34 C.F.R. Subpart E—Eligibility of Foreign Institutions To Apply To Participate in the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Programs
Title 34 - Education
Source: 59 FR 22063, Apr. 28, 1994, unless otherwise noted.
Link to an amendment published at 71 FR 45692, Aug. 9, 2006. (a) A foreign institution is eligible to apply to participate in the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) programs if it is comparable to an eligible institution of higher education located in the United States and has been approved by the Secretary in accordance with the provisions of this subpart. (b) This subpart E contains the procedures and criteria under which a foreign institution may be deemed eligible to apply to participate in the FFEL programs. (c) This subpart E does not include the procedures and criteria by which a foreign institution that is deemed eligible to apply to participate in the FFEL programs actually applies for that participation. Those procedures and criteria are contained in the regulations for the FFEL programs, 34 CFR part 682, subpart F. (Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1082, 1088) The following definitions apply to this subpart E: Foreign graduate medical school: A foreign institution that qualifies to be listed in, and is listed as a medical school in, the most current edition of the World Directory of Medical Schools published by the World Health Organization (WHO). Foreign institution: An institution that is not located in a State. Passing score: The minimum passing score as defined by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG). Secondary school: A school that provides secondary education as determined under the laws of the country in which the school is located. (Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1082, 1088) (a) To be designated as eligible to apply to participate in the FFEL programs or to continue to be eligible beyond the scheduled expiration of the institution's current period of eligibility, a foreign institution must— (1) Apply on the form prescribed by the Secretary; and (2) Provide all the information and documentation requested by the Secretary to make a determination of that eligibility. (b) If a foreign institution fails to provide, release, or authorize release to the Secretary of information that is required in this subpart E, the institution is ineligible to apply to participate in the FFEL programs. (Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1082, 1088) The Secretary considers a foreign institution to be comparable to an eligible institution of higher education in the United States and eligible to apply to participate in the FFEL programs if the foreign institution is a public or private nonprofit educational institution that— (a) Admits as regular students only persons who— (1) Have a secondary school completion credential; or (2) Have the recognized equivalent of a secondary school completion credential; (b) Is legally authorized by an appropriate authority to provide an eligible educational program beyond the secondary school level in the country in which the institution is located; and (c) Provides an eligible education program— (1) 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; (2) 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 (3) 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. (Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1082, 1088) (a) The Secretary considers a foreign graduate medical school to be eligible to apply to participate in the FFEL programs if, in addition to satisfying the criteria in §600.54 (except the criterion that the institution be public or private nonprofit), the school satisfies all of the following criteria: (1) The school provides, and in the normal course requires its students to complete, a program of clinical and classroom medical instruction of not less that 32 months in length, that is supervised closely by members of the school's faculty and that is provided either— (i) Outside the United States, in facilities adequately equipped and staffed to afford students comprehensive clinical and classroom medical instruction; or (ii) In the United States, through a training program for foreign medical students that has been approved by all medical licensing boards and evaluating bodies whose views are considered relevant by the Secretary. (2) The school 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. (3) The school employs for the program described in paragraph (a)(1) of this section 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. (4)(i) The school has been approved by an accrediting body— (A) 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 (B) Whose standards of accreditation of graduate medical schools— (1) Have been evaluated by the advisory panel of medical experts established by the Secretary; and (2) Have been determined to be comparable to standards of accreditation applied to medical schools in the United States; or (ii) The school is a public or private nonprofit educational institution that satisfies the requirements in §600.4(a)(5)(i). (5)(i)(A) During the academic year preceding the year for which any of the school's students seeks an FFEL program loan, at least 60 percent of those enrolled as full-time regular students in the school and at least 60 percent of the school's most recent graduating class were persons who did not meet the citizenship and residency criteria contained in section 484(a)(5) of the HEA, 20 U.S.C. 1091(a)(5); and (B) For a foreign graduate medical school outside of Canada, at least 60 percent of the school's students and graduates who took any step of the examinations administered by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) (including the ECFMG English test) in the year preceding the year for which any of the school's students seeks an FFEL program loan received passing scores on the exams; or (ii) The school's clinical training program was approved by a State as of January 1, 1992, and is currently approved by that State. (b) In performing the calculation required in paragraph (a)(5)(i)(B) of this section, a foreign graduate medical school shall count as a graduate each person who graduated from the school during the three years preceding the year for which the calculation is performed. (Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1002, 1082) [59 FR 22063, Apr. 28, 1994; 59 FR 33681, June 30, 1994, as amended at 63 FR 40623, July 29, 1998; 64 FR 58616, Oct. 29, 1999; 69 FR 12275, Mar. 16, 2004] (a) The Secretary considers a foreign veterinary school to be eligible to apply to participate in the FFEL programs if, in addition to satisfying the criteria in §600.54 (except the criterion that the institution be public or private nonprofit), the school satisfies all of the following criteria: (1) The school provides, 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, and that is provided either— (i) Outside the United States, in facilities adequately equipped and staffed to afford students comprehensive clinical and classroom veterinary instruction; or (ii) In the United States, 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. (2) The school 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. (3) The school employs for the program described in paragraph (a)(1) of this section 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 United States. (4) For a veterinary school that is neither public nor private non-profit, the school's students complete their clinical training at an approved veterinary school located in the United States. (b) [Reserved] (Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1002 and 1082) [64 FR 58616, Oct. 29, 1999, as amended at 69 FR 12275, Mar. 16, 2004] (a) The eligibility of a foreign institution under this subpart expires six years after the date of the Secretary's determination that the institution is eligible to apply for participation, except that the Secretary may specify a shorter period of eligibility. In the case of a foreign graduate medical school, continued eligibility is dependent upon annual submission of the data and information required under §600.55(a)(5)(i), subject to the terms described in §600.53(b). (b) A foreign institution that has been determined eligible loses its eligibility on the date that the institution no longer meets any of the criteria in this subpart E. (c) Notwithstanding the provisions of 34 CFR 668.26, if a foreign institution loses its eligibility under this subpart E, an otherwise eligible student, continuously enrolled at the institution before the loss of eligibility, may receive an FFEL program loan for attendance at that institution for the academic year succeeding the academic year in which that institution lost its eligibility, if the student actually received an FFEL program loan for attendance at the institution for a period during which the institution was eligible under this subpart E. (Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1082, 1088, 1099c) [59 FR 22063, Apr. 28, 1994. Redesignated at 64 FR 58616, Oct. 29, 1999, as amended at 69 FR 12275, Mar. 16, 2004]
Title 34: Education
PART 600—INSTITUTIONAL ELIGIBILITY UNDER THE HIGHER EDUCATION ACT OF 1965, AS AMENDED
Subpart E—Eligibility of Foreign Institutions To Apply To Participate in the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Programs
§ 600.51 Purpose and scope.
§ 600.52 Definitions.
§ 600.53 Requesting an eligibility determination.
§ 600.54 Criteria for determining whether a foreign institution is eligible to apply to participate in the FFEL programs.
§ 600.55 Additional criteria for determining whether a foreign graduate medical school is eligible to apply to participate in the FFEL programs.
§ 600.56 Additional criteria for determining whether a foreign veterinary school is eligible to apply to participate in the FFEL programs.
§ 600.57 Duration of eligibility determination.
