[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 52 (Tuesday, March 18, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12817-12818]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-6742]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Notice of Proposed Information Collection Requests

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Proposed collection; comments requested.

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SUMMARY: The Secretary of Education requests comments on the Free 
Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) that the Secretary proposes 
to use for the 1998-99 award year. The FAFSA is completed by students 
and their families and the information submitted on the form is used to 
determine the students' eligibility and financial need for the student 
financial assistance programs authorized under Title IV of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965, as amended, (Title IV, HEA Programs). The 
Secretary is particularly seeking comments regarding whether all the 
questions on the FAFSA are needed. The Secretary will consider these 
comments not only for the 1998-99 FAFSA but also in the design of the 
1999-2000 FAFSA.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
May 19, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and requests for copies of the proposed 
information collection requests should be addressed to Patrick J. 
Sherrill, Department of Education, 600 Independence Avenue, S.W., Room 
5624, Regional Office Building 3, Washington, DC 20202-4651.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patrick J. Sherrill (202) 708-8196. 
Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may 
call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 
between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern time, Monday through Friday.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 483 of the Higher Education Act 
of 1965, as amended (HEA), requires the Secretary, ``in cooperation 
with agencies and organizations involved in providing student 
financial assistance,'' to ``produce, distribute and process free 
of charge a common financial reporting form to be used to determine 
the need and eligibility of a student under'' the Title IV, HEA 
Programs. This form is the FAFSA. In addition, section 483 
authorizes the Secretary to include on the FAFSA up to eight non-
financial data items that would assist States in awarding State 
student financial assistance.

    Over the past several years, the Secretary, in cooperation with the 
above described agencies and organizations, has added questions to the 
form. Those questions were added to accommodate the needs of States 
that administer State student aid programs, and of institutions of 
higher education that administer the Title IV, HEA Programs. They were 
also added to facilitate eliminating or reducing the number of State 
and institutional forms that a student and his or her family must 
complete in order to receive student financial assistance.
    In the context of re-engineering the FAFSA and looking at each 
FAFSA question anew, it appears that a great many of the questions now 
on the form are not needed to determine a student's need and 
eligibility for Title IV, HEA Programs. Moreover, it also appears that 
many questions are of a marginal value, even for State and 
institutional purposes.
    The 1998-99 FAFSA will begin to be used on January 1, 1998. Because 
of the lead time needed to begin using that form on that date, the 
Secretary has proposed to modify or eliminate only a minimum number of 
questions of the proposed 1998-99 FAFSA. Using the 1996-97 and 1997-98 
FAFSAs as a reference point, the Secretary proposes eliminating 
question 37. The Secretary proposes to combine questions 20 and 21 into 
a single yes/no question, as follows: ``Will you have received a high 
school diploma or earned a GED before the first date of your enrollment 
in college?'' The Secretary proposes to eliminate the ``day'' in 
questions 12, 31, and 50 leaving just the ``month'' and ``year.'' 
Finally, the Secretary proposes to eliminate the fourth option under 
``housing codes'' on page four of the FAFSA. The Secretary seeks 
comments on these modifications.
    With regard to the 1999-2000 FAFSA, using the 1996-97 and 1997-98 
FAFSAs as a reference point, the Secretary notes that a student does 
not need to complete the following questions in order to have his or 
her eligibility and need for Title IV, HEA Programs determined: 11-14, 
18, 20-39, 50, 53-54, 65-66, and 92-105. Therefore the Secretary 
requests comments on the need and desirability of these questions.
    In particular, the Secretary requests comments on whether a 
particular question is integral to a State student aid program, and 
requests each State to list in order of importance, those questions 
that it needs to administer its State student aid programs.
    The Secretary is publishing this request for comment under the 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et 
seq. Under that Act, ED must obtain the review and approval of the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) before it may use a form to 
collect information. However, under the procedure for obtaining 
approval from OMB, ED must first obtain public comment on the proposed 
form, and to obtain that comment, ED must publish this notice in the 
Federal Register.
    In addition to comments requested above, to accommodate the 
requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Secretary is 
interested in receiving comments with regard to the following matters: 
(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.

    Dated: March 12, 1997.
Gloria Parker,
Director, Information Resources Management Group.

Office of Postsecondary Education

    Type of Review: Revision.
    Title: Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
    Frequency: Annually.
    Affected Public: Individuals and families.
    Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Hour Burden:
      Responses: 9,831,756.
      Burden Hours: 7,625,993.
    Abstract: The FAFSA collects identifying and financial information 
about a student and his or her family if the student applies for Title 
IV, Higher Education Act (HEA) Program funds.

[[Page 12818]]

This information is used to calculate the student's expected family 
contribution, which is used to determine a student's financial need. 
The information is also used to determine the student's eligibility for 
grants and loans under the Title IV, HEA Programs. It is further used 
for determining a student's eligibility and need for State and 
institutional financial aid programs.

[FR Doc. 97-6742 Filed 3-17-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P