§ 668.208 General requirements for adjusting official cohort default rates and for appealing their consequences.

(a) Remaining eligible. You do not lose eligibility under § 668.206 if—

(1) We recalculate your cohort default rate, and it is below the percentage threshold for the loss of eligibility as the result of—

(i) An uncorrected data adjustment submitted under this section and § 668.209;

(ii) A new data adjustment submitted under this section and § 668.210;

(iii) An erroneous data appeal submitted under this section and § 668.211; or

(iv) A loan servicing appeal submitted under this section and § 668.212; or

(2) You meet the requirements for—

(i) An economically disadvantaged appeal submitted under this section and § 668.213;

(ii) A participation rate index challenge or appeal submitted under this section and § 668.204 or § 668.214;

(iii) An average rates appeal submitted under this section and § 668.215; or

(iv) A thirty-or-fewer borrowers appeal submitted under this section and § 668.216.

(b) Limitations on your ability to dispute your cohort default rate.

(1) You may not dispute the calculation of a cohort default rate except as described in this subpart or in § 668.16(m)(2).

(2) You may not challenge, request an adjustment to, or appeal a draft or official cohort default rate, under § 668.204, § 668.209, § 668.210, § 668.211, § 668.212, or § 668.214, more than once on that cohort default rate.

(3) You may not challenge, request an adjustment to, or appeal a draft or official cohort default rate, under § 668.204, § 668.209, § 668.210, § 668.211, § 668.212, or § 668.214, if you previously lost your eligibility to participate in a Title IV, HEA program, under § 668.206, or were placed on provisional certification under § 668.16(m)(2)(i), based entirely or partially on that cohort default rate.

(c) Content and format of requests for adjustments and appeals. We may deny your request for adjustment or appeal if it does not meet the following requirements:

(1) All appeals, notices, requests, independent auditor's opinions, management's written assertions, and other correspondence that you are required to send under this subpart must be complete, timely, accurate, and in a format acceptable to us. This acceptable format is described in the “Cohort Default Rate Guide” that we provide to you.

(2) Your completed request for adjustment or appeal must include—

(i) All of the information necessary to substantiate your request for adjustment or appeal; and

(ii) A certification by your chief executive officer, under penalty of perjury, that all the information you provide is true and correct.

(d) Our copies of your correspondence. Whenever you are required by this subpart to correspond with a party other than us, you must send us a copy of your correspondence within the same time deadlines. However, you are not required to send us copies of documents that you received from us originally.

(e) Requirements for data managers' responses.

(1) Except as otherwise provided in this subpart, if this subpart requires a data manager to correspond with any party other than us, the data manager must send us a copy of the correspondence within the same time deadlines.

(2) If a data manager sends us correspondence under this subpart that is not in a format acceptable to us, we may require the data manager to revise that correspondence's format, and we may prescribe a format for that data manager's subsequent correspondence with us.

(f) Our decision on your request for adjustment or appeal.

(1) We determine whether your request for an adjustment or appeal is in compliance with this subpart.

(2) In making our decision for an adjustment, under § 668.209 or § 668.210, or an appeal, under § 668.211 or § 668.212—

(i) We presume that the information provided to you by a data manager is correct unless you provide substantial evidence that shows the information is not correct; and

(ii) If we determine that a data manager did not provide the necessary clarifying information or legible records in meeting the requirements of this subpart, we presume that the evidence that you provide to us is correct unless it is contradicted or otherwise proven to be incorrect by information we maintain.

(3) Our decision is based on the materials you submit under this subpart. We do not provide an oral hearing.

(4) We notify you of our decision—

(i) If you request an adjustment or appeal because you are subject to a loss of eligibility under § 668.206 or potential placement on provisional certification under § 668.16(m)(2)(i) or file an economically disadvantaged appeal under § 668.213(a)(2), within 45 days after we receive your completed request for an adjustment or appeal; or

(ii) In all other cases, except for appeals submitted under § 668.211(a) following placement on provisional certification, before we notify you of your next official cohort default rate.

(5) You may not seek judicial review of our determination of a cohort default rate until we issue our decision on all pending requests for adjustments or appeals for that cohort default rate.

[74 FR 55651, Oct. 28, 2009, as amended at 80 FR 67236, Oct. 30, 2015]