This subpart establishes regulations that apply to eligible institutions that offer eligible workforce programs. An eligible student enrolled in an eligible workforce program is only eligible for Federal financial assistance under the Federal Pell Grant Program and no other title IV, HEA program. Unless provided in this subpart, eligible students and eligible institutions that offer Pell Grants to students enrolled in eligible workforce programs are subject to the same regulations and procedures that otherwise apply to title IV, HEA program participants.

The following definitions apply to this subpart:

Cohort period: The award year that ends three full award years prior to the beginning of the award year for which value-added earnings are being determined.

Earnings measurement period: The first full tax year following the award year in which the student completed the eligible workforce program.

Governor: (1) The chief executive of a State or outlying area as defined under Section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (Public Law 113-128); or

(2) If an institution is located on Tribal lands, the Tribal government.

In-demand industry sector or occupation:

(1) An industry sector that has a substantial current or potential impact (including through jobs that lead to economic self-sufficiency and opportunities for advancement) on the State, regional, or local economy, as appropriate, and that contributes to the growth or stability of other supporting businesses, or the growth of other industry sectors; or

(2) An occupation that currently has or is projected to have a number of positions (including positions that lead to economic self-sufficiency and opportunities for advancement) in an industry sector so as to have a significant impact on the State, regional, or local economy, as appropriate.

Recognized postsecondary credential: A credential consisting of an industry-recognized certificate or certification, a certificate of completion of a Registered Apprenticeship under 29 CFR part 29, a license recognized by the State involved or Federal Government, or an associate or baccalaureate degree.

State board: A State workforce development board established under section 101 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act and 20 CFR 679 subpart A.

Tuition and fees: The institutional charges for an eligible workforce program.

An educational program is an eligible workforce program if the Secretary determines it is an undergraduate program that meets the requirements under 34 CFR 668.8 and—

(a) Requires a minimum of 8 weeks, but less than 15 weeks of instruction;

(b)(1) Is at least 150 clock hours but less than 600 clock hours;

(2) At least 4 but less than 16 semester or trimester hours; or

(3) At least 6 but less than 24 quarter hours;

(c) Is not offered using—

(1) Correspondence courses, as defined under 34 CFR 600.2;

(2) Coursework that takes place as part of a study abroad program; or

(3) Credit or clock hour equivalencies that are part of a direct assessment program under 34 CFR 668.10.

(d) Is approved by the Governor through a process as described in § 690.93;

(e) Meets the requirements established by the Secretary as described in § 690.94;

(f) Complies with the annual value-added earnings requirements as described in § 690.95; and

(g) Is offered by an institution that, during the five years preceding the date of the determination, has not been subject to any suspension, emergency action, or termination of programs under this title.

(a) Prior to the Secretary's evaluation of whether a program is an eligible workforce program, the Governor, after consultation with the State board, approves the program to be offered to students in that State by determining that the program—

(1) Provides an education aligned with the requirements of high-skill, high-wage (as identified by the State pursuant to section 122 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (20 U.S.C. 2342)), or in-demand industry sectors or occupations;

(2) Meets the hiring requirements of potential employers in the sectors or occupations described in paragraph (a)(1) of this section;

(3) Either—

(i) Leads to a recognized postsecondary credential that is stackable and portable across more than one employer; or

(ii) With respect to students enrolled in the program—

(A) Prepares such students for employment in an occupation for which there is only one recognized postsecondary credential; and

(B) Provides such students with such a credential upon completion of the program; and

(4) Prepares students to pursue one or more certificate or degree programs at one or more eligible institutions (which may include the eligible institution providing the program), including by ensuring—

(i) That a student, upon completion of the program and enrollment in such a related certificate or degree program, will receive academic credit for the program that will be accepted toward meeting such certificate or degree program requirements; and

(ii) The academic credit described in paragraph (i) will be acceptable toward meeting such certificate or degree program requirements.

(b) The Governor shall establish, after consultation with the State board, a process for an institution to request a determination that a program meets the requirements in paragraph (a) of this section that is made publicly available and includes—

(1) The criteria the Governor will use to determine if a program meets each of the requirements described under paragraph (a), which shall include—

(i) The State's methodology to determine and periodically review which occupations and industry sectors are high-skill, high-wage (as identified by the State pursuant to section 122 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (20 U.S.C. 2342)), or in-demand, including the competencies needed in such industries and occupations, as identified by the State pursuant to section 102 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3112), and where the list of such occupations and sectors will be made publicly available. Such review shall be done not less than every two years concurrent with development and modification of the State Plan under Section 102(c) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act;

(ii) A written policy for determining whether a program meets the hiring requirements of employers in the high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand sectors and occupations that the program prepares students for employment in, that—

(A) Considers whether the expected competencies for which the recognized postsecondary credential intends, align with the competencies needed in such high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand sectors and occupations; and

(B) Incorporates direct input from employers, which may be secured from the State board and local workforce development boards, industry or sector partnerships, sponsors of Registered Apprenticeship programs, joint labor-management partnerships, or through other methodologies established by the State;

(iii) A written policy for determining if a credential is stackable and portable that establishes documented connections to additional credentials, considers, if available, data showing whether students have obtained additional credentials through career pathways, real-time labor market information, and includes a process for employer validation; and

(iv) A written policy for institutions to establish that an eligible workforce program will ensure the award of academic credit towards a certificate or degree program upon a student's successful completion of the eligible workforce program and enrollment in such certificate or degree program, and that such credit will be accepted at one or more eligible institutions through written agreements, including established articulation agreements, transfer-of-credit agreements, consortium or partnership agreements, or similar arrangements;

(2) The information an institution must submit to the Governor to assess an eligible workforce program on the criteria established under paragraph (1), including the job placement standards under § 690.94(a)(2)(ii), and, if applicable, alternative completion and placement standards under § 690.94(a)(2)(i), which shall include the information necessary for the Governor to make the appropriate job placement calculations using administrative data, such as wage records;

(3) The process and timeline for the Governor's consultation with the State board and a determination that a program meets the requirements in paragraph (a), and the process for an institution to appeal that determination and that such process shall include clear, transparent and timely procedures that are applied consistently and equitably at all eligible institutions; and

(4) An attestation that the State board has been consulted.

(c) The Governor shall not approve a program until it meets all the requirements of paragraph (a) of this section, as determined through the process established under paragraph (b) of this section.

(d) The Secretary documents the Governor's approval and determination that a program meets the requirements in paragraph (a) of this section by accepting a certification by the Governor that includes the following—

(1) The name of the program;

(2) The 6-digit Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) Code of the program;

(3) The Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) codes(s) for which the program prepares individuals for employment;

(4) A signed statement that the program was approved by the Governor and that the program currently meets, and has met for the 12 months immediately preceding the certification, the requirements described in paragraph (a);

(5) The date the eligible workforce program was approved;

(6) If applicable, a certification that the State determined that the program meets alternative completion and placement standards under § 690.94(a)(2)(i);

(7) An agreement that, upon request of the Secretary of Education or Secretary of Labor, the Governor will make available to the Secretary of Education and Secretary of Labor documentation of its process established under paragraph (b) for making the determination in paragraph (a) of this section;

(8) An agreement that the Governor will inform the Department of Education and Department of Labor and the institution within 15 calendar days of its final decision to withdraw approval of the eligible workforce program;

(9) A certification that the Governor takes into consideration the cost of the program and the anticipated wages of the industry or occupation prior to the initial determination of the program's value-adding earnings is made under § 690.95; and

(10) Such other information as the Secretary of Education or Secretary of Labor may require.

(e) The Governor's approval, under paragraph (a) of this section, expires at the expiration of the institution's program participation agreement under 34 CFR 668.13.

(f) Prior to the expiration of an institution's program participation agreement, the Governor must provide, through a process determined by the Secretary, a certification of continued approval of each eligible workforce program offered by the institution.

(g) A program that serves as a related instruction component of a Registered Apprenticeship Program meets the requirements of paragraph (a)(1) and (a)(2) of this section.

(h) The Governors of two States may enter into a bilateral agreement, that is published publicly, regarding the enrollment of students located in one of those States into some or all of the programs located in the other State, so long as—

(1) The Governor in the State in which the student is located, in consultation with the State board, includes the occupation(s) or sector(s) on the list developed under the process set forth in § 690.93(b)(1)(i);

(2) The Governor of the State in which the institution(s) offering such program(s) is located has determined, in consultation with the State board, that the program meets the conditions under § 690.93(a); and

(3) The bilateral agreement includes provisions for data-sharing among the States for purposes of completion and placement rate calculations.

(a) After the Governor determines that the program meets the requirements under § 690.93, the Secretary evaluates documentation from an eligible institution to determine that the following requirements have been met—

(1) The program has met the conditions under 34 CFR 690.92(a) and (b) for the 12 months preceding the date on which the institution applied for eligibility for the program.

(2) The program meets placement and completion rate requirements—

(i) For the 2026-27, 2027-28, and 2028-29 award years only, as determined through a certification from the Governor, based on the Governor's analysis, that the program meets the following standards—

(A) A completion rate of at least 70 percent, within 150 percent of the normal time to completion; and

(B) A job placement rate of at least 70 percent, calculated as the percentage of students that are employed during the second quarter after exiting the program, using administrative data, including wage records;

(ii) For each award year after the 2028-29 award year—

(A) A completion rate of at least 70 percent, within 150 percent of the normal time of completion, as determined under 34 CFR 668.8 (f); and

(B) A job placement rate of at least 70 percent, calculated as the percentage of students who are employed in the occupation(s) for which the program prepares students (as identified through the process established under § 690.93 (b)) or a comparable high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand occupation during the second quarter after successfully completing the program, as determined through a certification from the Governor, based on the Governor's analysis using available administrative data, including wage records.

(b) For each award year after the date that the eligible workforce program is approved, the institution must—

(1) Submit to the Governor a list of students that completed the program during the award year and the information necessary for the Governor to verify the job placement rate for such award year; and

(2) Report the published tuition and fees for the eligible workforce program through a process determined by the Secretary.

(c) The Secretary may waive some or all of the requirements under paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section related to submission of completion rates and the Governor's certification of job placement rates if—

(1) The Secretary determines that completion or placement rates will be calculated under a separate process established by the Secretary; or

(2) In the case of the job placement rate certification described in § 690.94(a)(2)(ii)(B), the Secretary determines that the Governor is making progress towards making such certification but needs an additional award year using the certification described in § 690.94(a)(2)(i)(B).

(d) For each award year, the Secretary confirms the eligible workforce program's published tuition and fees do not exceed the value-added earnings of the eligible workforce program, consistent with § 690.95.

(e) A student is not included in the numerator or denominator of completion or placement rates if the student—

(1) Dies;

(2) Experiences the onset of a medical condition that prevents employment;

(3) Is ordered to service in the uniformed services, including service performed under Title 10 or Title 32 of the United States Code, for a period of more than 30 days; or

(4) Becomes incarcerated.

(a) For each award year, an eligible workforce program's total published tuition and fees may not exceed the value-added earnings of students who are working, received a Pell Grant for enrollment in the program, and completed the program during the cohort period defined in § 690.91 and described in paragraph (i)(2).

(b) An eligible workforce program's value-added earnings are determined by calculating the difference between—

(1) The median earnings of such students during the earnings measurement period as defined in 34 CFR 690.91, as adjusted by the State and metropolitan area regional price parities of the Bureau of Economic Analysis based on the location of such programs; and

(2) 150 percent of the poverty line applicable to a single individual as determined under section 673(2) of the Community Service Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)) for such tax year.

(c) No later than three months prior to the beginning of the award year, the Secretary will publish the value-added earnings that will apply to the eligible workforce program for that upcoming award year.

(d) The institution must keep published tuition and fees at or below the value-added earnings calculated for the program for all students who first enroll in the eligible workforce program during the award year that begins following the annual release of the program's value-added earnings.

(e) Programs that have a calculated value-added earnings of zero or negative value shall not be eligible for Federal Pell Grant funds.

(f) The institution must provide, upon request, evidence satisfactory to the Secretary that its published tuition and fees does not exceed the published value-added earnings for that award year.

(g) In calculating the value-added earnings for an eligible workforce program, the Secretary uses student completion data that the institution is required to report to the Secretary to support its administration of, or participation in, the title IV, HEA programs to—

(1) Compile a list of students who received Federal Pell Grant funds and who completed each program during the cohort period, after which the Secretary—

(i) Provides the list to institutions; and

(ii) Allows each institution to correct the information reported by the institution on which the list was based, no later than 60 days after the date the Secretary provides the list to the institution;

(2) Obtain from a Federal agency with earnings data the median annual earnings of the students on each list, as provided in paragraph (h) of this section; and

(3) Calculate the value-added earnings and provide it to the institution.

(h)(1) If the final list of students who completed the program during the cohort period includes at least 30 students, the Secretary sends information about those individuals to the Federal agency with earnings data;

(2) If the final list of students who completed the program during the cohort period does not include at least 30 students, the Secretary adds students who completed the same program during the first award year prior to the cohort period. If the combined number of completers from both award years includes at least 30 students, the Secretary sends information about those individuals to the Federal agency with earnings data;

(3) If the final list of students who completed the program during the cohort period and the first award year prior to the cohort period does not include at least 30 students, the Secretary adds students who completed the same program during the second and third award years prior to the cohort period. If the combined number of completers from these award years in which students completed the program includes at least 30 students, the Secretary sends information about those individuals to the Federal agency with earnings data;

(4) If the final list of students who completed the program during the cohort period and the first, second and third award years prior to the cohort period does not include at least 30 students, the Secretary does not calculate value-added earnings for the program for that award year.

(i) For each list submitted to the Federal agency with earnings data, the agency returns to the Secretary median annual earnings of the students on the list whom the Federal agency with earnings data has matched to earnings data, in aggregate and not in individual form.

(1) If the Federal agency with earnings data includes reports from records of earnings on at least 16 students who completed the program, the Secretary uses the median annual earnings provided by the Federal agency with earnings data to calculate the value-added earnings for the program.

(2) If the Federal agency with earnings data includes reports from records of earnings on less than 16 students who completed the program, the Secretary does not calculate the value-added earnings for the program for the award year.

(j) When calculating value-added earnings, the Secretary includes completers from all eligible workforce programs with the same six-digit CIP code.

(k) Notwithstanding paragraph (b) of this section, if more than 50 percent of students described in paragraph (a) are not located in the State in which the institution offering the program is located, the Department will not adjust the program's median earnings by the State and metropolitan area regional price parities of the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

(l) The Secretary excludes a student from the value-added earnings calculation if the Secretary determines that the student was enrolled in any other educational program at the institution or at another eligible institution during the calendar year for which the Secretary obtains earnings information under paragraphs (g) and (h) of this section.

If an eligible workforce program fails to meet the requirements—

(a) Under § 690.93, the program will become ineligible at the end of the payment period that begins following the date that—

(1) The Governor acts to withdraw approval for an eligible workforce program; or

(2) The Governor fails to reapprove the program.

(b) Under § 690.94, the program will become ineligible at the end of the payment period that begins after the date that the Secretary determines that the institution failed to meet the completion rate or job placement rate requirements, except that the Secretary will not make such a determination while a program's eligibility, approval, or reported completion rate of job placement rate is in an appeal status or awaiting the Governor's final approval determination.

(c) Under § 690.95—

(1) The program will become ineligible at the beginning of the award year following the release of the value-added earnings; and

(2) The Secretary will assess a liability for amounts of Pell Grants disbursed for students enrolled in the eligible workforce program during the award year for which the value-added earnings were calculated and shall collect any such liability from the institution.

(a) If an eligible workforce program loses eligibility based on the Secretary's determination that the program's completion rate or job placement rate failed to meet the requirements under § 690.94(a)(2) or the institution voluntarily discontinues a failing eligible workforce program, the institution may not seek to reestablish the eligibility of the failing program, or to establish eligibility for a substantially similar program sharing both (i) the same four-digit CIP code, and (ii) identical SOC codes according to the CIP SOC Crosswalk that is provided by a Federal agency, until two years following the earlier of the date the program loses eligibility under § 690.96(b) or the date the institution voluntarily discontinues the failing workforce program.

(b) If an eligible workforce program loses eligibility due to a loss of Governor approval described in (a) of this section, the program may reestablish eligibility after the Secretary receives the Governor's certification that the program has been approved as provided under § 690.93(c), and after the Secretary determines the program has met eligibility criteria under § 690.94.

(c) If an eligible workforce program loses eligibility because its published tuition is higher than its value-added earnings under § 690.95(e), the institution may, through a process described by the Secretary, request that the program's eligibility be reinstated by—

(1) Providing to the Secretary a new certification of the Governor's approval of the program as provided under § 690.93(c);

(2) Submitting to the Secretary documentation of the program's current published tuition and fees and an attestation that the tuition and fees have been reduced and will remain equal to or less than the program's recalculated value-added earnings; and

(3) Requesting a recalculation of the program's value-added earnings to determine whether the program's updated tuition and fees that will apply to the next award year exceed the program's value-added earnings.