The Secretary is authorized to select institutions for voluntary participation in a Quality Assurance Program that provides participating institutions with an alternative management approach through which individual schools develop and implement their own comprehensive systems, related to processing and disbursement of student financial aid, verification of student financial aid application data, and entrance and exit interviews, thereby enhancing program integrity within the student aid delivery system.

The Quality Assurance Program authorized by this section shall be based on criteria that include demonstrated institutional performance, as determined by the Secretary, and shall take into consideration current quality assurance goals, as determined by the Secretary. The selection criteria shall ensure the participation of a diverse group of institutions of higher education with respect to size, mission, and geographical distribution.

The Secretary is authorized to waive for any institution participating in the Quality Assurance Program any regulations dealing with reporting or verification requirements in this subchapter and part C of subchapter I of chapter 34 of title 42 that are addressed by the institution’s alternative management system, and may substitute such quality assurance reporting as the Secretary determines necessary to ensure accountability and compliance with the purposes of the programs under this subchapter and part C of subchapter I of chapter 34 of title 42. The Secretary shall not modify or waive any statutory requirements pursuant to this paragraph.

The Secretary is authorized to determine—

The Secretary shall review and evaluate the Quality Assurance Program conducted by each participating institution and, on the basis of that evaluation, make recommendations regarding amendments to this chapter that will streamline the administration and enhance the integrity of Federal student assistance programs. Such recommendations shall be submitted to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives.

The Secretary may continue any experimental sites in existence on October 7, 1998. Any activities approved by the Secretary prior to October 7, 1998, that are inconsistent with this section shall be discontinued not later than June 30, 1999.

The Secretary shall review and evaluate the experience of institutions participating as experimental sites during the period of 1993 through 1998 under this section (as such section was in effect on the day before October 7, 1998), and shall submit a report based on this review and evaluation to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives not later than 6 months after October 7, 1998. Such report shall include—