- BLOG HOME
- »
- Financial Aid Services
- »
- Q&A: The Clearinghouse’s New FVT/GE Solution & Compliance Reporting Platform
Q&A: The Clearinghouse’s New FVT/GE Solution & Compliance Reporting Platform
An Interview with Sean McTighe, Executive Director, Compliance & Operations
Sean McTighe, Executive Director, Title IV Compliance ＆ Data Intake Operations
In this interview, Sean McTighe, Executive Director, Title IV Compliance ＆ Data Intake Operations, discusses how the Clearinghouse is helping schools meet the new Financial Value Transparency (FVT) and Gainful Employment (GE) requirements while preparing for future compliance reporting needs.
How is the Clearinghouse laying a new foundation for compliance reporting?
The compliance landscape is changing for schools. The ongoing conversation about return on investment (ROI) has increased the pressure on schools, which are already dealing with constrained resources, to report more data that demonstrates the value of a postsecondary degree or completion. The Clearinghouse has created a new platform designed to support schools as requirements change. We gave a great deal of thought to how the Clearinghouse ingests and validates data and how schools will have to report data going forward. Our goal was to keep schools from struggling to pivot each time the Department of Education (ED) rolls out a new or changed requirement. Instead, thanks to the flexibility built into our new platform, the Clearinghouse can easily pivot and streamline the reporting process for schools.
What is a school’s greatest challenge in complying with FVT/GE?
The greatest challenge is working internally to identify the data sets that must be aggregated. This is not a one-department-does-it-all situation. The financial aid, institutional research, IT, and registrar offices all have roles to play. The sooner an institution recognizes that – assembling a task force, identifying where the data elements are located, and determining who will address discrepancies – the better off it’s going to be.
How do schools benefit from reporting through the Clearinghouse?
First, our compliance reporting service, including FVT/GE, is free. Second, we’ve taken the complexity out of each step in which the Clearinghouse is engaged through our intuitive user interface, an improved user experience, and the many resources we provide to ensure data integrity between the schools, the Clearinghouse, and NSLDS (National Student Loan Data System). Third is our focus on alleviating as much of the school’s administrative burden as possible. Data security is also at the heart of everything we do, including for our new FVT/GE solution. Additionally, we work regularly with FSA (Federal Student Aid) and NSLDS, advocating for schools and ensuring our solution meets all regulatory demands.
What is the Clearinghouse’s FVT/GE solution?
When developing our solution, we looked at all the touch points where we can alleviate the administrative burden for schools. For FVT/GE, that begins with the Completers List, a list of students who graduated from the school and belong to a certain cohort, as defined by NSLDS. We compare the list to all the graduates the school has reported to the Clearinghouse as part of our year-round enrollment and compliance reporting process. If there are discrepancies between the Completers List and what the school reported to us, we help reconcile them.
Additionally, we identify any graduates reported to us by the school who received Title IV aid and are missing from the Completers List and report them to NSLDS, ensuring the school gets credit for the additional graduates. This also increases the number of students in the school’s FVT/GE cohort so the debt-to-earnings metrics will be more accurate when they are calculated. However, where the Clearinghouse really excels is with the FVT/GE student- and program-level reporting.
How are student- and program-level reporting handled?
Our solution factors in the data schools sent us in the past and gives them the flexibility to report either the standard or transitional cohort. We identify the exact students who should be reported to NSLDS for whichever cohort the school selects. All the enrollment and program information the school has reported to us for the defined cohort is presented to the school. The school only needs to add the financial aid and institutional cost information.
Next, our robust new platform runs the data through a comprehensive series of validations to ensure it meets NSLDS reporting requirements the first time and nothing is rejected. We worked closely with an advisory group of schools to develop our new platform. It has also been tested by beta schools to ensure it is easy to navigate and that users will enjoy using it (as much as you can enjoy anything related to compliance reporting). Throughout the process, we make clear what the school’s responsibility is, when it’s due, and the actions it needs to take.
What kind of support is available for school users?
The Clearinghouse has built a comprehensive library of FVT/GE resources, including FAQs and tutorials, and hosts regular webinars, both live and on-demand. We also provide live support enabling school users to speak to someone who will walk them through how to report their data, so it meets NSLDS requirements.
How can schools participate in the Clearinghouse FVT/GE solution?
Schools can contact their Clearinghouse Regional Relationship Manager or email GEreporting@Studentclearinghouse.org for an addendum.
