Nelnet Business Solutions welcomes new Title IV refund regulations

On October 30, 2015, the U.S. Department of Education (The Department) released final regulations which amend provisions of the Higher Education Act relating to cash management. A strong focus of the amended regulations is on how students view and receive the disbursement of their title IV program funds.

The changes outlined demonstrate that The Department takes seriously the notion that students must have convenient access to their title IV funds without incurring unreasonable or uncommon fees, and are in no way led to believe that access to these funds is in any way tied to creating a specific financial account.

Like all others within the industry, Nelnet Business Solutions (NBS) has been eagerly awaiting the release of these regulations. We were privileged to have provided input during the comment period and felt confident that the final rulings released by The Department would not only be in the best interest of students, but would support the changes we have made to bring clarity and choice to students and the market through our Student Choice Refunds solution.

And today, following a thorough review of the regulations, I am proud to affirm that our Student Choice Refunds product is in full compliance with the new Department of Education regulations. Best of all, it is fully compliant today!

While other third-party providers will likely need to make substantial changes to their processes based on the new tier arrangements (T1 and T2) established by The Department, our focus on providing students with multiple options for receiving their refunds without tying them to a particular disbursement method or marketing the creation of specific accounts places Nelnet Business Solutions outside of either tier.

This means that partnering with NBS will ensure clients of full title IV compliance, without the need to obtain student consent prior to disbursing funds or “conspicuously and publicly” disclose information related to the arrangement because our process is already completely transparent.

As you consider the impact of the amended provisions of the Higher Education Act we encourage you to consider how Student Choice Refunds can ensure compliance, choice and clarity for your institution.

DeeAnn Wenger
President, Nelnet Business Solutions

Ready to learn more? Contact us at 888.470.6003 or email nbs@nelnet.net