[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 223 (Wednesday, November 19, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68877-68879]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-27393]


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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.

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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 [email protected]. 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]
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