[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 125 (Friday, June 28, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53986-53988]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-14217]



[[Page 53986]]

=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment: List of 
Approved Classification of Instructional Program (CIP) Codes for 
Qualifying Graduate Programs

AGENCY: Office of Postsecondary Education, Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Secretary announces the list of applicable CIP codes for 
qualifying graduate programs that have an extended earnings measurement 
period under the Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment 
regulations.

DATES: The list of CIP codes published in this notice apply to the 
first three award years that the Secretary calculates debt-to-earnings 
(D/E) rates and the earnings premium (EP) measure under subpart Q of 34 
CFR part 668. This period is established under the regulatory 
definition of Qualifying graduate program at Sec.  668.2(b) as the 
``initial period,'' and includes the 2023-2024, 2024-2025, and 2025-
2026 award years.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joseph Massman, U.S. Department of 
Education. Email: [email protected].
    If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability and 
wish to access telecommunications relay services, please dial 7-1-1.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On October 10, 2023, the U.S. Department of 
Education (Department) published final regulations on Financial Value 
Transparency (FVT) and Gainful Employment (GE), which become effective 
July 1, 2024 (88 FR 70004). These regulations, in part, (1) Establish a 
transparency framework to provide information about financial costs and 
benefits to students at nearly all academic programs at postsecondary 
institutions that are eligible to participate in the student assistance 
programs authorized under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, 
as amended (HEA); and (2) Establish an eligibility framework for 
postsecondary educational programs designed to prepare students for 
gainful employment in a recognized occupation. Both the transparency 
and accountability frameworks rely upon D/E rates and an EP measure, as 
established under Sec. Sec.  668.403 and 668.404 respectively, to 
assess debt and earnings outcomes for postsecondary program graduates.
    The calculation of these metrics is based, in part, on the earnings 
of a cohort of graduates measured several years after program 
completion. The cohort period, as defined under Sec.  668.2(b), is the 
set of award years used to identify a group of students who completed a 
program and whose debt and earnings outcomes are used to calculate the 
D/E rates and EP measure. The specific years included in the cohort 
period used in calculating D/E and EP metrics for a given program 
depend, in part, upon whether the program is a qualifying graduate 
program, as separately defined under Sec.  668.2(b) Qualifying graduate 
program.
    In developing the regulations, the Department recognized that 
certain graduate programs, mostly concentrated in medical and clinical 
fields, are associated with an initial period of depressed graduate 
earnings while graduates complete a required period of postgraduate 
clinical or residency work necessary to obtain a professional 
licensure, after which graduates realize significant earnings growth. 
For purposes of calculating the D/E rates and EP measure, the 
Department therefore extends the earnings measurement period for such 
qualifying graduate programs, when compared to other postsecondary 
programs. As an example, a two-year cohort period for most programs 
would be the third and fourth award years prior to the year of the most 
recent earnings data used in the calculation. In contrast, the two-year 
cohort period for a qualifying graduate program would be the sixth and 
seventh award years prior to the year of the earnings data, meaning 
that income is measured three years farther out after graduation for 
completers of such programs. These cohorts are used to measure earnings 
for both the standard and transitional reporting options under the FVT/
GE regulations.
    To be treated as a qualifying graduate program, a program must meet 
three specific and rigorous criteria. First, the program must be 
identified under the CIP code list below as being potentially eligible 
to be considered a qualified graduate program. Second, the program must 
be one whose students must complete a ''required postgraduation 
training program'' to obtain licensure, which is a supervised training 
program that (1) requires the student to hold a degree in one of the 
qualifying fields and (2) must be completed before the student may be 
licensed by a State and board certified for professional practice or 
service. Third, the institution must attest that at least half of the 
program's graduates obtain licensure in a State where the 
postgraduation training requirements apply, and that, if necessary for 
licensure, the graduate program is accredited by an accrediting agency 
that meets State requirements. For the first criterion, paragraph 
(1)(i)(A) of the regulatory definition of a qualifying graduate program 
at Sec.  668.2(b) provides a generalized list of occupations for 
qualifying graduate programs, which will apply to the first three award 
years the Department calculates the D/E rates and EP measure. The 
qualifying fields for this initial period include medicine, osteopathy, 
dentistry, clinical psychology, marriage and family counseling, 
clinical social work, and clinical counseling.
    The National Center for Education Statistics provides a taxonomy of 
instructional program classifications and descriptions, most recently 
updated in 2020, known as CIP codes. For purposes of the FVT and GE 
regulations, specific programs offered by institutions are classified 
using a six-digit CIP code.
    Consistent with this regulatory definition, the Secretary 
identifies the following graduate programs under their respective CIP 
codes as being potentially eligible to be considered a qualified 
graduate program, conditional on meeting all other required criteria:

Medicine, Osteopathy, Dentistry

 14.0501: Biomedical/Medical Engineering
 26.0101: Biology/Biological Services, General
 26.0102: Biomedical Sciences, General
 26.0202: Biochemistry
 26.0204: Molecular Biology
 26.0205: Molecular Biochemistry
 26.0207: Structural Biology
 26.0208: Photobiology
 26.0209: Radiation Biology/Radiobiology
 26.0210: Biochemistry/Biophysics and Molecular Biology
 26.0299: Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology, Other
 26.0401: Cell/Cellular Biology and Histology
 26.0403: Anatomy
 26.0404: Developmental Biology and Embryology
 26.0406: Cell/Cellular and Molecular Biology
 26.0407: Cell Biology and Anatomy
 26.0499: Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences, Other
 26.0502: Microbiology, General
 26.0503: Medical Microbiology and Bacteriology
 26.0504: Virology
 26.0505: Parasitology
 26.0506: Mycology
 26.0507: Immunology
 26.0508: Microbiology and Immunology
 26.0599: Microbiological Sciences and Immunology, Other

[[Page 53987]]

 26.0801: Genetics, General
 26.0802: Molecular Genetics
 26.0806: Human/Medical Genetics
 26.0807: Genome Sciences/Genomics
 26.0899: Genetics, Other
 26.0901: Physiology, General
 26.0902: Molecular Physiology
 26.0903: Cell Physiology
 26.0904: Endocrinology
 26.0905: Reproductive Biology
 26.0907: Cardiovascular Science
 26.0908: Exercise Physiology
 26.0909: Vision Science/Physiological Optics
 26.0910: Pathology/Experimental Pathology
 26.0911: Oncology and Cancer Biology
 26.0912: Aerospace Physiology and Medicine
 26.0999: Physiology, Pathology, and Related Sciences, Other
 26.1001: Pharmacology
 26.1002: Molecular Pharmacology
 26.1003: Neuropharmacology
 26.1004: Toxicology
 26.1005: Molecular Toxicology
 26.1006: Environmental Toxicology
 26.1007: Pharmacology and Toxicology
 26.1099: Pharmacology and Toxicology, Other
 26.1101: Biometry/Biometrics
 26.1102: Biostatistics
 26.1103: Bioinformatics
 26.1199: Biomathematics and Bioinformatics, Other
 26.1201: Biotechnology
 26.1306: Population Biology
 26.1309: Epidemiology
 26.1399: Ecology, Evolution, Systematics and Population 
Biology, Other
 26.1401: Molecular Medicine
 26.1501: Neuroscience
 26.1502: Neuroanatomy
 26.1503: Neurobiology and Neurophysiology
 26.1504: Neurobiology and Behavior
 26.1599: Neurobiology and Neurosciences, Other
 26.9999: Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Other
 30.1001: Biopsychology
 30.1101: Gerontology
 30.1901: Nutrition Sciences
 51.0000: Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, 
General
 51.0001: Health and Wellness, General
 51.0101: Chiropractic (DC)
 51.0201: Communication Disorders, General
 51.0202: Audiology/Audiologist and Hearing Services
 51.0203: Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist
 51.0204: Audiology/Audiologist and Speech-Language Pathology/
Pathologist
 51.0299: Communication Disorders Sciences and Services, Other
 51.0401: Dentistry (DDS, DMD)
 51.0501: Dental Clinical Sciences, General (MS, Ph.D.)
 51.0502: Advanced General Dentistry (Cert, MS, Ph.D.)
 51.0503: Oral Biology and Oral Pathology (MS, Ph.D.)
 51.0504: Dental Public Health and Education (Cert., MS/MPH, 
Ph.D./DPH)
 51.0505: Dental Materials (MS, Ph.D.)
 51.0506: Endodontics/Endodontology (Cert., MS, Ph.D.)
 51.0507: Oral/Maxillofacial Surgery (Cert., MS, Ph.D.)
 51.0508: Orthodontics/Orthodontology (Cert., MS, Ph.D.)
 51.0509: Pediatric Dentistry/Pedodontics (Cert., MS, Ph.D.)
 51.0510: Periodontics/Periodontology (Cert., MS, Ph.D.)
 51.0511: Prosthodontics/Prosthodontology (Cert., MS, Ph.D.)
 51.0599: Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences, Other
 51.0912: Physician Assistant
 51.1201: Medicine (MD)
 51.1401: Medical Scientist (MS, Ph.D.)
 51.1701: Optometry (OD)
 51.1901: Osteopathic Medicine/Osteopathy (DO)
 51.2001: Pharmacy (PharmD [USA], PharmD or BS/BPharm [Canada])
 51.2002: Pharmacy Administration and Pharmacy Policy and 
Regulatory Affairs (MS, Ph.D.)
 51.2004: Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry (MS, Ph.D.)
 51.2008: Clinical, Hospital, and Managed Care Pharmacy (MS, 
Ph.D.)
 51.2010: Pharmaceutical Sciences
 51.2099: Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and 
Administration, Other
 51.2101: Podiatric Medicine/Podiatry (DPM)
 51.2314: Rehabilitation Science
 51.2399: Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions, Other
 51.3101: Dietetics/Dietician (RD)
 51.3199: Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services, Other
 51.9999: Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, 
Other

Clinical Psychology, Marriage and Family Counseling, Clinical Social 
Work, Clinical Counseling

 13.1101: Counselor Education/School Counseling and Guidance 
Services
 19.0701: Human Development and Family Studies, General
 19.0704: Family Systems
 19.0707: Family and Community Services
 19.0710: Developmental Services Worker
 19.0799: Human Development, Family Studies, and Related 
Services, Other
 30.1001: Biopsychology
 30.1701: Behavioral Sciences
 30.2501: Cognitive Science
 42.0101: Psychology, General
 42.2701: Cognitive Psychology and Psycholinguistics
 42.2702: Comparative Psychology
 42.2703: Developmental and Child Psychology
 42.2704: Experimental Psychology
 42.2705: Personality Psychology
 42.2706: Physiological Psychology/Psychobiology
 42.2707: Social Psychology
 42.2708: Psychometrics and Quantitative Psychology
 42.2709: Psychopharmacology
 42.2799: Research and Experimental Psychology, Other
 42.2801: Clinical Psychology
 42.2802: Community Psychology
 42.2803: Counseling Psychology
 42.2804: Industrial and Organizational Psychology
 42.2805: School Psychology
 42.2806: Educational Psychology
 42.2807: Clinical Child Psychology
 42.2808: Environmental Psychology
 42.2809: Geropsychology
 42.2810: Health/Medical Psychology
 42.2811: Family Psychology
 42.2812: Forensic Psychology
 42.2813: Applied Psychology
 42.2814: Applied Behavior Analysis
 42.2899: Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology, Other
 42.9999: Psychology, Other
 44.0701: Social Work
 44.0702: Youth Services/Administration
 44.0799: Social Work, Other
 51.1501: Substance Abuse/Addiction Counseling
 51.1503: Clinical/Medical Social Work
 51.1504: Community Health Services/Liaison/Counseling
 51.1505: Marriage and Family Therapy/Counseling
 51.1506: Clinical Pastoral Counseling/Patient Counseling
 51.1507: Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy
 51.1508: Mental Health Counseling/Counselor
 51.1509: Genetic Counseling/Counselor
 51.1599: Mental and Social Health Sciences and Allied 
Professions, Other

    As further described in the regulatory definition of a qualifying 
graduate program, the above list of eligible professions applies only 
to the initial three award years the Department

[[Page 53988]]

calculates the D/E and EP metrics. Following this initial period, and 
every three award years thereafter, the Secretary will publish an 
updated list of CIP codes that contains qualifying graduate programs, 
identifying fields that lead to a graduate degree for which graduates 
must complete postgraduate training programs averaging at least three 
years to complete and for which the Secretary determines that a 
majority of programs demonstrate outlier earnings growth.
    Accessible Format: On request to the program contact person listed 
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, individuals with disabilities 
can obtain this document in an accessible format. The Department will 
provide the requestor with an accessible format that may include Rich 
Text Format (RTF) or text format (txt), a thumb drive, an MP3 file, 
braille, large print, audiotape, or compact disc, or other accessible 
format.
    Electronic Access to This Document: The official version of this 
document is the document published in the Federal Register. You may 
access the official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of 
Federal Regulations at www.govinfo.gov. At this site, you can view this 
document, as well as all other documents of this Department published 
in the Federal Register, in text or Portable Document Format (PDF). To 
use PDF, you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at 
this site.
    You may also access documents of the Department published in the 
Federal Register by using the article search feature at 
www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, through the advanced search 
feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published 
by the Department.
    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1087 et seq.

Nasser Paydar,
Assistant Secretary for the Office of Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 2024-14217 Filed 6-27-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P