[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 64 (Wednesday, April 3, 2019)] [Notices] [Pages 13017-13019] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 2019-06160] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION [Docket No.: ED-2019-ICCD-0039] Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; 2020- 21 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) AGENCY: Federal Student Aid (FSA), Department of Education (ED). ACTION: Notice. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, ED is proposing an extension of an existing information collection. DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before June 3, 2019. 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-2019-ICCD- 0039. 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 note 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, 550 12th Street SW, PCP, Room 9086, Washington, DC 20202- 0023. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For specific questions related to collection activities, please contact the Applicant Products Team at [email protected], or Beth Grebeldinger at 202-377-4018. 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 [[Page 13018]] technology. Please note that written comments received in response to this notice will be considered public records. Title of the Collection: 2020-21 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 or Households. Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 40,987,637. Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 26,311,037. 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) and Federal Work- Study (FWS)); the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program; the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant; the Children of Fallen Heroes Scholarship; 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 form, an applicant receives a Student Aid Report (SAR), which is a summary of the processed data they submitted on the FAFSA form. 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 form also receive a summary of processed data submitted on the FAFSA form 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. Table 1--Federal Student Aid Application Components ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Submission Component Description method ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Initial Submission of FAFSA ------------------------------------------------------------------------ FAFSA......................... The electronic version Submitted by the FAFSA--Renewal................ of the FAFSA form applicant via completed by fafsa.gov or applicants. the The electronic version myStudentAid of the FAFSA form mobile app. completed by applicants who have previously completed the FAFSA form.. FAFSA--EZ..................... The electronic version of the FAFSA form for applicants who qualify for the Automatic Zero (Auto Zero) needs analysis formula and the applicant's State of Legal Residence is one that allows for the skipping of questions not used in the EFC calculation. FAFSA--EZ Renewal............. The electronic version of the FAFSA form for applicants who have previously completed the FAFSA form and who qualify for the Automatic Zero (Auto Zero) needs analysis formula and the applicant's State of Legal Residence is one that allows for the skipping of questions not used in the EFC calculation. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ FAA Access.................... Online tool that a Submitted financial aid through administrator (FAA) faaaccess.ed.go utilizes to submit a v by an FAA on FAFSA form. behalf of an applicant. FAA Access--Renewal........... Online tool that an FAA can utilize to submit a Renewal FAFSA form FAA Access--EZ................ Online tool that an FAA can utilize to submit a FAFSA form for applicants who qualify for the Auto Zero needs analysis formula and the applicant's State of Legal Residence is one that allows for the skipping of questions not used in the EFC calculation. FAA Access--EZ Renewal........ Online tool that an FAA can utilize to submit a FAFSA form for applicants who have previously completed the FAFSA form and who qualify for the Auto Zero needs analysis formula and the applicant's State of Legal Residence is one that allows for the skipping of questions not used in the EFC calculation. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Electronic Other.............. This is a submission The FAA may be done by an FAA, on using their behalf of the mainframe applicant, using the computer or Electronic Data software to Exchange (EDE). facilitate the EDE process. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Printed FAFSA................. The printed version of Mailed by the the PDF FAFSA for applicant. applicants who are unable to access the Internet or complete the form using fafsa.gov or the myStudentAid mobile app. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Correcting Submitted FAFSA Information and Reviewing FAFSA Information ------------------------------------------------------------------------ fafsa.gov--Corrections........ Any applicant who has Submitted by the a Federal Student Aid applicant via ID (FSA ID)-- fafsa.gov. regardless of how they originally applied--may make corrections. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [[Page 13019]] Electronic Other--Corrections. With the applicant's The FAA may be permission, using their corrections can be mainframe made by an FAA using computer or the EDE. software to facilitate the EDE process. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Paper SAR--This is a SAR and The full paper summary Mailed by the an option for corrections. that is mailed to applicant. 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 Submitted FAA Access to correct through the FAFSA form. faaaccess.ed.gov v by an FAA on behalf of an applicant. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Internal Department The Department will These Corrections. submit an applicant's corrections are record for system- system- generated corrections generated. to the Central Processing System. There is no burden to the applicants under this correction type as these are system- based corrections. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Federal Student Aid Any applicant, with These changes Information Center (FSAIC) their Data Release are made Corrections. Number (DRN), can directly in the change the CPS by an FSAIC postsecondary representative. institutions listed on their FAFSA form or change their address by calling FSAIC. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ SAR Electronic (eSAR)......... The eSAR is an online Cannot be version of the SAR submitted for that is available on processing. fafsa.gov to all applicants with an FSA ID. Notification for the eSAR is sent to students who applied electronically or by paper and provided a valid email address. These notifications are sent by email and include a hyperlink that takes the user to the fafsa.gov site. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ SAR Acknowledgement........... The SAR Cannot be Acknowledgement is a submitted for condensed paper SAR processing. that is mailed to applicants who applied electronically but did not provide a valid email address. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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 form (e.g., by paper or electronically); How the applicant chooses to submit any corrections and/or updates (e.g., the paper SAR or electronically); 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 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 2020-21 is based upon two factors--estimating the growth rate 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 analytical tools, survey information and other ED data sources. For 2020-21, ED is reporting a net burden increase of 2,358,697 hours. Dated: March 26, 2019. Kate Mullan, PRA Coordinator, Information Collection Clearance Program, Information Management Branch, Office of the Chief Information Officer. [FR Doc. 2019-06160 Filed 4-2-19; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4000-01-P