Final Rules
In this final rule, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is amending its regulations that govern the protection of human subjects for conformity with 2018 revisions made to the Federal policy for protection of human research subjects (the “Common Rule”), as well as to maintain consistency with the prior version of the Common Rule for research that remains subject to those requirements. Amendments include updating citations that were renumbered, adding updated descriptions of the applicability of exemptions, and correcting a technical error. No substantive amendments are included in this final rule.
Federal Agency: Department of Health and Human Services
Affected Area: ORED
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is amending the REAL ID regulations to waive, on a temporary and State-by-State basis, the regulatory requirement that mobile or digital driver’s licenses or identification cards (collectively “mobile driver’s licenses” or “mDLs”) must be compliant with REAL ID requirements to be accepted by Federal agencies for official purposes, as defined by the REAL ID Act, when full enforcement of the REAL ID Act and regulations begins on May 7, 2025.
Federal Agency: Department of Homeland Security
Affected Area: HR
Effective Date: 11/25/2024
This final rule establishes Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 217a, “Anti-ejection glazing for bus portals; Mandatory applicability beginning October 30, 2027,” to drive the installation of advanced glazing in over-the-road buses (motorcoaches) and other large buses to reduce passenger and driver ejections. This final rule, issued pursuant to the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), specifies impactor tests of the glazing material of side and roof windows. The impactor and impact speed simulate the loading from an average size unrestrained adult male impacting a window on the opposite side of a large bus in a rollover.
Federal Agency: Department of Transportation
Affected Area: Transportation Services
Effective Date: 12/30/2024
DoD, GSA, and NASA are issuing an interim rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to clarify System for Award Management pre-award registration requirements.
Federal Agency: Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration (GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Affected Area: ORED
Effective Date: 11/12/2024
Reconsideration of the Dust-Lead Hazard Standards and Dust-Lead Post-Abatement Clearance Levels
As part of EPA’s high-priority efforts to reduce childhood lead exposure, and in accordance with a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit 2021 opinion, EPA is finalizing its proposal to lower the dust-lead hazard standards to any reportable level as analyzed by a laboratory recognized by EPA’s National Lead Laboratory Accreditation Program (NLLAP). EPA’s lead-based paint (LBP) regulations do not compel property owners or occupants to evaluate their property for LBP hazards or to take control actions, but if a LBP activity such as an abatement is performed, then EPA’s regulations set requirements for doing so. EPA is also finalizing changes to lower the post-abatement dust-lead clearance levels to 5 micrograms per square foot (µg/ft2 ), 40 µg/ft2 , and 100 µg/ft2 for floors, window sills and troughs respectively, the current levels in New York City. Due to feedback from public comments, EPA is also finalizing changes to the nomenclature to adopt the terms dust-lead reportable levels (DLRL) and dust-lead action levels (DLAL). Given the decoupling of the action levels from the reportable levels, EPA is finalizing revisions to the definition of abatement so that the recommendation for action based on dust-lead applies when dust-lead loadings are at or above the action levels, rather than the hazard standards, as has been the case historically. The dust-lead hazard standards will be described as DLRL moving forward ( i.e., after publication of this final rule) and the dust-lead clearance levels will be described as DLAL. Additionally, EPA is finalizing several other amendments, including revising the definition of target housing to conform with the statute.
Federal Agency: Environmental Protection Agency
Affected Area: Facilities and Grounds, EHS
Effective Date: 1/13/2025
Proposed Rules
Federal Acquisition Regulation: List of Domestically Nonavailable Articles
DoD, GSA, and NASA are proposing to revise the list of domestically nonavailable articles at FAR 25.104(a) and take other actions to limit the use of regulatory nonavailability waivers consistent with section 9 of Executive Order (E.O.) 14005, Ensuring the Future Is Made in All of America by All of America’s Workers (86 FR 7475, January 28, 2021). E.O. 14005 establishes policies to maximize the Federal Government’s use of goods, products, and materials produced in the United States to help American businesses compete in strategic industries and ensure America’s workers thrive. A key pillar of the E.O. involves reducing the need for waivers to the Buy American statute (41 U.S.C. chapter 83), which generally requires that only domestically mined, produced, or manufactured articles be procured for public use in the United States. The Buy American statute provides an exception for articles not mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available commercial quantities and of a satisfactory quality.
Federal Agency: Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration (GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Affected Area: Procurement
Comments Due: 12/23/2024
Privacy Act of 1974; Implementation
The Department of Defense (Department or DoD) is giving concurrent notice of a new system of records pursuant to the Privacy Act of 1974 for the DoD-0024, “Catch a Serial Offender (CATCH) Program Records,” system of records and this proposed rulemaking. In this proposed rulemaking, the Department proposes to exempt portions of this system of records from certain provisions of the Privacy Act to avoid interference during the conduct of criminal, civil, or administrative actions or investigations; and to protect the identity of confidential sources incident involving adult sexual assault allegations.
Federal Agency: Office of the Secretary, Department of Defense (DoD)
Affected Area: HR, Legal
Comments Due: 12/30/2024
The Department of Justice proposes a rule to implement Executive Order 14117 of February 28, 2024 (Preventing Access to Americans’ Bulk Sensitive Personal Data and United States Government-Related Data by Countries of Concern), by prohibiting and restricting certain data transactions with certain countries or persons.
Federal Agency: National Security Division, Department of Justice
Affected Area: HR, Legal, Campus
Comments Due: 11/29/2024
The Secretary proposes to amend the regulations related to the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), to provide for the waiver of certain student loan debts. The proposed regulations would specify the Secretary’s authority to waive all or part of any student loan debts owed to the Department based on the Secretary’s determination that a borrower has experienced or is experiencing hardship related to such a loan.
Federal Agency: Office of Postsecondary Education, Department of Education
Affected Area: Student Financial Aid
Comments Due: 12/2/2024
DoD is proposing to amend the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to implement a section of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019, which prohibits DoD from acquiring products, services, or systems relating to information or operational technology, cybersecurity, industrial control systems, or weapon systems through a contract unless the offeror or contractor provides disclosures related to sharing source code and computer code with foreign governments.
Federal Agency: Defense Acquisition Regulations System, Department of Defense (DoD)
Affected Area: Procurement, ORED
Comments Due: 1/14/2025
Notices
The Standard requires that when aerial lifts are “field modified” for uses other than those intended by the manufacturer, the manufacturer or other equivalent entity, such as a nationally recognized testing laboratory, must certify in writing that the modification is in conformity with all applicable provisions of ANSI A92.2-1969 and the OSHA Standard and that the modified aerial lift is at least as safe as the equipment was before modification. Employers are to maintain the certification record and make it available to OSHA compliance officers. This record provides assurance to employers, workers, and compliance officers that the modified aerial lift is safe for use; thereby, preventing failure while workers are being elevated. The certification record also provides the most efficient means for the compliance officers to determine that an employer is complying with the Standard. For additional substantive information about this ICR, see the related notice published in the Federal Register on August 15, 2024 (89 FR 66456).
Federal Agency: Department of Labor
Affected Area: Campus Development, EHS
Comments Due: 11/25/2024
The Department of Education (the Department) is requesting an extension of the currently approved OMB information collection 1845-0093, Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) based on a decrease in the number of servicemembers accessing the benefit. The regulations require the FFEL loan holder to match its database against the Department of Defense (DOD) Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) or other official DOD database and automatically apply the interest rate limitation, as appropriate, to borrowers under the SCRA. There has been no change in the statute or in the regulations at 34 CFR 682.208(j). There is no form tied to this collection.
Federal Agency: Federal Student Aid (FSA), Department of Education (ED)
Affected Area: Student Financial Aid, Office of Veteran Affairs
Comments Due: 11/27/2024
Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records
In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, the Office of the Secretary is establishing a new system of records titled, “Catch a Serial Offender (CATCH) Program Records,” DoD-0024. This system of records covers DoD’s maintenance of records used to collect and compare adult sexual assault reports for the purpose of identifying alleged serial sexual assault offenders. Additionally, DoD is issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking, which proposes to exempt this system of records from certain provisions of the Privacy Act, elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register.
Federal Agency: Office of the Secretary, Department of Defense (DoD)
Affected Area: HR, Legal
Comments Due: 11/29/2024
This is a request for an extension of the currently approved information collection package, 1845-0002. In order to manage the Title IV, HEA assistance programs, authorized by the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA); 20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq., eligible institutions and other partners must electronically transact business with Federal Student Aid (FSA) systems. This clearance allows institutions to request access to, designate personnel or make changes to current access to systems granted to the institutions and their personnel by FSA. No new data is being collected. No changes have been made to the forms approved on July 17, 2024.
Federal Agency: Federal Student Aid (FSA), Department of Education (ED)
Affected Area: Student Financial Aid
Comments Due: 11/29/2024
The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting this Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA)-sponsored information collection request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). Public comments on the ICR are invited.
Federal Agency: Department of Labor
Affected Area: Facilities and Grounds, EHS, Campus Development
Comments Due: 11/29/2024
The 2020/25 Beginning Postsecondary Students Full-Scale Study (BPS:20/25) is conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics, part of the Institute of Education Sciences, within the Department of Education, and is part of the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study data collection program at https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/bps/. BPS is designed to follow a cohort of students who enroll in postsecondary education for the first time during the same academic year, irrespective of the date of high school completion. The study collects data on students’ persistence in and completion of postsecondary education programs; their transition to employment; demographic characteristics; and changes over time in their goals, marital status, income, and debt, among other indicators. Data from BPS are used to help researchers and policymakers better understand how financial aid influences persistence and completion, what percentages of students complete various degree programs, what are the early employment and wage outcomes for certificate and degree attainers, and why students leave school.
Federal Agency: Department of Education
Affected Area: Student Financial Aid
Comments Due: 12/5/2024
This notice provides information to members of the public on submitting written comments for accrediting agencies currently undergoing review for the purpose of recognition by the U.S. Secretary of Education.
Federal Agency: Department of Education
Affected Area: Office of Institutional Effectiveness
The Department of Education regulations at 34 CFR 668.49 require institutions to collect statistics on fires occurring in on-campus student housing facilities, including the number and cause of each fire, the number of injuries related to each fire that required treatment at a medical facility, the number of deaths related to each fire, and the value of property damage caused by each fire. Institutions must also publish an annual fire safety report containing the institution’s policies regarding fire safety and the fire statistics information. Further institutions are required to maintain a fire log that records the date, time, nature, and general location of each fire in on-campus student housing facilities. This is a request for extension without change of the current information collection 1845-0114. There has been no change to the regulations since the previous information collection filing. The collection requirements in the regulations are necessary to meet institutional information reporting to students and staff as well as for reporting to Congress through the Secretary.
Federal Agency: Federal Student Aid (FSA), Department of Education (ED)
Affected Area: EHS
Comments Due: 1/7/2025
TSA PreCheck® Application Program Fee
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) administers the TSA PreCheck® Application Program, in which individuals determined to be low-risk travelers may receive expedited airport security screening. To apply for TSA Precheck® eligibility, individuals submit biometric and biographic information that TSA uses to verify identity and conduct a security threat assessment and submit fees to cover the costs associated with the program. TSA announces in this Notice that, under certain circumstances, the membership renewal fee will be reduced by $11.25 due to changes related to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) fee for criminal history checks.
Federal Agency: Department of Homeland Security
Affected Area: Campus
Effective Date: 11/12/2024
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to submit an information collection request (ICR), 2022 National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Construction General Permit (CGP) for Stormwater Discharges from Construction Activities (Renewal) (EPA ICR Number 2686.03, OMB Control Number 2040-0305) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). Before doing so, EPA is soliciting public comments on specific aspects of the proposed information collection as described below. This is a proposed renewal of the current ICR, which is currently approved through February 28, 2025. This notice allows for 60 days for public comments.
Federal Agency: Environmental Protection Agency
Affected Area: Campus Development
Comments: 1/13/2025
Items of Interest
Neutrality Directive Raises Concerns for Yale Women’s Center
Yale University administrators urged a student group to adopt a policy of “broad neutrality” after clashes over Palestinian advocacy. Some say the vague directive could chill speech.
Higher Ed’s (Anti)Trust Problem
A new lawsuit accuses 40 universities and the College Board of colluding to inflate tuition. Does it hold legal water or simply reflect rising indignation over college cost?
Most Campus Tech Leaders Say Higher Ed Is Unprepared for AI’s Rise
Inside Higher Ed’s third annual survey of campus chief technology officers shows that while there’s enthusiasm for artificial intelligence’s potential to enhance higher education, most institutions don’t have policies that support enterprise-level uses of AI.
Student Wellness Tip: Creating a Culture of Kindness With Peer Certification
Research from the Born This Way Foundation finds a majority of students use peer support or want peer support for their mental health. An expert weighs in on what works best in these programs.
NTIS invites nomination of individuals for appointment to the National Technical Information Service Advisory Board (Board or Committee). NTIS will consider nominations received in response to this notice for appointment to the Committee, in addition to nominations already received.
New Book Highlights Systemic Problems in the Title IX Office
Nicole Bedera discusses her research, which draws on dozens of interviews at one anonymous institution to understand how the Title IX process fails victims.
How Colleges Are Bridging FAFSA Filing Gaps
Financial stress is one of the top reasons students stop out of college, and recent challenges with FAFSA filing may have exacerbated the issue. To mitigate these obstacles, institutional leaders have established proactive strategies to ensure students can navigate the FAFSA.
Another Advance for the 3-Year Degree
Johnson & Wales University has become the latest institution to gain approval to offer bachelor’s degrees that require significantly fewer than 120 credits—and the first to win that approval from the New England Commission of Higher Education.
Latino Students Face Major Barriers to Higher Ed Access
A new survey of Latino students found two-thirds considered stopping out of college. Students reported significant challenges, including rampant food insecurity.
Harvard Faculty Suspended From Library Over Protest
Roughly two dozen faculty members will temporarily lose access to Harvard’s main library following a silent protest in support of students punished for the same reason.
Students Under More Surveillance Than Ever
Colleges are increasingly employing digital technology that can track students’ movements through campus, monitor how much time they spend on learning management systems, flag those who need advising and nudge some toward certain courses, among other uses. “Higher education is becoming increasingly synonymous with digital surveillance in the United States,” Lindsay Weinberg writes in the introduction of her new book, Smart University (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2024).
The FAFSA Change Behind Colleges’ Pell Progress
Colleges are touting big boosts in Pell recipients this fall, made possible by the new FAFSA’s revised eligibility requirements. Does that mean they have more low-income students?
How to Rank a College President?
A new study rates college leaders according to student success, access and affordability. But critics question whether such rankings are credible—or even possible.
Study: Leadership Roles in College Athletics Inaccessible for Women
A comprehensive new study of gender representation in college athletics administration shows that despite significant industry growth, leadership roles remain largely inaccessible to women.
Report: Mental Health Disrupts Studying for Most Students
Almost 90 percent of all students say their mental health disrupts their ability to study or complete assignments at least occasionally, while one in 10 say these disruptions occur every day, according to new survey by Kahoot!, a digital game–based learning platform.
What Trump’s Victory Means for Higher Ed
Donald Trump’s first term shone a political spotlight on higher ed that has only grown more glaring since. A second could bring more sweeping changes.
What Trump’s Victory Means for Higher Ed
Donald Trump’s first term shined a political spotlight on higher ed that has only grown more glaring since. A second could bring more sweeping changes.
What Skills-Based Hiring Means for Higher Ed
Employers say they’re more interested in a student’s skills than their degree program, but what does that mean and how can institutions promote career readiness outside of academics?
Who Could Lead the Department Trump Plans to Abolish?
The next education secretary will likely have experience in higher ed or a zeal for culture wars, experts predict.
Whatever happens to the Education Department, Trump’s second term could have major implications for federal financial aid—and the students who rely on it.
Trump Likely to End Title IX Trans Protections
In recent years, each new administration has led to significant changes in the rules governing how colleges respond to sexual misconduct. Don’t expect that to change under a second Trump term. Here’s what to know about Trump and Title IX.
Policies
| Posting Date | Department | Contact | Name | Effective Date | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11/5/2024 | Compliance & Risk Services | Cheryl Mowdy
|
Privacy Policy | 11/5/2024
|
Revised Policy: Clarified definitions in the policy. |
| 11/5/2024 | Human Resources | Susan Norton | Attendance Policy | 11/5/2024 | Revised Policy: Minor revisions for purpose of clarity. |