Ability to benefit

Last updated

Ability to benefit (ATB) is a term used in the context of post-secondary education in the United States to refer to students who have sufficient competency to benefit from post-secondary education but do not have a high school diploma or the Certificate of High School Equivalency. ATB, as assessed by government-approved tests, or high school Ed plan with 504 (IEP) with at least 1 year overlapping S.E.L.P.A as long as the student has taken and passed 5 hours of college or honors credits while on higher education plans. This is required for receiving financial aid by most US public colleges that admit students without a high school diploma or the certificate of equivalency. Until July 2012, such students could also receive student loans and grants from the US government if they had passed an approved ATB examination. However, the provision was dropped as part of the cuts to the Federal budget for fiscal year 2012. [1]

In some US states such as California, even when such students are not requesting financial aid, private post-secondary institutions are "required, prior to executing an enrollment agreement with an ATB student, to have the student take and pass an independently administered examination from the list of examinations prescribed by the United States Department of Education" or have passed the 5 post Ed credits listed above. [2]

According to Inside Higher Ed , in 2012 about 82,000 students at US public two-year colleges had been admitted under ATB (approximately 1% of the total community college population) although not all of them were receiving financial aid. A longitudinal study from the National Center for Education Statistics found that only 33% of students admitted under ATB in 2003 had earned a college credential by 2009. [1] Evidence also suggested that they were more likely to default on student loans.

The US Government Accountability Office expressed concern, in 2009, that some for-profit colleges were helping students to cheat on the ATB examination or were falsifying the results in order for their students to receive Federal financial aid. [3] Students who had received a Federal direct loan or a Federal Family Education Loan via ATB prior to 2012 can apply to have the loan forgiven or discharged if they can demonstrate that their school falsely certified their ability to benefit from its training. [4]

Related Research Articles

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is a form completed by current and prospective college students in the United States to determine their eligibility for student financial aid.

Student financial aid in the United States is funding that is available exclusively to students attending a post-secondary educational institution in the United States. This funding is used to assist in covering the many costs incurred in the pursuit of post-secondary education. Financial aid is available from federal and state governments, educational institutions, and private organizations. It can be awarded in the form of grants, loans, work-study, and scholarships. In order to apply for federal financial aid, students must first complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

The Tuition Assistance Program is a financial aid program for students who are New York State residents and who are attending a post-secondary educational institution in New York. It is a program of the Higher Education Services Corporation which is a New York State Agency.

The Ministry of Colleges and Universities is the ministry of the government of Ontario responsible for administration of laws relating to post-secondary education. This ministry is one of two education ministries, the other being the Ministry of Education. The Ministry's offices are in downtown Toronto, Ontario. The current minister is Jill Dunlop.

A Pell Grant is a subsidy the U.S. federal government provides for students who need it to pay for college. Federal Pell Grants are limited to students with financial need, who have not earned their first bachelor's degree, or who are enrolled in certain post-baccalaureate programs, through participating institutions. Originally known as a Basic Educational Opportunity Grant, it was renamed in 1980 in honor of Democratic U.S. Senator Claiborne Pell of Rhode Island. A Pell Grant is generally considered the foundation of a student's financial aid package, to which other forms of aid are added. The Federal Pell Grant program is administered by the United States Department of Education, which determines the student's financial need and through it, the student's Pell eligibility. The U.S. Department of Education uses a standard formula to evaluate financial information reported on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for determining the student's Expected Family Contribution (EFC).

Higher education in the United States is an optional stage of formal learning following secondary education. Higher education is also referred as post-secondary education, third-stage, third-level, or tertiary education. It covers stages 5 to 8 on the International ISCED 2011 scale. It is delivered at 4,360 Title IV degree-granting institutions, known as colleges or universities. These may be public or private universities, research universities, liberal arts colleges, community colleges, or for-profit colleges. US higher education is loosely regulated by the government and by several third-party organizations.

The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) is a United States organization of degree-granting colleges and universities. It identifies its purpose as providing national advocacy for academic quality through accreditation in order to certify the quality of higher education accrediting organizations, including regional, faith-based, private, career, and programmatic accrediting organizations.

The Oregon Office of Degree Authorization (ODA) is a unit of the Office of Student Access and Completion, with responsibilities related to maintaining high standards in private higher education institutions in Oregon. ODA administers laws and provides oversight of private colleges and universities offering degree programs in the state, validates individual claims of degrees, enforces the closure of substandard or fraudulent higher education programs in the state, and enforces policy for publicly funded postsecondary programs and locations. It was formerly a unit of the Oregon Student Access Commission (OSAC), which became Oregon Student Assistance Commission prior to January 1, 2012. Its functions moved to the Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission as part of the Office of Student Access and Completion in July 2012.

The California Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education (BPPVE) was a unit of the California Department of Consumer Affairs whose purpose was to protect students by establishing academic standards for private institutions of higher education in California. BPPVE approval or exemption was required by the State of California to ensure consumer safety from fraudulent or substandard education providers. The agency ceased operation on July 1, 2007, when the legislative authority for its creation expired. A new agency, the California Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education, took its place on January 1, 2010.

Higher Education Act of 1965 U.S. law establishing a student loan program

The Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) was legislation signed into United States law on November 8, 1965, as part of President Lyndon Johnson's Great Society domestic agenda. Johnson chose Texas State University, his alma mater, as the signing site. The law was intended "to strengthen the educational resources of our colleges and universities and to provide financial assistance for students in postsecondary and higher education". It increased federal money given to universities, created scholarships, gave low-interest loans for students, and established a National Teachers Corps. The "financial assistance for students" is covered in Title IV of the HEA.

The William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program provides "low-interest loans for students and parents to help pay for the cost of a student's education after high school. The lender is the U.S. Department of Education ... rather than a bank or other financial institution." It is the largest single source of federal financial aid for students and their parents pursuing post-secondary education and for many it is the first financial obligation they incur, leaving them with debt to be paid over a period of time that can be a decade or more as the average student takes 19.4 years.

Federal Student Aid (FSA), an office of the U.S. Department of Education, is the largest provider of student financial aid in the United States. Federal Student Aid provides student financial assistance in the form of grants, loans, and work-study funds. FSA is a Performance-Based Organization, and was the first PBO to be established in the US government.

The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) is a system of interrelated surveys conducted annually by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a part of the Institute for Education Sciences within the United States Department of Education. IPEDS consists of twelve interrelated survey components that are collected over three collection periods each year as described in the Data Collection and Dissemination Cycle. The completion of all IPEDS surveys is mandatory for all institutions that participate in, or are applicants for participation in, any federal financial assistance program authorized by Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended.

Higher education in New Brunswick

Higher education in New Brunswick refers to education provided by higher education institutions in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. Higher education has a rich history in New Brunswick. The first English-language university in Canada was the University of New Brunswick. Mount Allison University was the first in the British Empire to award a baccalaureate to a woman, Grace Annie Lockhart, B.Sc. in 1875. Education is the responsibility of the provinces in Canada and there is no federal ministry governing it.

California Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education

The California Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE) is a unit of the California Department of Consumer Affairs charged with regulation of private postsecondary educational institutions operating in the state of California.

For-profit higher education in the United States refers to the commercialization and privatization of American higher education institutions. For-profit colleges have been the most recognizable for-profit institutions, but commercialization has been a part of US higher education for more than a century. Privatization of public institutions has also been increasing for decades.

The 90-10 rule refers to a U.S. regulation that governs for-profit higher education. It caps the percentage of revenue that a proprietary school can receive from federal financial aid sources at 90%; the other 10% of revenue must come from alternative sources.

Prospect College is a vocational college located in Washington, D.C. that offers programs in allied health, computer application software, and electrical trade to residents of Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. Formerly named Technical Learning Centers, Prospect College was founded in 1997 as a non-degree post-secondary school and is licensed by the D.C. Licensure Commission. Prospect College's current CEO is Dr. Mark Toufanian and its president is Farah Rahmaty.

Bridget Terry Long is the 12th Dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and the Saris Professor of Education and Economics. She is an economist whose research focuses on college access and success. Long is a Faculty Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research and a member of the National Academy of Education.

For-profit colleges, also known as proprietary colleges, are post-secondary schools that rely on investors, and survive by making a profit. They include for-profit vocational and technical schools, career colleges, and predominantly online universities. For-profit colleges have frequently offered career-oriented curricula including culinary arts, business and technology, and health care. These institutions have a long history in the US, and grew rapidly from 1972 to 2009. The growth of for-profit education has been fueled by government funding as well as corporate investment, including private equity.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.