Beginning July 1, 2011, the US Department of Education (USDoE) requires colleges to disclose a variety of information for any program eligible for the federal government’s Title IV financial aid funds that prepares students for Gainful Employment (GE) in a recognized occupation that meets their criteria.
For private non-profit institutions, the most common educational programs that are eligible to be a GE program are those that issue certificates or certification. USDoE specifically states that educational programs are not GE programs if
Eligibility, and other information on GE programs including updates, is posted by USDoE on their Gainful Employment Information Page where it states that most non-degree educational programs at non-profit private institutions are GE-eligible programs. USDoE’s Announcement #11 includes the following criteria to determine if educational programs are eligible to be GE programs:
In a May 20, 2011 announcement, USDoE stated: Teacher certification programs where the institution itself does not provide a certificate but which consist of a collection of course work necessary for the student to receive a State professional teaching credential or certification are not gainful employment programs and therefore not subject to the GE Programs’ disclosure and reporting requirements. This announcement corrects an earlier announcement that erroneously stated that teaching certificates issued by the state were included.
Additional information on determining whether a program is considered a GE program is provided in a June 24, 2011 announcement.
Lehigh University is committed to providing current and prospective students with the information they need to make informed educational and career decisions. Our teacher certification programs are not considered Gainful Employment programs by USDoE, and none of our other certificate programs are of sufficient length for students to be eligible for Title IV funds, so we do not have any programs that qualify as gainful employment programs. If you have any questions regarding this program and what it means to you as a student, please feel free to contact the Office of the Provost at provost@lehigh.edu.
updated: November 29, 2011