Something required of all schools doing business electronically is the "Consent to do business Electronically"
This describes the specific need for 1098-T's however, if you read the consent form for PENN STATE below you will see that it encompases quite a few other areas. Basically this is a gateway agreement that requires clicking the "I agree" button.
In order to deliver 1098T's electronically all of our 790 students who may be receiving a 1098-T for the year must have signed a Consent to do Business Electronically. Most schools place this requirement at the front of signing up for their version of Populi, or a university/college student intranet.
I'll paste links to a few samples:
http://www.colorado.edu/registrar/students/records/ferpa/online-business
https://tutorials.lionpath.psu.edu/public/Docs/Consent.pdf
Da' Rulz:
Electronic delivery of Form 1098-T. Educational institutions may present the option to consent to receive Form 1098-T electronically as part of a global “Consent To Do Business Electronically,” combining consent for electronic delivery of Form 1098-T along with other institutional student business functions such as admissions, registration, billings, and direct deposits. The global consent process must meet all the consent, disclosure, format, notice, and access period requirements for electronic furnishing of Forms 1098-T as required by paragraphs (a)(2) through (6) of Treasury Regulations section 1.6050S-2. For more information about the requirements to furnish a statement to each student, see part M in the 2017 General Instructions for Certain Information Returns
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1098et.pdf
https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/26/1.6050S-1
Interested to know if other schools have this issue, what do you do?
