Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment Request; 2015-2016 Federal Student Aid Application
Federal Register, Volume 79 Issue 223 (Wednesday, November 19, 2014)
Federal Register Volume 79, Number 223 (Wednesday, November 19, 2014)
Notices
Pages 68877-68879
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office www.gpo.gov
FR Doc No: 2014-27393
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Docket No. ED-2014-ICCD-0126
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment Request; 2015-2016 Federal Student Aid Application
AGENCY: Federal Student Aid (FSA), Department of Education (ED).
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 3501 et seq.), ED is proposing a revision of an existing information collection.
DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before December 19, 2014.
ADDRESSES: Comments submitted in response to this notice should be submitted electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov by selecting Docket ID ED-2014-ICCD-0126 or via postal mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. If the regulations.gov site is not available to the public for any reason, ED will temporarily accept comments at ICDocketMgr@ed.gov. Please note that comments submitted by fax or email and those submitted after the comment period will not be accepted; ED will ONLY accept comments during the comment period in this mailbox when regulations.gov is not available. Written requests for information or comments submitted by postal mail or delivery should be addressed to the Director of the Information Collection Clearance Division, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., LBJ, Mailstop L-OM-2-2E319, Room 2E105, Washington, DC 20202-4537.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions related to collection activities or burden, please contact Douglas Pineda Robles, 202-377-
4578.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department of Education (ED), in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), provides the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed, revised, and continuing collections of information. This helps the Department assess the impact of its information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. It also helps the public understand the Department's information collection requirements and provide the requested data in the desired format. ED is soliciting comments on the proposed information collection request (ICR) that is described below. The Department of Education is especially interested in public comment addressing the following issues: (1) Is this collection necessary to the proper functions of the Department; (2) will this information be processed and used in a timely manner; (3) is the estimate of burden accurate; (4) how might the Department enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (5) how might the Department minimize the burden of this collection on the respondents, including through the use of information technology. Please note that written comments received in response to this notice will be considered public records.
Title of Collection: 2015-2016 Federal Student Aid Application.
OMB Control Number: 1845-0001.
Type of Review: Revision of an existing collection of information.
Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals.
Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 44,992,857.
Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 24,083,155.
Abstract:
Section 483 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), mandates that the Secretary of Education ``. . . shall produce, distribute, and process free of charge common financial reporting forms as described in this subsection to be used for application and reapplication to determine the need and eligibility of a student for financial assistance . . .''.
The determination of need and eligibility are for the following Title IV, HEA, federal student financial assistance programs: The Federal Pell Grant Program; the Campus-Based programs (Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), Federal Work-Study (FWS), and the Federal Perkins Loan Program); the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program; the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant; and the Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant.
Federal Student Aid, an office of the U.S. Department of Education (hereafter ``the Department''), subsequently developed an application process to collect and process the data necessary to determine a student's eligibility to receive Title IV, HEA program assistance. The application process involves an applicant's submission of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). After submission and processing of the FAFSA, an applicant receives a Student Aid Report (SAR), which is a summary of the processed data they submitted on the FAFSA. The applicant reviews the SAR, and, if necessary, will make corrections or updates to their submitted FAFSA data. Institutions of higher education listed by the applicant on the FAFSA also receive a summary of processed data submitted on the FAFSA which is called the Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR).
The Department seeks OMB approval of all application components as a single ``collection of information''. The
Page 68878
aggregate burden will be accounted for under OMB Control Number 1845-
0001. The specific application components, descriptions and submission methods for each are listed in the following Table.
Table Provided Below
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Component Description Submission method
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Initial Submission of FAFSA
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FAFSA on the Web (FOTW)..... Online FAFSA that Submitted by the
offers applicants a applicant via
customized www.fafsa.gov.
experience.
FOTW--Renewal............... Online FAFSA for
applicants who have
previously
completed the FAFSA.
FOTW--EZ.................... Online FAFSA for
applicants who
qualify for the
Simplified Needs
Test (SNT) or
Automatic Zero
(Auto Zero) needs
analysis formulas.
FOTW--EZ Renewal............ Online FAFSA for
applicants who have
previously
completed the FAFSA
and who qualify for
the SNT or Auto
Zero needs analysis
formulas.
FAFSA on the Phone (FOTP)... The Federal Student Submitted through
Aid Information www.fafsa.gov for
Center (FSAIC) applicants who call
representatives 1-800-4-FED-AID.
assist applicants
by filing the FAFSA
on their behalf
through FOTW.
FOTP--EZ.................... FSAIC
representatives
assist applicants
who qualify for the
SNT or Auto Zero
needs analysis
formulas by filing
the FAFSA on their
behalf through FOTW.
FAA Access.................. Online tool that a Submitted through
financial aid www.faaacess.ed.gov
administrator (FAA) by a FAA on behalf
utilizes to submit of an applicant.
a FAFSA.
FAA Access--Renewal......... Online tool that a
FAA can utilize to
submit a Renewal
FAFSA.
FAA Access--EZ.............. Online tool that a
FAA can utilize to
submit a FAFSA for
applicants who
qualify for the SNT
or Auto Zero needs
analysis formulas.
FAA Access--EZ Renewal...... Online tool that a
FAA can utilize to
submit a FAFSA for
applicants who have
previously
completed the FAFSA
and who qualify for
the SNT or Auto
Zero needs analysis
formulas.
Electronic Other............ This is a submission The FAA may be using
done by a FAA, on their mainframe
behalf of the computer or
applicant, using software to
the Electronic Data facilitate the EDE
Exchange (EDE). process.
PDF FAFSA or Paper FAFSA.... The paper version of Mailed by the
the FAFSA printed applicant.
by the Department
for applicants who
are unable to
access the Internet
or the online PDF
FAFSA for
applicants who can
access the Internet
but are unable to
complete the form
using FOTW.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Correcting Submitted FAFSA Information and Reviewing FAFSA Information
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOTW--Corrections........... Any applicant who Submitted by the
has a Federal applicant via
Student Aid PIN www.fafsa.gov.
(FSA PIN)--
regardless of how
they originally
applied--may make
corrections using
FOTW Corrections.
Electronic Other-- With the applicant's The FAA may be using
Corrections. permission, their mainframe
corrections can be computer or
made by a FAA using software to
the EDE. facilitate the EDE
process.
Paper SAR--This is a SAR and The full paper Mailed by the
an option for corrections. summary that is applicant.
mailed to paper
applicants who did
not provide an e-
mail address and to
applicants whose
records were
rejected due to
critical errors
during processing.
Applicants can
write corrections
directly on the
paper SAR and mail
for processing.
FAA Access--Corrections..... An institution can Submitted through
use FAA Access to www.faaacess.ed.gov
correct the FAFSA. by a FAA on behalf
of an applicant.
Internal Department The Department will There is no burden
Corrections. submit an to the applicants
applicant's record under this
for system- correction type as
generated these are system-
corrections. based corrections.
FSAIC Corrections........... Any applicant, with These changes are
their Data Release made directly in
Number (DRN), can the CPS system by a
change the FSAIC
postsecondary representative.
institutions listed
on their FAFSA or
change their
address by calling
FSAIC.
SAR Electronic (eSAR)....... The eSAR is an Cannot be submitted
online version of for processing.
the SAR that is
available on FOTW
to all applicants
with a PIN.
Notifications for
the eSAR are sent
to students who
applied
electronically or
by paper and
provided an e-mail
address. These
notifications are
sent by e-mail and
include a secure
hyperlink that
takes the user to
the FOTW site.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Page 68879
This information collection also documents an estimate of the annual public burden as it relates to the application process for federal student aid. The Applicant Burden Model (ABM), measures applicant burden through an assessment of the activities each applicant conducts in conjunction with other applicant characteristics and in terms of burden, the average applicant's experience. Key determinants of the ABM include:
ssquf The total number of applicants that will potentially apply for federal student aid;
ssquf How the applicant chooses to complete and submit the FAFSA (e.g., by paper or electronically via FOTW);
ssquf How the applicant chooses to submit any corrections and/or updates (e.g., the paper SAR or electronically via FOTW Corrections);
ssquf The type of SAR document the applicant receives (eSAR, SAR acknowledgment, or paper SAR);
ssquf The formula applied to determine the applicant's EFC (full need analysis formula, Simplified Needs Test or Automatic Zero); and
ssquf The average amount of time involved in preparing to complete the application.
The ABM is largely driven by the number of potential applicants for the application cycle. The total application projection for 2015-2016 is based upon two factors--estimates of the total enrollment in all degree-granting institutions and the percentage change in FAFSA submissions for the last completed or almost completed application cycle. The ABM is also based on the application options available to students and parents. The Department accounts for each application component based on Web trending tools, survey information, and other Department data sources.
For 2015-2016, the Department is reporting a net burden decrease of 2,081,212 hours.
In response to the 60-day comment period, the Department has made some changes to the application explained in the 2015-2016 Federal Student Aid Application Comments Tracking Summary. We project that these changes will not substantively impact burden.
Dated: November 14, 2014.
Stephanie Valentine,
Acting Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Privacy, Information and Records Management Services, Office of Management.
FR Doc. 2014-27393 Filed 11-18-14; 8:45 am
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P
