[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 1 (Wednesday, January 2, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 174-177]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-25510]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records--Electronic Cohort Default 
Rate Appeals (eCDR Appeals)

AGENCY: Federal Student Aid, Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of a new system of records.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended 
(Privacy Act), the Department of Education (Department) publishes this 
notice of a new system of records entitled ``Electronic Cohort Default 
Rate Appeals (eCDR Appeals)''.
18-11-18
    The eCDR Appeals system will be used to process institution of 
higher education cohort default rate challenges and adjustment 
requests. The eCDR Appeals system will also contain records regarding 
borrowers who have applied for and received loans under the William D. 
Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program and the Federal Family 
Education Loan (FFEL) Program. The Department seeks comment on the new 
system of records described in this notice, in accordance with the 
requirements of the Privacy Act.

DATES: We must receive your comments about this new system of records 
on or before February 1, 2008.
    The Department filed a report describing the new system of records 
covered by this notice with the Chair of the Senate Committee on 
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, the Chair of the House 
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and the Administrator of 
the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) on December 27, 2007. This system of records will 
become effective at the later date of--(1) The expiration of the 40-day 
period for OMB review on February 5, 2008; or (2) February 1, 2008, 
unless the system of records needs to be changed as a result of public 
comment or OMB review.

ADDRESSES: Address all comments about this new system of records to 
Donna Bellflower, Default Prevention and Management, Portfolio 
Performance Management Staff, Federal Student Aid, U.S. Department of 
Education, Union Center Plaza, 830 First Street, NE., room 84B2, 
Washington, DC 20202-5353. If you prefer to send comments through the 
Internet, use the following address: http://[email protected].
    You must include the term ``eCDR Appeals'' in the subject line of 
your electronic message.
    During and after the comment period, you may inspect all comments 
about this notice at the U.S. Department of Education in room 84B2, 
Union Center Plaza, 8th Floor, 830 First Street, NE., Washington, DC, 
between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Eastern time, Monday through 
Friday of each week except Federal holidays.

Assistance to Individuals With Disabilities in Reviewing the Rulemaking 
Record

    On request, we will supply an appropriate aid, such as a reader or 
print magnifier, to an individual with a disability who needs 
assistance to review the comments or other documents in the public 
rulemaking record for this notice. If you want to schedule an 
appointment for this type of aid, please contact the person listed 
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Donna Bellflower. Telephone number: 
(202) 377-3196. If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf 
(TDD), call the Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free, at 1-800-877-
8339.
    Individuals with disabilities can obtain this document in an 
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print,

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audiotape, or computer diskette) on request to the contact person 
listed in this section.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Introduction

    The Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(4)) requires the Department to 
publish in the Federal Register this notice of a new system of records 
maintained by the Department. The Department's regulations implementing 
the Privacy Act are contained in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 
in part 5b of title 34.
    The Privacy Act applies to a record about an individual that is 
maintained in a system of records from which individually identifying 
information is retrieved by a unique identifier associated with each 
individual, such as a name or Social Security number. The information 
about each individual is called a ``record,'' and the system, whether 
manual or computer-based, is called a ``system of records.''
    The Privacy Act requires each agency to publish a system of records 
notice in the Federal Register and to submit, whenever the agency 
publishes a new system of records or makes a significant change to an 
established system of records, a report to the Administrator of the 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, OMB. Each agency is also 
required to send copies of the report to the Chair of the Committee on 
Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives, and to 
the Chair of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs of the Senate.

Electronic Access to This Document

    You can view this document, as well as all other documents of this 
Department published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe Portable 
Document Format (PDF) on the Internet at the following site: http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister/index.html.
    To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available 
free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF, call the U.S. 
Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in 
the Washington, DC, area at (202) 512-1530.

    Note: The official version of this document is the document 
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the 
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal 
Regulations is available on GPO Access at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara.


    Dated: December 27, 2007.
Lawrence A. Warder,
Acting Chief Operating Officer, Federal Student Aid.
    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Acting Chief 
Operating Officer, Federal Student Aid, U.S. Department of Education 
publishes a notice of a new system of records, to read as follows:

SYSTEM NUMBER:
    18-11-18.

SYSTEM NAME:
    Electronic Cohort Default Rate Appeals (eCDR Appeals).

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
    None.

SYSTEM LOCATIONS:
    (1) Default Prevention and Management, Portfolio Performance 
Management Staff, Federal Student Aid, U.S. Department of Education, 
Union Center Plaza, 830 First Street, NE., room 84B2, Washington, DC 
20202-5353.
    (2) Perot Systems, 2300 W. Plano Parkway, Plano, TX 75075.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
    The eCDR Appeals system contains records on borrowers who have 
received loans under the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct 
Loan) Program and the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program. 
Although the eCDR Appeals system contains information about 
institutions associated with individuals, this system of records notice 
pertains only to individuals protected under the Privacy Act of 1974, 
as amended.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
    The eCDR Appeals system contains records regarding: (1) Student/
borrower identifier information including Social Security number and 
name; (2) loan information (e.g., last date of attendance, date entered 
repayment, default date) for each student/borrower loan counted in the 
cohort default rate of the institution of higher education submitting 
the cohort default rate challenge or adjustment request; and (3) 
documentation submitted by an institution of higher education or data 
manager to support its data allegation (e.g., enrollment verification, 
copies of cancelled checks, etc.).

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
    20 U.S.C. 1082, 1085, 1094, 1099c.

PURPOSE(S):
    The information contained in the records maintained in this system 
is used for the following purposes:
    (1) To allow institutions of higher education to electronically 
challenge their draft cohort default rate data, and electronically 
request an adjustment to their official cohort default rate data via an 
uncorrected data adjustment or new data adjustment request;
    (2) To allow data managers to electronically view and respond to 
cohort default rate challenges and adjustment requests from 
institutions of higher education. Note: Data managers are determined on 
the basis of the holder of the loan. For FFEL Program loans held by the 
lender or its guaranty agency, the guaranty agency is the data manager 
for the purpose of the appeal. If the Department is the holder of the 
FFEL Program loan, then the Department is the data manager. For Direct 
Loans, the Direct Loan servicer is the data manager; and
    (3) To allow Federal Student Aid to electronically view and respond 
to cohort default rate challenges and adjustment requests from 
institutions of higher education.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES 
OF USERS AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
    The Department may disclose information contained in a record in 
this system of records without the consent of the individual if the 
disclosure is compatible with the purposes for which the record was 
collected. The Department may make these disclosures on a case-by-case 
basis, or, if the Department has complied with the computer matching 
requirements of the Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act of 
1988, as amended, under a computer matching agreement.
    (1) Program Disclosures. The Department may disclose records to the 
institution of higher education or data manager responsible for 
entering the loan information into the eCDR appeals system, in order to 
obtain clarification or additional information to assist in determining 
the outcome of the allegation.
    (2) Disclosure for Use by Other Law Enforcement Agencies. The 
Department may disclose information to any Federal, State, local, or 
foreign agency, or other public authority responsible for enforcing, 
investigating, or prosecuting violations of administrative, civil, or 
criminal law or regulation if that information is relevant to any 
enforcement, regulatory, investigative, or prosecutorial responsibility 
within the receiving entity's jurisdiction.
    (3) Enforcement Disclosure. In the event that information in this 
system of records indicates, either on its face or in connection with 
other information, a violation or potential violation of any applicable 
statutory, regulatory, or legally binding requirement, the Department 
may disclose the relevant

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records to the appropriate agency, whether foreign, Federal, State, 
Tribal, or local, charged with the responsibility of investigating or 
prosecuting that violation or charged with enforcing or implementing 
the statute, Executive order, rule, regulation, or order issued 
pursuant thereto.
    (4) Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Disclosure.
    (a) Introduction. In the event that one of the parties listed below 
is involved in litigation or ADR, or has an interest in litigation or 
ADR, the Department may disclose certain records to the parties 
described in paragraphs (b), (c), and (d) of this routine use under the 
conditions specified in those paragraphs:
    (i) The Department or any of its components.
    (ii) Any Department employee in his or her official capacity.
    (iii) Any Department employee in his or her individual capacity if 
the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has been requested to or has 
agreed to provide or arrange for representation for the employee.
    (iv) Any Department employee in his or her individual capacity 
where the Department has agreed to represent the employee.
    (v) The United States where the Department determines that the 
litigation is likely to affect the Department or any of its components.
    (b) Disclosure to DOJ. If the Department determines that disclosure 
of certain records to DOJ is relevant and necessary to litigation or 
ADR, the Department may disclose those records as a routine use to DOJ.
    (c) Adjudicative Disclosure. If the Department determines that it 
is relevant and necessary to the litigation or ADR to disclose certain 
records to an adjudicative body before which the Department is 
authorized to appear, to an individual, or to an entity designated by 
the Department or otherwise empowered to resolve or mediate disputes, 
the Department may disclose those records as a routine use to the 
adjudicative body, individual, or entity.
    (d) Disclosure to Parties, Counsel, Representatives, or Witnesses. 
If the Department determines that disclosure of certain records to a 
party, counsel, representative, or witness is relevant and necessary to 
the litigation or ADR, the Department may disclose those records as a 
routine use to the party, counsel, representative, or witness.
    (5) Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Privacy Act Advice 
Disclosure. The Department may disclose records to DOJ or the OMB if 
the Department concludes that disclosure would help in determining 
whether particular records are required to be disclosed under the FOIA 
or the Privacy Act.
    (6) Contract Disclosure. If the Department contracts with an entity 
to perform any function that requires disclosing records to the 
contractor's employees, the Department may disclose the records to 
those employees. Before entering into such a contract, the Department 
shall require the contractor to maintain Privacy Act safeguards as 
required under 5 U.S.C. 552a(m) with respect to the records in the 
system.
    (7) Congressional Member Disclosure. The Department may disclose 
the records of an individual to a member of Congress or the member's 
staff in response to an inquiry from the member made at the written 
request of that individual. The member's right to the information is no 
greater than the right of the individual who requested the inquiry.
    (8) Disclosure in the Course of Responding to Breach of Data. The 
Department may disclose records to appropriate agencies, entities, and 
persons when (1) it is suspected or confirmed that the security or 
confidentiality of information in the eCDR Appeals system has been 
compromised; (2) the Department has determined that as a result of the 
suspected or confirmed compromise, there is a risk of harm to economic 
or property interests, identity theft or fraud, or harm to the security 
or integrity of the eCDR Appeals system or other systems or programs 
(whether maintained by the Department or by another agency or entity) 
that rely upon the compromised information; and (3) the disclosure is 
made to such agencies, entities, and persons who are reasonably 
necessary to assist the Department in responding to the suspected or 
confirmed compromise and in helping the Department prevent, minimize, 
or remedy such harm.

DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES: None.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, 
AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
STORAGE:
    Records are maintained in a database on the Department's secure 
servers and in other electronic storage media.

RETRIEVABILITY:
    Records are retrieved by a unique institution of higher education 
code number provided by the Department to participating institutions 
and the borrower's Social Security number.

SAFEGUARDS:
    Access to the records is limited to authorized personnel only. All 
physical access to the Department's site and to the site of the 
Department's contractor where this system of records is maintained, is 
controlled and monitored by security personnel who check each 
individual entering the buildings for his or her employee or visitor 
badge.
    The computer system employed by the Department and by the 
Department's contractors offers a high degree of resistance to 
tampering and circumvention. This security system limits data access to 
Department and contract staff on a ``need to know'' basis, and controls 
an individual user's ability to access and alter records within the 
system. All users of this system of records are given a unique user 
identification. The Department's Federal Student Aid Information 
Security Privacy Policy requires the enforcement of a complex password 
policy. In addition, users are required to change their password at 
least every 60 to 90 days in accordance with the Department's 
information technology standards. At the principal site of the 
Department's contractor in Plano, Texas, additional physical security 
measures are in place and access is monitored 24 hours per day, 7 days 
a week.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:
    The records associated with an institution of higher education's 
cohort default rate challenge or adjustment request are currently 
unscheduled pending National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) 
approval of a records retention schedule. Until a NARA-approved records 
schedule is in effect, no records will be destroyed.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:
    Appeals Team Lead, Default Prevention and Management, Portfolio 
Performance Management Staff, U.S. Department of Education, Federal 
Student Aid, Union Center Plaza, 830 First Street, NE., room 84B2, 
Washington, DC 20202-5353.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:
    If you wish to determine whether a record exists regarding you in 
the system of records, contact the system manager. Your request must 
meet the requirements of regulations in 34 CFR 5b.5, including proof of 
identity.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURE:
    If you wish to gain access to your record in the system of records, 
contact the system manager at the address listed under, SYSTEM MANAGER 
AND ADDRESS. Requests should contain

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your full name, address, and telephone number. Your request must meet 
the requirements of regulations in 34 CFR 5b.5, including proof of 
identity.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURE:
    If you wish to contest the content of a record regarding you in the 
system of records, contact the system manager. Your request must meet 
the requirements of the regulations in 34 CFR 5b.7, including proof of 
identity.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
    Information maintained in this system of records is obtained from 
institutions of higher education and data managers, and the National 
Direct Student Loan Data System.

EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THIS SYSTEM:
    None.
 [FR Doc. E7-25510 Filed 12-31-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P