[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 128 (Wednesday, July 3, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31862-31864]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-14262]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No. ED-2019-ICCD-0039]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; 2020-2021 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 an existing information collection.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
August 2, 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. If the regulations.gov 
site is not available to the public for any reason, ED will temporarily 
accept comments at [email protected]. Please include the docket ID 
number and the title of the information collection request when 
requesting documents or submitting comments. 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 Division, 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].

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: 2020-2021 Free Application for Federal Student 
Aid (FAFSA).
    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
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             Component                                 Description                         Submission method
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           Initial Submission of FAFSA
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FAFSA..............................  The electronic version of the FAFSA form         Submitted by the applicant
FAFSA-- Renewal....................   completed by applicants.                         via fafsa.gov or the
                                     The electronic version of the FAFSA form          myStudentAid mobile app.
                                      completed by applicants who have previously
                                      completed the FAFSA form..

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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 financial aid administrator   Submitted through
FAA Access--Renewal................   (FAA) utilizes to submit a FAFSA form.           faaaccess.ed.gov by an
                                     Online tool that an FAA can utilize to submit a   FAA on behalf of an
                                      Renewal FAFSA form..                             applicant.
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 done by an FAA, on behalf   The FAA may be using their
                                      of the applicant, using the Electronic Data      mainframe computer or
                                      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 fafsa.gov
                                      or the myStudentAid mobile app.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                     Correcting Submitted FAFSA Information and Reviewing FAFSA Information
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
fafsa.gov- Corrections.............  Any applicant who has a Federal Student Aid ID   Submitted by the applicant
                                      (FSA ID)--regardless of how they originally      via fafsa.gov.
                                      applied--may make corrections.
Electronic Other--Corrections......  With the applicant's permission, corrections     The FAA may be using their
                                      can be made by an FAA using the EDE.             mainframe computer or
                                                                                       software to facilitate
                                                                                       the EDE process.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paper SAR--This is a SAR and an      The full paper summary that is mailed to paper   Mailed by the applicant.
 option for corrections.              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 use FAA Access to correct     Submitted through
                                      the FAFSA form.                                  faaaccess.ed.gov by an
                                                                                       FAA on behalf of an
                                                                                       applicant.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Internal Department Corrections....  The Department will submit an applicant's        These corrections are
                                      record for system-generated corrections to the   system- generated.
                                      Central Processing System. There is no burden
                                      to the applicants under this correction type
                                      as these are system-based corrections.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Federal Student Aid Information      Any applicant, with their Data Release Number    These changes are made
 Center (FSAIC) Corrections.          (DRN), can change the postsecondary              directly in the CPS by an
                                      institutions listed on their FAFSA form or       FSAIC representative.
                                      change their address by calling FSAIC.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SAR Electronic (eSAR)..............  The eSAR is an online version of the SAR that    Cannot be submitted for
                                      is available on fafsa.gov to all applicants      processing.
                                      with an FSA ID. Notification for the eSAR is
                                      sent to students who applied electronically or
                                      by paper and provided a valid e-mail address.
                                      These notifications are sent by e-mail and
                                      include a hyperlink that takes the user to the
                                      fafsa.gov site.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SAR Acknowledgement................  The SAR Acknowledgement is a condensed paper     Cannot be submitted for
                                      SAR that is mailed to applicants who applied     processing.
                                      electronically but did not provide a valid e-
                                      mail 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.


[[Page 31864]]


    Dated: June 28, 2019.
Kate Mullan,
PRA Coordinator, Information Collection Clearance Program, Information 
Management Branch, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2019-14262 Filed 7-2-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4000-01-P