regarding approval criteria for branches
and extensions of educational
institutions. VA is adopting as final the
proposed rule with only minor nonsubstantive changes. The rule permits
educational institutions with multi-state
campuses to submit required
certifications to VA from a centralized
location (centralized certification).
Interested persons were given 60 days
to submit comments on the proposed
rule. VA addresses the comments below.
I. Background
VA initially published a notice of
proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in the
Federal Register on June 30, 2003 (68
FR 38657), proposing to amend VA
regulations to permit centralized
certification of courses. VA received
several comments concerning the
NPRM. Many of the comments opposing
the proposed amendments came from
individual State Approving Agencies
(SAA), and a national association of
SAAs. VA contracts with SAAs to
perform course approval functions
under 38 U.S.C. chapter 36. Based on
the comments received, VA withdrew
the initial NPRM and published a new
NPRM taking into consideration all the
comments received. (The new NPRM
was published in the Federal Register
on February 22, 2006 (71 FR 9052) for
comment.)
II. Favorable Comments on NPRM
Published February 22, 2006
VA received four favorable comments.
Two were from educational institutions,
one was from a national association of
SAAs, and one was from an individual
SAA.
One commenter, the national
association, supported the proposed
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20425
rule and commended VA for addressing
the issues raised in response to the prior
NPRM. In addition, the commenter
requested that VA amend proposed 38
CFR 21.4266(f)(3) to add a requirement
for teaching locations that do not have
a certifying official present. Specifically,
the commenter requested that VA
require the educational institution’s
designated employee, who has access to
VA’s Internet-based educational
certification application for purposes of
providing certification information to
VA, to also have access to other records
the SAA may require. The commenter
suggested that the designated employee
should also have access to and provide
academic records information to
veterans, servicemembers, reservists or
other eligible persons. (Another SAA
individually submitted a similar
comment.)
While VA understands the
commenter’s concern, we did not make
the recommended change in this final
rule because VA already has a
regulation (38 CFR 21.4209) that
requires educational institutions to
make certain records available for
review by VA and duly authorized
Government representatives, such as
SAAs. Since § 21.4209 presently
requires institutions to make the records
available, VA believes that the change
suggested by the commenter is
unnecessary. If the educational
institution does not make the required
records available, § 21.4209(e) provides
that such failure is grounds for
discontinuing the payment of
educational assistance allowance (or
special training allowance). An
institution that does not comply would
also be subject to losing approval of its
courses for veterans’ training.
III. Unfavorable Comments on the
NPRM Published February 22, 2006
One commenter, a State veterans
affairs office, opposed the NPRM
speculating that the amendments would
be a step backward in maintaining the
quality of education and veteran
education services and would lead to a
decline in service to veterans. As stated
in the preamble of the NPRM at 71 FR
9052, 9053–9058, and despite the
commenter’s concerns, VA has no
evidence that service would diminish if
schools submitted certifications from a
central location.
In contrast to the above commenter’s
critical comment, we also received
favorable comments from school
officials asserting that centralization
would improve service to veteran
students. These officials stated that they
could maintain a better trained staff if
they were permitted to centralize their
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certification activities. Employees who
serve as certifying officials at smaller
campuses often have other duties and,
thus, do not specialize in VA
certifications. The officials maintained
that their designated employees could
specialize in those duties and better
serve VA beneficiaries if they could
centralize the schools’ certifications.
In opposing the rule, the State
commenter suggested that an SAA’s
oversight powers might be impaired by
the rule. The commenter cited as an
example of an oversight issue, an
educational institution with interstate
campuses that used inappropriate
teaching methods and unqualified
faculty. The SAA withdrew approval for
the courses in the State and notified
other SAAs that had campuses of the
same educational institution in their
states. The other SAAs conducted
reviews and also withdrew approval for
VA educational beneficiaries’ training.
SAAs use current law to appropriately
disapprove courses upon discovering
problems that cannot be corrected by an
educational institution. Under this rule,
the SAA would still be able to oversee
and provide assistance to the various
teaching locations within the State. If
the educational institution in the
commenter’s example submitted
certifications from one central location
or separately from each State, the SAA
could still withdraw approval of the
teaching locations in the State and
notify the other SAAs just as they have
in the past under current law. This rule
does not remove or change an
institution’s present ability to approve
or disapprove courses. It merely allows
an educational institution the flexibility
of submitting VA certifications
electronically from one central location.
The commenter also expressed
concern that certification documents
would not be available to the SAA if an
educational institution submitted
certifications for campuses in the State
from another State. In 38 CFR
21.4266(f)(3), we require that
educational institutions, which
centralize their certifying official
functions, must designate employees at
teaching locations without a certifying
official to provide certification
information to eligible persons, VA, and
SAAs using VA’s Internet-based
education certification application. If an
educational institution in Texas, with
branches in Wisconsin and Maryland,
submits all certifications from Texas,
the educational institution’s designated
employees in each of those States, will
have access to the relevant certification
information.
Another commenter expressed
concern that administrative records
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would not be available to the
centralized certifying official. However,
§ 21.4266(f)(3)(iv) provides that the
certifying official has full access to the
administrative records and accounts
required by § 21.4209 for each student
attending the teaching location(s) for
which the certifying official has been
designated responsibility. The State
commenter also suggested that the
State’s SAA cannot be held
contractually accountable for operations
outside its borders. However, nothing in
this rule would hold any SAA
accountable for actions at a branch in
another state. The only new provision is
that an educational institution may
submit VA certifications from a central
location if it chooses to do so.
VA made no substantive changes to
the NPRM published February 22, 2006,
based on the comments.
Paperwork Reduction Act
This final rule contains provisions
that constitute collections of
information under the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501–
3521) in § 21.4266(f). The collections are
approved under Office of Management
and Budget control number 2900–0073.
We display the control number under
the applicable regulation text in this
final rule.
Unfunded Mandates
The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
of 1995 requires, at 2 U.S.C. 1532, that
agencies prepare an assessment of
anticipated costs and benefits before
issuing any rule that may result in an
expenditure by State, local, or tribal
governments, in the aggregate or by the
private sector, of $100 million or more
(adjusted annually for inflation) in any
given year. This proposed rule would
have no such effect on State, local, or
tribal governments, or the private sector.
Executive Order 12866
Executive Order 12866 directs
agencies to assess all costs and benefits
of available regulatory alternatives and,
when regulation is necessary, to select
regulatory approaches that maximize
net benefits (including potential
economic, environmental, public health
and safety, and other advantages;
distributive impacts; and equity). The
Executive Order classifies a ‘‘significant
regulatory action,’’ requiring review by
the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) unless OMB waives such review,
as any regulatory action that is likely to
result in a rule that may: (1) Have an
annual effect on the economy of $100
million or more or adversely affect in a
material way the economy, a sector of
the economy, productivity, competition,
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jobs, the environment, public health or
safety, or State, local, or tribal
governments or communities; (2) create
a serious inconsistency or otherwise
interfere with an action taken or
planned by another agency; (3)
materially alter the budgetary impact of
entitlements, grants, user fees, or loan
programs or the rights and obligations of
recipients thereof; or (4) raise novel
legal or policy issues arising out of legal
mandates, the President’s priorities, or
the principles set forth in the Executive
Order.
The economic, interagency,
budgetary, legal, and policy
implications of this final rule have been
examined and it has been determined to
be a significant regulatory action under
the Executive Order because it is likely
to result in a rule that may raise novel
legal or policy issues arising out of legal
mandates, the President’s priorities, or
the principles set forth in the Executive
Order.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs
hereby certifies that this rule will not
have a significant economic impact on
a substantial number of small entities as
they are defined in the Regulatory
Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601–612.
Existing VA regulations do not permit
educational institutions with multi-state
campuses to centralize their certifying
official functions. Some educational
institutions with multi-state campuses
requested VA expand current
regulations to permit them to centralize
their certifying official functions. Since
this rule will affect only those
educational institutions that choose to
centralize their certifying official
functions, centralizing such functions
would be at the option of the
educational institution that wants to
consolidate its certifying functions.
Those institutions believe centralizing
their functions will allow them to better
manage and allocate their resources.
The economic effect on small entities
would essentially entail a cost savings
associated with the consolidation of
certifying functions. By centralizing the
functions, the institutions desiring this
option say they could dedicate less fulltime employees to the centralizing
duties and at the same time have those
employees specialize. According to
officials of educational institutions
interested in centralizing, their training
costs would be reduced by having a
centralized staff dedicated to VA
certification and serving veterans. The
option in this rule, which would
liberalize current regulations to permit
centralized certification functions,
would not impact a substantial number
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of small entities. Of the 6,900 postsecondary educational institutions
approved by Department of Education
for Title IV funds, only three of those
institutions commented on the proposed
rule. Less than 10 educational
institutions have expressed interest in
centralized certification, but those that
have are very interested in the change
that would allow them the option.
Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 605(b), this rule,
therefore, is exempt from the initial and
final regulatory flexibility analyses
requirements of sections 603 and 604.
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
The Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance numbers and titles for the
programs affected by this rule are:
64.117, Survivors and Dependents
Educational Assistance; 64.120, PostVietnam Era Veterans’ Educational
Assistance; and 64.124, All-Volunteer
Force Educational Assistance. This
proposed rule also affects the
Montgomery GI Bill-Selected Reserve
program and the Reserve Educational
Assistance program. There are no
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
numbers for the Montgomery GI BillSelected Reserve or the Reserve
Educational Assistance program.
List of Subjects in 38 CFR Part 21
Administrative practice and
procedure, Armed forces, Civil rights,
Claims, Colleges and universities,
Conflict of interests, Education,
Employment, Grant programs—
education, Grant programs—veterans,
Health care, Loan programs—education,
Loan programs—veterans, Manpower
training programs, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements, Schools,
Travel and transportation expenses,
Veterans, Vocational education,
Vocational rehabilitation.
Approved: March 19, 2007.
R. James Nicholson,
Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
For the reasons stated in the preamble,
the Department of Veterans Affairs
amends 38 CFR part 21 (subpart D) as
follows:
I
PART 21—VOCATIONAL
REHABILITATION AND EDUCATION
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Subpart D—Administration of
Educational Assistance Programs
1. The authority citation for part 21,
subpart D, continues to read as follows:
Authority: 10 U.S.C. 2141 note, ch. 1606;
38 U.S.C. 501(a), chs. 30, 32, 34, 35, 36,
unless otherwise noted.
2. Revise § 21.4266 to read as follows:
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(a) Definitions. The following
definitions apply to the terms used in
this section.
(1) Administrative capability means
the ability to maintain all records and
accounts that § 21.4209 requires.
(2) Certifying official means a
representative of an educational
institution designated to provide VA
with the reports and certifications that
§§ 21.4203, 21.4204, 21.5810, 21.5812,
21.7152, and 21.7652 require.
(3) Main campus means the location
where the primary teaching facilities of
an educational institution are located. If
an educational institution has only one
teaching location, that location is its
main campus. If it is unclear which of
the educational institution’s teaching
facilities is primary, the main campus is
the location of the primary office of its
Chief Executive Officer.
(4) Branch campus means a location
of an educational institution that—
(i) Is geographically apart from and
operationally independent of the main
campus of the educational institution;
(ii) Has its own faculty,
administration and supervisory
organization; and
(iii) Offers courses in education
programs leading to a degree, certificate,
or other recognized education
credential.
(5) Extension means a location of an
educational institution that is
geographically apart from and is
operationally dependent on the main
campus or a branch campus of the
educational institution.
(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 3675, 3676, 3684)
(b) State approving agency
jurisdiction. (1) The State approving
agency for the State where a residence
course is being taught has jurisdiction
over approval of that course for VA
education benefit purposes.
(2) The fact that the location where
the educational institution is offering
the course may be temporary will not
serve to change jurisdictional authority.
(3) The fact that the main campus of
the educational institution may be
located in another State from that in
which the course is being taught will
not serve to change jurisdictional
authority.
(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 3672)
I
I
§ 21.4266 Approval of courses at a branch
campus or extension.
(c) Approving a course offered by a
branch campus or an extension of an
educational institution. Before
approving a course or a program of
education offered at a branch campus or
an extension of an educational
institution, the State approving agency
must ensure that—
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(1) Except as provided in paragraph
(d) of this section, each location where
the course or program is offered has
administrative capability; and
(2) Except as provided in paragraph (f)
of this section, each location where the
course or program is offered has a
certifying official on site.
(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 3672)
(d) Exceptions to the requirement that
administrative capability exist at each
location. (1) A State approving agency
may approve a course or program
offered by a branch campus that does
not have its own administrative
capability if—
(i) The main campus of the
educational institution within the same
State maintains a centralized
recordkeeping system that includes all
records and accounts that § 21.4209
requires for each student attending the
branch campus without administrative
capability. These records may be
originals, certified copies, or in an
electronically formatted record keeping
system; and
(ii) The main campus can identify the
records of students at the branch
campus for which it maintains
centralized records.
(2) The State approving agency may
approve a course or program offered by
an extension that does not have its own
administrative capability if—
(i) The extension and the main
campus or branch campus it is
dependent on are located within the
same State;
(ii) The main campus or branch
campus the extension is dependent on
has administrative capability for the
extension; and
(iii) The State approving agency
combines the approval of the course(s)
offered by the extension with the
approval of the courses offered by the
main campus or branch campus the
extension is dependent on.
(e) Combined approval. The State
approving agency may combine the
approval of courses offered by an
extension of an educational institution
with the approval of the main campus
or the branch campus that the extension
is dependent on, if the extension is
within the same State as the campus it
is dependent on. Combining the
approval of courses offered by an
extension, with the approval of courses
offered by the main campus or branch
campus the extension is dependent on,
does not negate the minimum period of
operation requirements in § 21.4251 for
courses that do not lead to a standard
college degree offered by an extension of
a proprietary educational institution.
The State approving agency will list the
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extension and courses approved on the
notice of approval sent to the
educational institution pursuant to
§ 21.4258 of this part.
(f) Exceptions to the requirement that
each location where the course or
program is offered must have a
certifying official on site. Exceptions to
the requirement in paragraph (c) of this
section, that each location with an
approved course or program of
education must have a certifying official
on site, will be permitted for—
(1) Extensions of an educational
institution when the State approving
agency combines the approval of the
courses offered by the extension with a
branch campus or main campus. (See
paragraph (e) of this section.)
(2) Educational institutions with more
than one campus within the same State
if the main campus—
(i) Maintains a centralized
recordkeeping system. (See paragraph
(d)(1) of this section.);
(ii) Has administrative capability for
the branch campus (or branch
campuses) within the same State; and
(iii) Centralizes its certifying official
function at the main campus.
(3) Educational institutions with
multi-state campuses when an
educational institution wants to
centralize its certifying official function
into one or more locations if:
(i) The educational institution
submits all required reports and
certifications that §§ 21.4203, 21.4204,
21.5810, 21.5812, 21.7152, and 21.7652
require via electronic submission
through VA’s Internet-based education
certification application;
(ii) The educational institution
designates an employee, at each
teaching location of the educational
institution that does not have a
certifying official present, to serve as a
point-of-contact for veterans,
servicemembers, reservists, or other
eligible persons; the certifying
official(s); the State approving agency of
jurisdiction; and VA. The designated
employee must have access (other than
to transmit certifications) to VA’s
Internet-based education certification
application to provide certification
information to veterans,
servicemembers, reservists, or other
eligible persons, State approving agency
representatives, and VA representatives;
(iii) Each certifying official uses the
VA facility code for the location that has
administrative capability for the
teaching location where the student is
training when submitting required
reports and certifications to VA; and
(iv) Each certifying official has full
access to the administrative records and
accounts that § 21.4209 requires for each
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student attending the teaching
location(s) for which the certifying
official has been designated
responsibility. These records may be
originals, certified copies, or in an
electronically formatted record keeping
system.
(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 3672)
(The Office of Management and Budget
has approved the information collection
requirements in this section under
control number 2900–0073)
[FR Doc. E7–7810 Filed 4–24–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8320–01–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 70
[EPA–R03–OAR–2007–0254; FRL–8304–8]
State Operating Permit Programs;
Maryland; Revisions to the Acid Rain
Regulations
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct final rule.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: EPA is taking direct final
action to approve revisions to the
Maryland operating permit program.
The revisions amend the Code of
Maryland Administrative Regulations’
(COMAR) incorporation by reference
citations to ensure that future changes to
the Federal Acid Rain program will
continue to be incorporated into
Maryland’s regulations. EPA is
approving these revisions in accordance
with the requirements of the Clean Air
Act.
DATES: This rule is effective on June 25,
2007 without further notice, unless EPA
receives adverse written comment by
May 25, 2007. If EPA receives such
comments, it will publish a timely
withdrawal of the direct final rule in the
Federal Register and inform the public
that the rule will not take effect.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments,
identified by Docket ID Number EPA–
R03–OAR–2007–0254 by one of the
following methods:
A. www.regulations.gov. Follow the
on-line instructions for submitting
comments.
B. E-mail: campbell.dave@epa.gov.
C. Mail: EPA–R03–OAR–2007–0254,
David Campbell, Chief, Permits and
Technical Assessment Branch, Mailcode
3AP11, U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch Street,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103.
D. Hand Delivery: At the previouslylisted EPA Region III address. Such
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deliveries are only accepted during the
Docket’s normal hours of operation, and
special arrangements should be made
for deliveries of boxed information.
Instructions: Direct your comments to
Docket ID No. EPA–R03–OAR–2007–
0254. EPA’s policy is that all comments
received will be included in the public
docket without change, and may be
made available online at
www.regulations.gov, including any
personal information provided, unless
the comment includes information
claimed to be Confidential Business
Information (CBI) or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute.
Do not submit information that you
consider to be CBI or otherwise
protected through www.regulations.gov
or e-mail. The www.regulations.gov Web
site is an ‘‘anonymous access’’ system,
which means EPA will not know your
identity or contact information unless
you provide it in the body of your
comment. If you send an e-mail
comment directly to EPA without going
through www.regulations.gov, your email address will be automatically
captured and included as part of the
comment that is placed in the public
docket and made available on the
Internet. If you submit an electronic
comment, EPA recommends that you
include your name and other contact
information in the body of your
comment and with any disk or CD–ROM
you submit. If EPA cannot read your
comment due to technical difficulties
and cannot contact you for clarification,
EPA may not be able to consider your
comment. Electronic files should avoid
the use of special characters, any form
of encryption, and be free of any defects
or viruses.
Docket. All documents in the
electronic docket are listed in the
www.regulations.gov index. Although
listed in the index, some information is
not publicly available, i.e., CBI or other
information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute. Certain other
material, such as copyrighted material,
is not placed on the Internet and will be
publicly available only in hard copy
form. Publicly available docket
materials are available either
electronically in www.regulations.gov or
in hard copy during normal business
hours at the Air Protection Division,
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Region III, 1650 Arch Street,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103.
Copies of the State submittal are
available at the Maryland Department of
the Environment, 1800 Washington
Boulevard, Suite 705, Baltimore,
Maryland 21230.
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 79 (Wednesday, April 25, 2007)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 20425-20428]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-7810]
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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
38 CFR Part 21
RIN 2900-AL43
Administration of VA Educational Benefits--Centralized
Certification
AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs.
ACTION: Final rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This document adopts as a final rule a proposed rule amending
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) rules governing certification of
enrollment in approved courses for the training of veterans and other
eligible persons under the education benefit programs VA administers.
Under this rule, educational institutions with multi-state campuses may
submit certifications to VA from a centralized location.
DATES: This final rule is effective June 25, 2007.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lynn M. Nelson, Education Advisor,
Veterans Benefits Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs
(225C), 810 Vermont Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20420, 202-273-7187.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In a document published in the Federal
Register on February 22, 2006 (71 FR 9052), VA proposed a rule that
would amend subpart D of 38 CFR part 21 regarding approval criteria for
branches and extensions of educational institutions. VA is adopting as
final the proposed rule with only minor non-substantive changes. The
rule permits educational institutions with multi-state campuses to
submit required certifications to VA from a centralized location
(centralized certification).
Interested persons were given 60 days to submit comments on the
proposed rule. VA addresses the comments below.
I. Background
VA initially published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in
the Federal Register on June 30, 2003 (68 FR 38657), proposing to amend
VA regulations to permit centralized certification of courses. VA
received several comments concerning the NPRM. Many of the comments
opposing the proposed amendments came from individual State Approving
Agencies (SAA), and a national association of SAAs. VA contracts with
SAAs to perform course approval functions under 38 U.S.C. chapter 36.
Based on the comments received, VA withdrew the initial NPRM and
published a new NPRM taking into consideration all the comments
received. (The new NPRM was published in the Federal Register on
February 22, 2006 (71 FR 9052) for comment.)
II. Favorable Comments on NPRM Published February 22, 2006
VA received four favorable comments. Two were from educational
institutions, one was from a national association of SAAs, and one was
from an individual SAA.
One commenter, the national association, supported the proposed
rule and commended VA for addressing the issues raised in response to
the prior NPRM. In addition, the commenter requested that VA amend
proposed 38 CFR 21.4266(f)(3) to add a requirement for teaching
locations that do not have a certifying official present. Specifically,
the commenter requested that VA require the educational institution's
designated employee, who has access to VA's Internet-based educational
certification application for purposes of providing certification
information to VA, to also have access to other records the SAA may
require. The commenter suggested that the designated employee should
also have access to and provide academic records information to
veterans, servicemembers, reservists or other eligible persons.
(Another SAA individually submitted a similar comment.)
While VA understands the commenter's concern, we did not make the
recommended change in this final rule because VA already has a
regulation (38 CFR 21.4209) that requires educational institutions to
make certain records available for review by VA and duly authorized
Government representatives, such as SAAs. Since Sec. 21.4209 presently
requires institutions to make the records available, VA believes that
the change suggested by the commenter is unnecessary. If the
educational institution does not make the required records available,
Sec. 21.4209(e) provides that such failure is grounds for
discontinuing the payment of educational assistance allowance (or
special training allowance). An institution that does not comply would
also be subject to losing approval of its courses for veterans'
training.
III. Unfavorable Comments on the NPRM Published February 22, 2006
One commenter, a State veterans affairs office, opposed the NPRM
speculating that the amendments would be a step backward in maintaining
the quality of education and veteran education services and would lead
to a decline in service to veterans. As stated in the preamble of the
NPRM at 71 FR 9052, 9053-9058, and despite the commenter's concerns, VA
has no evidence that service would diminish if schools submitted
certifications from a central location.
In contrast to the above commenter's critical comment, we also
received favorable comments from school officials asserting that
centralization would improve service to veteran students. These
officials stated that they could maintain a better trained staff if
they were permitted to centralize their
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certification activities. Employees who serve as certifying officials
at smaller campuses often have other duties and, thus, do not
specialize in VA certifications. The officials maintained that their
designated employees could specialize in those duties and better serve
VA beneficiaries if they could centralize the schools' certifications.
In opposing the rule, the State commenter suggested that an SAA's
oversight powers might be impaired by the rule. The commenter cited as
an example of an oversight issue, an educational institution with
interstate campuses that used inappropriate teaching methods and
unqualified faculty. The SAA withdrew approval for the courses in the
State and notified other SAAs that had campuses of the same educational
institution in their states. The other SAAs conducted reviews and also
withdrew approval for VA educational beneficiaries' training. SAAs use
current law to appropriately disapprove courses upon discovering
problems that cannot be corrected by an educational institution. Under
this rule, the SAA would still be able to oversee and provide
assistance to the various teaching locations within the State. If the
educational institution in the commenter's example submitted
certifications from one central location or separately from each State,
the SAA could still withdraw approval of the teaching locations in the
State and notify the other SAAs just as they have in the past under
current law. This rule does not remove or change an institution's
present ability to approve or disapprove courses. It merely allows an
educational institution the flexibility of submitting VA certifications
electronically from one central location.
The commenter also expressed concern that certification documents
would not be available to the SAA if an educational institution
submitted certifications for campuses in the State from another State.
In 38 CFR 21.4266(f)(3), we require that educational institutions,
which centralize their certifying official functions, must designate
employees at teaching locations without a certifying official to
provide certification information to eligible persons, VA, and SAAs
using VA's Internet-based education certification application. If an
educational institution in Texas, with branches in Wisconsin and
Maryland, submits all certifications from Texas, the educational
institution's designated employees in each of those States, will have
access to the relevant certification information.
Another commenter expressed concern that administrative records
would not be available to the centralized certifying official. However,
Sec. 21.4266(f)(3)(iv) provides that the certifying official has full
access to the administrative records and accounts required by Sec.
21.4209 for each student attending the teaching location(s) for which
the certifying official has been designated responsibility. The State
commenter also suggested that the State's SAA cannot be held
contractually accountable for operations outside its borders. However,
nothing in this rule would hold any SAA accountable for actions at a
branch in another state. The only new provision is that an educational
institution may submit VA certifications from a central location if it
chooses to do so.
VA made no substantive changes to the NPRM published February 22,
2006, based on the comments.
Paperwork Reduction Act
This final rule contains provisions that constitute collections of
information under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-
3521) in Sec. 21.4266(f). The collections are approved under Office of
Management and Budget control number 2900-0073. We display the control
number under the applicable regulation text in this final rule.
Unfunded Mandates
The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 requires, at 2 U.S.C.
1532, that agencies prepare an assessment of anticipated costs and
benefits before issuing any rule that may result in an expenditure by
State, local, or tribal governments, in the aggregate or by the private
sector, of $100 million or more (adjusted annually for inflation) in
any given year. This proposed rule would have no such effect on State,
local, or tribal governments, or the private sector.
Executive Order 12866
Executive Order 12866 directs agencies to assess all costs and
benefits of available regulatory alternatives and, when regulation is
necessary, to select regulatory approaches that maximize net benefits
(including potential economic, environmental, public health and safety,
and other advantages; distributive impacts; and equity). The Executive
Order classifies a ``significant regulatory action,'' requiring review
by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) unless OMB waives such
review, as any regulatory action that is likely to result in a rule
that may: (1) Have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or
more or adversely affect in a material way the economy, a sector of the
economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the environment, public
health or safety, or State, local, or tribal governments or
communities; (2) create a serious inconsistency or otherwise interfere
with an action taken or planned by another agency; (3) materially alter
the budgetary impact of entitlements, grants, user fees, or loan
programs or the rights and obligations of recipients thereof; or (4)
raise novel legal or policy issues arising out of legal mandates, the
President's priorities, or the principles set forth in the Executive
Order.
The economic, interagency, budgetary, legal, and policy
implications of this final rule have been examined and it has been
determined to be a significant regulatory action under the Executive
Order because it is likely to result in a rule that may raise novel
legal or policy issues arising out of legal mandates, the President's
priorities, or the principles set forth in the Executive Order.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs hereby certifies that this rule
will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of
small entities as they are defined in the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5
U.S.C. 601-612. Existing VA regulations do not permit educational
institutions with multi-state campuses to centralize their certifying
official functions. Some educational institutions with multi-state
campuses requested VA expand current regulations to permit them to
centralize their certifying official functions. Since this rule will
affect only those educational institutions that choose to centralize
their certifying official functions, centralizing such functions would
be at the option of the educational institution that wants to
consolidate its certifying functions. Those institutions believe
centralizing their functions will allow them to better manage and
allocate their resources.
The economic effect on small entities would essentially entail a
cost savings associated with the consolidation of certifying functions.
By centralizing the functions, the institutions desiring this option
say they could dedicate less full-time employees to the centralizing
duties and at the same time have those employees specialize. According
to officials of educational institutions interested in centralizing,
their training costs would be reduced by having a centralized staff
dedicated to VA certification and serving veterans. The option in this
rule, which would liberalize current regulations to permit centralized
certification functions, would not impact a substantial number
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of small entities. Of the 6,900 post-secondary educational institutions
approved by Department of Education for Title IV funds, only three of
those institutions commented on the proposed rule. Less than 10
educational institutions have expressed interest in centralized
certification, but those that have are very interested in the change
that would allow them the option. Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 605(b), this
rule, therefore, is exempt from the initial and final regulatory
flexibility analyses requirements of sections 603 and 604.
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance numbers and titles for
the programs affected by this rule are: 64.117, Survivors and
Dependents Educational Assistance; 64.120, Post-Vietnam Era Veterans'
Educational Assistance; and 64.124, All-Volunteer Force Educational
Assistance. This proposed rule also affects the Montgomery GI Bill-
Selected Reserve program and the Reserve Educational Assistance
program. There are no Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance numbers
for the Montgomery GI Bill-Selected Reserve or the Reserve Educational
Assistance program.
List of Subjects in 38 CFR Part 21
Administrative practice and procedure, Armed forces, Civil rights,
Claims, Colleges and universities, Conflict of interests, Education,
Employment, Grant programs--education, Grant programs--veterans, Health
care, Loan programs--education, Loan programs--veterans, Manpower
training programs, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Schools,
Travel and transportation expenses, Veterans, Vocational education,
Vocational rehabilitation.
Approved: March 19, 2007.
R. James Nicholson,
Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
0
For the reasons stated in the preamble, the Department of Veterans
Affairs amends 38 CFR part 21 (subpart D) as follows:
PART 21--VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION AND EDUCATION
Subpart D--Administration of Educational Assistance Programs
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1. The authority citation for part 21, subpart D, continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 10 U.S.C. 2141 note, ch. 1606; 38 U.S.C. 501(a), chs.
30, 32, 34, 35, 36, unless otherwise noted.
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2. Revise Sec. 21.4266 to read as follows:
Sec. 21.4266 Approval of courses at a branch campus or extension.
(a) Definitions. The following definitions apply to the terms used
in this section.
(1) Administrative capability means the ability to maintain all
records and accounts that Sec. 21.4209 requires.
(2) Certifying official means a representative of an educational
institution designated to provide VA with the reports and
certifications that Sec. Sec. 21.4203, 21.4204, 21.5810, 21.5812,
21.7152, and 21.7652 require.
(3) Main campus means the location where the primary teaching
facilities of an educational institution are located. If an educational
institution has only one teaching location, that location is its main
campus. If it is unclear which of the educational institution's
teaching facilities is primary, the main campus is the location of the
primary office of its Chief Executive Officer.
(4) Branch campus means a location of an educational institution
that--
(i) Is geographically apart from and operationally independent of
the main campus of the educational institution;
(ii) Has its own faculty, administration and supervisory
organization; and
(iii) Offers courses in education programs leading to a degree,
certificate, or other recognized education credential.
(5) Extension means a location of an educational institution that
is geographically apart from and is operationally dependent on the main
campus or a branch campus of the educational institution.
(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 3675, 3676, 3684)
(b) State approving agency jurisdiction. (1) The State approving
agency for the State where a residence course is being taught has
jurisdiction over approval of that course for VA education benefit
purposes.
(2) The fact that the location where the educational institution is
offering the course may be temporary will not serve to change
jurisdictional authority.
(3) The fact that the main campus of the educational institution
may be located in another State from that in which the course is being
taught will not serve to change jurisdictional authority.
(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 3672)
(c) Approving a course offered by a branch campus or an extension
of an educational institution. Before approving a course or a program
of education offered at a branch campus or an extension of an
educational institution, the State approving agency must ensure that--
(1) Except as provided in paragraph (d) of this section, each
location where the course or program is offered has administrative
capability; and
(2) Except as provided in paragraph (f) of this section, each
location where the course or program is offered has a certifying
official on site.
(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 3672)
(d) Exceptions to the requirement that administrative capability
exist at each location. (1) A State approving agency may approve a
course or program offered by a branch campus that does not have its own
administrative capability if--
(i) The main campus of the educational institution within the same
State maintains a centralized recordkeeping system that includes all
records and accounts that Sec. 21.4209 requires for each student
attending the branch campus without administrative capability. These
records may be originals, certified copies, or in an electronically
formatted record keeping system; and
(ii) The main campus can identify the records of students at the
branch campus for which it maintains centralized records.
(2) The State approving agency may approve a course or program
offered by an extension that does not have its own administrative
capability if--
(i) The extension and the main campus or branch campus it is
dependent on are located within the same State;
(ii) The main campus or branch campus the extension is dependent on
has administrative capability for the extension; and
(iii) The State approving agency combines the approval of the
course(s) offered by the extension with the approval of the courses
offered by the main campus or branch campus the extension is dependent
on.
(e) Combined approval. The State approving agency may combine the
approval of courses offered by an extension of an educational
institution with the approval of the main campus or the branch campus
that the extension is dependent on, if the extension is within the same
State as the campus it is dependent on. Combining the approval of
courses offered by an extension, with the approval of courses offered
by the main campus or branch campus the extension is dependent on, does
not negate the minimum period of operation requirements in Sec.
21.4251 for courses that do not lead to a standard college degree
offered by an extension of a proprietary educational institution. The
State approving agency will list the
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extension and courses approved on the notice of approval sent to the
educational institution pursuant to Sec. 21.4258 of this part.
(f) Exceptions to the requirement that each location where the
course or program is offered must have a certifying official on site.
Exceptions to the requirement in paragraph (c) of this section, that
each location with an approved course or program of education must have
a certifying official on site, will be permitted for--
(1) Extensions of an educational institution when the State
approving agency combines the approval of the courses offered by the
extension with a branch campus or main campus. (See paragraph (e) of
this section.)
(2) Educational institutions with more than one campus within the
same State if the main campus--
(i) Maintains a centralized recordkeeping system. (See paragraph
(d)(1) of this section.);
(ii) Has administrative capability for the branch campus (or branch
campuses) within the same State; and
(iii) Centralizes its certifying official function at the main
campus.
(3) Educational institutions with multi-state campuses when an
educational institution wants to centralize its certifying official
function into one or more locations if:
(i) The educational institution submits all required reports and
certifications that Sec. Sec. 21.4203, 21.4204, 21.5810, 21.5812,
21.7152, and 21.7652 require via electronic submission through VA's
Internet-based education certification application;
(ii) The educational institution designates an employee, at each
teaching location of the educational institution that does not have a
certifying official present, to serve as a point-of-contact for
veterans, servicemembers, reservists, or other eligible persons; the
certifying official(s); the State approving agency of jurisdiction; and
VA. The designated employee must have access (other than to transmit
certifications) to VA's Internet-based education certification
application to provide certification information to veterans,
servicemembers, reservists, or other eligible persons, State approving
agency representatives, and VA representatives;
(iii) Each certifying official uses the VA facility code for the
location that has administrative capability for the teaching location
where the student is training when submitting required reports and
certifications to VA; and
(iv) Each certifying official has full access to the administrative
records and accounts that Sec. 21.4209 requires for each student
attending the teaching location(s) for which the certifying official
has been designated responsibility. These records may be originals,
certified copies, or in an electronically formatted record keeping
system.
(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 3672)
(The Office of Management and Budget has approved the information
collection requirements in this section under control number 2900-0073)
[FR Doc. E7-7810 Filed 4-24-07; 8:45 am]
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