[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 133 (Thursday, July 13, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32351-32353]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-14676]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No.: ED-2017-ICCD-0044]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; 2018-2019 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)

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, ED is 
proposing a revision of the existing information collection.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
August 14, 2017.

ADDRESSES: To access and review all the documents related to the 
information collection listed in this notice, please use http://www.regulations.gov by searching the Docket ID number ED-2017-ICCD-
0044. Comments submitted in response to this notice should be submitted 
electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov by selecting the Docket ID number or via postal 
mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. Please not that comments 
submitted by fax or email and those submitted after the comment period 
will not be accepted. Written requests for information or comments 
submitted by postal mail or delivery should be addressed to the 
Director of the Information Collection Clearance, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., LBJ, Room 224-84, Washington, DC 
20202-4537.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For specific questions related to 
collection activities, please contact the Applicant Products Team at 
[email protected].

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 ED assess the impact of its 
information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting 
burden. It also helps the public understand ED'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. ED is especially interested in public 
comments addressing the following issues: (1) Is this collection 
necessary to the proper function of ED; (2) will this information be 
processed and used in a timely manner; (3) is the estimate of burden 
accurate; (4) how might ED enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the information to be collected; and (5) how might ED 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 the Collection: 2018-2019 Free Application for Federal 
Student Aid.
    OMB Control Number: 1845-0001.
    Type of Review: A revision of an existing information collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 39,226,771.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 25,826,753.
    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 (FSA), an office of the U.S. Department of 
Education, 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[supreg]). 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).
    ED and FSA seek OMB approval of all application components as a 
single ``collection of information''. The 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 Table 1.

[[Page 32352]]



                               Table 1--Federal Student Aid Application Components
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                Component                                 Description                      Submission method
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                                           Initial Submission of FAFSA
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FAFSA on the Web (FOTW).................  Online FAFSA that offers applicants a       Submitted by the applicant
                                           customized experience.                      via fafsa.gov.
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 SNT or Auto Zero needs
                                           analysis formulas.
FAA Access..............................  Online tool that a financial aid            Submitted through
                                           administrator (FAA) utilizes to submit a    faaaccess.ed.gov by an
                                           FAFSA.                                      FAA on behalf of an
                                                                                       applicant.
FAA Access--Renewal.....................  Online tool that an FAA can utilize to
                                           submit a Renewal FAFSA
FAA Access--EZ..........................  Online tool that an 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 an 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 done by an FAA, on     The FAA may be using their
                                           behalf of the applicant, using the          mainframe computer or
                                           Electronic Data Exchange (EDE).             software to facilitate
                                                                                       the EDE process.
Printed FAFSA...........................  The printed version of the PDF FAFSA for    Mailed by the applicant.
                                           applicants who are unable to access the
                                           Internet or complete the form using FOTW.
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                     Correcting Submitted FAFSA Information and Reviewing FAFSA Information
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOTW--Corrections.......................  Any applicant who has a Federal Student     Submitted by the applicant
                                           Aid ID (FSA ID)--regardless of how they     via fafsa.gov.
                                           originally applied--may make corrections
                                           sing FOTW Corrections.
Electronic Other--Corrections...........  With the applicant's permission,            The FAA may be using their
                                           corrections can be made by an FAA using     mainframe computer or
                                           the EDE.                                    software to facilitate
                                                                                       the EDE process.
Paper SAR--This is a SAR and an option    The full paper summary that is mailed to    Mailed by the applicant.
 for corrections.                          paper applicants who did not provide an
                                           email 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 use FAA Access to        Submitted through
                                           correct the FAFSA.                          faaaccess.ed.gov by an
                                                                                       FAA on behalf of an
                                                                                       applicant.
Internal Department Corrections.........  The Department will submit an applicant's   There is no burden to the
                                           record for system-generated corrections.    applicants under this
                                                                                       correction type as these
                                                                                       are system-based
                                                                                       corrections.
FSAIC Corrections.......................  Any applicant, with their Data Release      These changes are made
                                           Number (DRN), can change the                directly in the CPS
                                           postsecondary institutions listed on        system by an FSAIC
                                           their FAFSA or change their address by      representative.
                                           calling FSAIC.
SAR Electronic (eSAR)...................  The eSAR is an online version of the SAR    Cannot be submitted for
                                           that is available on FOTW to all            processing.
                                           applicants with an FSA ID. Notification
                                           for the eSAR are sent to students who
                                           applied electronically or by paper and
                                           provided an email address. These
                                           notifications are sent by email and
                                           include a secure hyperlink that takes the
                                           user to the FOTW site.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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:
     The total number of applicants that will potentially apply 
for federal student aid;
     How the applicant chooses to complete and submit the FAFSA 
(e.g., by paper or electronically via FOTW[supreg]);
     How the applicant choose to submit any corrections and/or 
updates (e.g., the paper SAR or electronically via FOTW Corrections);
     The type of SAR document the applicant receives (eSAR, SAR 
acknowledgment, or paper SAR);
     The formula applied to determine the applicant's expected 
family contribution (EFC) (full need analysis formula, Simplified Needs 
Test or Automatic Zero); and
     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 2018-2019 
is based upon two factors--estimating the growth rate

[[Page 32353]]

of the total enrollment into post-secondary education and applying the 
growth rate to the FAFSA submissions. The ABM is also based on the 
application options available to students and parents. ED accounts for 
each application component based on web trending tools, survey 
information and other ED data sources.
    For 2018-2019, ED is reporting a net burden increase of 5,790,741 
hours.

    Dated: July 10, 2017.
Kate Mullan,
Acting Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Office of 
the Chief Privacy Officer, Office of Management.
[FR Doc. 2017-14676 Filed 7-12-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4000-01-P