Is “Undetermined” Still Allowed in Licensure Disclosures?
If you’ve been creating or reviewing professional licensure disclosures for more than five minutes, you’ve probably wrestled with this question:
“Can we use “undetermined” in public and direct disclosures if we haven’t evaluated a state’s educational requirements for licensure? Or do we need to make a determination for every U.S. state and territory?”
You’re not alone. This question comes up regularly from institutions navigating the various changes to licensure disclosure regulations since 2020. Let’s unpack what changed with the federal regulations in July 2024—and what “undetermined” really means now.
The Regulatory Shift
Under the prior version of public disclosures (34 CFR § 668.43(a)(5)(v)), effective July 1, 2020, institutions were required to disclose three categories for each licensure program for each of the required 59 U.S. jurisdictions:
Meets educational requirements for licensure
Does not meet educational requirements for licensure
Undetermined or no determination made
34 CFR § 668.43(a)(5)(v) changed with the July 1, 2024 updates to the Title IV regulations. The Department of Education removed “undetermined” from the required public disclosure categories.
Now, institutions must provide “...a list of all States where the institution has determined, including as part of the institution’s obligation under § 668.14(b)(32), that the program does and does not meet such requirements…”
Institutions are obligated under 34 CFR § 668.14(b)(32) to certify that licensure programs satisfy or meet educational requirements for licensure in “...each State in which: the institution is located; students enrolled by the institution in distance education or correspondence courses are located…”. Department of Education staff clarified that recruiting for the program or directly advertising the licensure program in a state or U.S. territory also triggers the need for a determination of “meets”.
Individual direct disclosures (34 CFR § 668.43(c)) have not been changed since first effective on July 1, 2020. In the commentary released with the final regulations and further guidance from Department of Education staff, this section was not changed because there could still be instances where an institution is not making a determination about some states—specifcally, if there are no prospective students being enrolled from that state.
Institutions are required to send a written individual disclosure (can be electronic) to:
Prospective students–prior to Initial Enrollment if they are located in a “does not meet” state or U.S. territory or if no determination has been made.
Current students–within 14 calendar days from institution becoming aware of a change to “does not meet”
Change could be due to student changing locations, state changing requirements, or program changing curriculum.
So What Happens If You Haven’t Made a Determination?
Here’s where it gets nuanced.
If your institution isn’t enrolling or recruiting students from a particular state or territory—and your program isn’t being specifically advertised there—you’re not obligated to make a determination for that state or U.S. territory.
In practice, this most often applies to on-campus programs with no distance education component. But it could also apply to fully online or hybrid programs that limit enrollments in certain places. In fact, the Department of Education made it clear that institutions are not required to enroll students from all states and U.S. territories, but when choosing to advertise, recruit for, or enroll students in licensure programs, these requirements apply.
Even though institutions are no longer required to list all states and territories in public disclosures where a determination hasn’t been made, there is nothing prohibiting institutions from still including this information in public disclosures. Many institutions are still choosing to list these—to provide more transparency and clarity for prospective students and the public.
The Bottom Line
As of July 1, 2024:
Public disclosures: “Undetermined” is no longer a required category.
Institutional flexibility: You can still note that some states haven’t been evaluated—especially if it helps with transparency or internal documentation.
Individual direct disclosures: You may still need to communicate when a determination hasn’t been made for a prospective or current student.
So while “undetermined” is no longer included in the public disclosure regulation, it hasn’t fully disappeared from the compliance landscape.
How HELP Can Help
If you’re reviewing your disclosures and wondering how this applies to your programs, we can help you assess your obligations, documentation strategy, and messaging to students.
Learn more at Higher Education Licensure Pros or reach out to The Bookmark for member-only insights and templates.
This information is provided by Higher Education Licensure Pros LLC based on our experience working with licensure issues. We are not a law firm. The information provided does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials provided are for informational purposes only. Risks to the university/college and students should be considered and evaluated with legal counsel prior to creating policies and communicating licensure information to prospective students or students.
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