[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 115 (Thursday, June 15, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39233-39248]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-12831]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
[Docket ID ED-2023-FSA-0082]
Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records
AGENCY: Federal Student Aid, Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice of a modified system of records.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended
(Privacy Act), the U.S. Department of Education (Department) publishes
this notice of a modified system of records entitled ``Aid Awareness
and Application Processing'' (18-11-21). This system maintains
information necessary for the Department to process applications for
Federal student financial program assistance under title IV of the
Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA); to perform the
responsibilities of the Federal Student Aid (FSA) Ombudsman; to provide
Federal student loan repayment relief including under the borrower
defense to repayment regulations; to notify aid applicants and aid
recipients of aid program opportunities and updates under title IV of
the HEA via digital communication channels; and to maintain the
StudentAid.gov website as the front end for assisting customers with
all of their Federal student financial aid needs throughout the student
aid lifecycle. Electronic records maintained in the Aid Awareness and
Application Processing (AAAP) system are collected by the Department's
Digital and Customer Care (DCC) Information Technology (IT) system.
DATES: Submit your comments on this modified system of records notice
on or before July 17, 2023.
This modified system of records notice will become applicable on
June 15, 2023, unless it needs to be changed as a result of public
comment, except for the new and modified routine uses (1)(a), (j), (m),
(n), (p), and (q) that are outlined in the section entitled ``ROUTINE
USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS
AND PURPOSES OF SUCH USES,'' which will be effective on July 17, 2023,
unless they need to be changed as a result of public comment. The
Department will publish any changes to the modified system of records
notice resulting from public comment.
ADDRESSES: Comments must be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking
Portal at regulations.gov. However, if you require an accommodation or
cannot otherwise submit your comments via regulations.gov, please
contact one of the program contact persons listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT. The Department will not accept comments submitted
by fax or by email, or comments submitted after the comment period
closes. To ensure that the Department does not receive duplicate
copies, please submit your comments only once. In addition, please
include the Docket ID at the top of your comments.
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov to submit your comments electronically. Information
on using Regulations.gov, including instructions for accessing agency
documents, submitting comments, and viewing the docket, is available on
the site under the ``FAQ'' tab.
Privacy Note: The Department's policy is to make comments received
from members of the public available for public viewing in their
entirety on the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. Therefore, commenters should be careful to include
in their comments only information that they wish to make publicly
available.
Assistance to Individuals with Disabilities in Reviewing the
Rulemaking Record: On request, we will provide an appropriate
accommodation or auxiliary aid 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 accommodation or aid, please contact one
of the program contact persons listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Rachel Coghlan, Central Processing System (CPS)--System Manager,
Student Experience and Aid Delivery, Federal Student Aid (FSA), U.S.
Department of Education, Union Center Plaza, 830 First Street NE,
Washington, DC 20202-5454. Telephone: 202-377-3205. Email:
[email protected].
Corey Johnson, FAFSA Processing System (FPS) Information System
Owner, Federal Student Aid, U.S. Department of Education, Union Center
Plaza, 830 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20202-5454. Telephone: 202-
377-3898. Email: [email protected].
Bonnie Latreille, Ombudsman/Director, Ombudsman Group, Federal
Student Aid (FSA), U.S. Department of Education, Union Center Plaza,
830 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20202-5454. Telephone: 202-377-
3726. Email: [email protected].
Pardu Ponnapalli, Information System Owner, Technology Directorate,
Federal Student Aid, U.S. Department of Education, Union Center Plaza,
830 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20202-5454. Telephone: 240-382-
5825. Email: [email protected].
If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability and
wish to access telecommunications relay services, please dial 7-1-1.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the Privacy Act, the
Department proposes to modify the system of records notice entitled
``Aid Awareness and Application Processing'' (18-11-21). As described
in greater detail below, these modifications include the addition to
the Aid Awareness and Application Processing (AAAP) system of records
of the information collected through the Free Application for Federal
Student Aid (FAFSA[supreg]) Processing System (FPS), which will
modernize the legacy Central Processing System (CPS) with new, more
efficient technology such as cloud storage. CPS is the information
system within the AAAP system of records that currently processes data
from the FAFSA. CPS will process award year 2023-2024 data through
September 30, 2024. FPS will become operational on or after December 1,
2023, to begin
[[Page 39234]]
processing FAFSA data for award year 2024-2025. Therefore, CPS and FPS
will process a separate FAFSA cycle for a period of time on or after
December 1, 2023, through September 30, 2024. After September 30, 2024,
CPS will be decommissioned and fully replaced by FPS within AAAP. FPS
will process data for all award years thereafter. (Note: CPS began
accepting applications for the 2023-2024 award year (July 1, 2023-June
30, 2024) on October 1, 2022, and will process corrections through
September 30, 2024. FPS will begin accepting applications for the 2024-
2025 award year (July 1, 2024-June 30, 2025) on or after December 1,
2023, and will process corrections through September 30, 2025. CPS and
FPS will process applications for two separate award years between
December 1, 2023-September 30, 2024.)
In addition to the incorporation of FPS, the modifications to the
AAAP system will also allow the Department to implement two new laws
for the 2024-2025 FAFSA award year: the FAFSA Simplification Act, title
VII, division FF of Public Law 116-260 (see: ``Beginning Phased
Implementation of the FAFSA Simplification Act (Electronic Announcement
(EA)_ID: General-21-29),'' available at https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/library/electronic-announcements/2021-06-11/beginning-phased-implementation-fafsa-simplification-act-ea-id-general-21-39,
which is an electronic announcement that explains the Department's
phased approach to the implementation of the FAFSA Simplification Act),
and the Fostering Undergraduate Talent by Unlocking Resources for
Education (FUTURE) Act, Public Law 116-91, which directs the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS), upon the written request of the Department, to
disclose specific Federal Tax Information (FTI) to an ``authorized
person'' for specific purposes, including, but not limited to,
determining eligibility for, or repayment obligations under, income-
driven repayment (IDR) plans with respect to loans under part D of
title IV of the HEA, and determining eligibility for and the amount of
student financial aid under subpart 1 of part A, part C, or part D of
title IV of the HEA and requires, as a condition of receiving such FTI,
compliance by the Department and ``authorized persons'' with IRS
Publication 1075, ``Tax Information Security Guidelines for Federal,
State and Local Agencies, Safeguards for Protecting Federal Tax Returns
and Return Information,'' (IRS Publication 1075) to meet IRS security
and privacy requirements. The FAFSA Simplification Act, which includes
a significant overhaul of Federal student financial program assistance
under title IV of the HEA including the need analysis, will replace the
Expected Family Contribution (EFC) with the Student Aid Index (SAI) and
will reinstate the eligibility of qualified incarcerated students in
Federal and State penal facilities to receive a Federal Pell Grant
(starting with the 2023-2024 award year). Thus, this system of records
is modified to reflect the receipt of the SAI and the implementation of
an Incarcerated Student Indicator Flag that will be used to identify an
aid applicant as an incarcerated student. The FUTURE Act will require
that a student's SAI be calculated using the FTI that the Department
will receive directly from the IRS, which will be maintained by the
Department in a separate system covered by the system of records notice
entitled ``FUTURE Act System (FAS)'' (18-11-23) that the Department
will publish in the Federal Register. Hence, this system of records
will receive the SAI from the FAS (starting with the 2024-2025 award
year). The AAAP system will not store FTI that the IRS will disclose
directly to the Department for purposes of FAFSA application processing
and aid eligibility determination and to determine eligibility and
monthly payment amounts under IDR plans as that will be stored in the
FAS.
Specifically, the Department is modifying the section entitled
``SYSTEM LOCATION'' to clarify the system locations for CPS and the DCC
IT system, and to add the system locations for FPS.
The Department is modifying the section entitled ``SYSTEM
MANAGER(S)'' to add the information system owner for FPS.
The Department is modifying the section entitled ``PURPOSES(S) OF
THE SYSTEM'' to update the purposes related to applying for Federal
student financial assistance and administering title IV, HEA programs
as follows:
(i) Purpose (3) is updated to also include verifying the identity
of an individual who applies for an FSA ID until CPS is decommissioned
after September 30, 2024.
(ii) Purpose (5) is updated to revise the reference to duly
authorized matching programs between the Department and ``State or
local agencies'' to instead read ``State or local governments, or
agencies thereof,'' as entities with which the Department may engage in
duly authorized matching programs and report the matching results to
applicants, IHEs, third-party servicers, State agencies designated by
the applicant, and Departmental and investigative components where the
Department is required by law to do so or where it would be essential
to the conduct of the matching program to report, such as for the
imposition of criminal, civil, or administrative sanctions.
The Department is modifying the section entitled ``PURPOSE(S) OF
THE SYSTEM'' to update the purposes related to managing customer
engagement as follows:
(i) Purpose (7) is updated to reference additional borrower defense
to repayment regulations that enable the Department to carry out its
duties and responsibilities in governing the program; and
(ii) Purpose (8) is updated to reflect the language used in the
Department's borrower defense to repayment regulations effective July
1, 2023, pursuant to which the Department will pursue the recovery of
liabilities from an institution of higher education (IHE) for losses
incurred as a result of the act or omission of the IHE participating in
the Federal student loan programs.
Also, the Department is modifying the section entitled
``PURPOSES(S) OF THE SYSTEM'' to update the purposes related to the
Department's administration and oversight of title IV, HEA programs as
follows:
(i) Purpose (9) is updated to add the spouse of a married applicant
as an individual who can be informed of information about themself in
an application for title IV, HEA funds;
(ii) Purpose (10) is updated to clarify that applicant records are
disclosed to the parent(s) of a dependent applicant applying for a PLUS
loan (to be used on behalf of a student), to identify the student as
the correct beneficiary of the PLUS loan funds, and to allow the
processing of the PLUS loan application and promissory note;
(ii) Purpose (11) is updated to broaden ``student application
process'' to ``application process'' so that it also applies to other
applicants such as parent applicants;
(iii) Purpose (12) is updated to clarify that an applicant will be
enabled, at the applicant's written request, to obtain income
information about the applicant from the IRS using the Data Retrieval
Tool until CPS is decommissioned after September 30, 2024; and
(iv) Purpose (17) is updated to include the implementation and
evaluation of education policies in relation to title IV, HEA programs
to better clarify the purpose.
The Department is modifying the section entitled ``CATEGORIES OF
[[Page 39235]]
INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM'' as follows:
(i) To clarify in the first paragraph that requests for borrower
defense to repayment may be submitted to the Department by certain
State agencies and legal assistance organizations (``third-party
requestors'') who may request that the Secretary of Education form
groups of borrowers under the Department's borrower defense to
repayment regulations effective July 1, 2023. (Note: 34 CFR 685.401(a)
defines the term ``legal assistance organization'' as ``a legal
assistance organization that: (i) employs attorneys who: (A) [a]re
full-time employees; (B) provide civil legal assistance on a full-time
basis; and (C) [a]re continually licensed to practice law; and (ii)
[i]s a nonprofit organization that provides legal assistance with
respect to civil matters to low-income individuals without a fee.'' The
regulation defines the term ``third-party requestor'' to mean ``a State
requestor or legal assistance organization as defined in Sec.
685.401(a).'');
(ii) To remove from the second paragraph coverage of students who
are in attendance at a secondary school and about whom State grant
agencies currently submit information (e.g., name, date of birth (DOB),
and zip code) to the Department in order for the State grant agencies
and other eligible requesting entities, such as secondary schools,
local educational agencies (LEAs), or Tribal agencies, that have an
established relationship with the student pursuant to the terms and
conditions of the Student Aid Internet Gateway (SAIG) Participation
Agreement for State Grant Agencies, to obtain the student's FAFSA
filing status information to promote and encourage the student to apply
for title IV, HEA program assistance, as currently permitted by section
483(a)(3)(E) of the HEA (20 U.S.C. 1090(a)(3)(E)), as of June 30, 2024,
because the Department will cease providing the student's FAFSA filing
status information for this purpose due to the amendment of the HEA;
(iii) To update the third paragraph to cover the spouse of a
married applicant for student financial assistance under one of the
programs authorized under title IV of the HEA and the parent(s) of a
dependent applicant for student financial assistance under one of the
programs authorized under title IV of the HEA; and, for purposes of
clarity, to replace ``authorized third parties'' with ``third-party
preparers;'' and
(iv) To add a new fourth paragraph to explain that until CPS is
decommissioned after September 30, 2024, this system of records notice
will cover individuals who apply for an FSA ID, as CPS is used as a
pass-through to send records from the Department's Person
Authentication Service (PAS) system to the Social Security
Administration (SSA) for computer matching in order to assist the
Department in verifying their identities.
The Department is modifying the section entitled ``CATEGORIES OF
RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM'' as follows:
(i) Category (1) is updated to note that driver's license number
will not be collected on the FAFSA for award year 2024-2025 and onward,
and will not be collected by FPS; to remove ``Federal tax information''
and to include asset and income information as an example of financial
information provided by the applicant for title IV, HEA program
assistance on an incomplete or completed FAFSA; and, to add a
parenthetical that explains that the FTI that the Department will
directly obtain from the IRS under the FUTURE Act will not be
maintained in the AAAP system, but in a separate system of records
entitled the ``FUTURE Act System (FAS)'' (18-11-23), for which the
Department will publish a system of records notice in the Federal
Register;
(ii) Category (2) is updated to inform the public that starting
with award year 2024-2025, ``the parent's highest level of schooling
completed'' will be replaced on the FAFSA with ``the parent's college
attendance status'' to reflect changes to section 483 the HEA made by
the FAFSA Simplification Act;
(iii) Category (3) is updated to, more broadly, cover ``information
about the spouse of a married applicant,'' rather than only
``information on spousal income and assets,'' and to provide examples
of the data elements that will be maintained in this system on the
spouse of a married applicant;
(iv) Category (5) is updated to inform the public that EFC
information will be calculated by CPS through the 2023-24 award year
and to relocate, with some modifications, as described below, the
discussion of other information previously described in Category (5),
such as the information on the applicant's Institutional Student
Information Record (ISIR) and Student Aid Report (SAR), to newly
renumbered Category (6);
(v) Newly renumbered Category (6) is added to reflect the
discussion of information on the applicant's ISIR and SAR, along with
related processes, previously set forth in Category (5), with updates:
to explain that the ISIR and SAR will be used to report, among other
things, the SAI results that are calculated during FPS processing; to
explain that SAI information will be available to, and used by, IHEs to
determine eligibility for Federal and institutional program assistance
and the amount of assistance, and State grant agencies to determine
eligibility for State grants and the amount of grant assistance; and to
add an Incarcerated Student Indicator Flag (an indicator that will be
used to identify an aid applicant as an incarcerated student) as an
example of information maintained in the system;
(vi) Newly renumbered Category (7) is updated to add the name,
address, and phone number of ``third-party requestor(s), as this term
is defined in 34 CFR 685.401(a),'' as information that, if applicable,
identifies aid applicant or aid recipient complaints, positive
feedback, reports of suspicious activity, requests for assistance,
requests for borrower defense relief, requests for PSLF
reconsideration, or other inquiries;
(vii) Newly added Category (13) is added to cover information
provided on third-party preparers, including, but not limited to, first
name, last name, Social Security number (SSN) or employer
identification number, affiliation, address or employer's address,
signature, and signature date, due to section 483(d)(2) of the HEA, as
amended by section 702(m) of the FAFSA Simplification Act; and
(viii) The ``Note'' section is updated to replace ``Federal tax
information'' with ``asset and income information'' in the description
of information about individuals who apply for or receive a Federal
grant or loan under one of the programs authorized under title IV of
the HEA that is collected in the AAAP system and stored in the ``Common
Origination and Disbursement (COD) System'' (18-11-02) system of
records. The ``Note'' section is also updated to add ``some'' before
``information'' and to remove ``relevant Federal loan servicer
information'' in the description of the information that is accessible
from Federal Loan Servicers' systems (covered by the ``Common Services
for Borrowers (CSB)'' (18-11-16) system of records notice) on
StudentAid.gov. The `Note' section is also updated to explain that
until CPS is decommissioned after September 30, 2024, the AAAP system
is also used as a pass-through to send information, including, but not
limited to, SSN, name, and DOB, that is stored in the ``Person
Authentication Service (PAS)'' (18-11-12) system of records to SSA for
computer matching on individuals who apply for an FSA ID in PAS in
order to assist the Department in verifying their identities. The
``Note'' section is further updated to explain that beginning with the
2024-25 award year application cycle, the IRS will
[[Page 39236]]
disclose directly to the Department FTI for FAFSA application
processing and aid eligibility determination; that FTI will not be
stored in this system. Beginning July 30, 2023, the IRS will also
disclose directly to the Department FTI to determine eligibility and
monthly payment amounts under IDR plans; that FTI also will not be
stored in this system. All FTI that the IRS discloses directly to the
Department under the FUTURE Act will be maintained within the IRS
Publication 1075-compliant FTI Module (FTIM) system covered under the
Department's system of records notice entitled ``FUTURE Act System
(FAS)'' (18-11-23). The AAAP system will continue to maintain both
historical income information (obtained from the IRS until CPS is
decommissioned) and applicant-provided income information (either
through a manual FAFSA entry or submission of alternative documentation
of income (ADOI) through the IDR process). Any reference to income
throughout this system of records notice refers explicitly to income
information that the Department did not obtain directly from the IRS
but obtained from the applicant or from another source.
The Department is modifying the section entitled ``RECORD SOURCE
CATEGORIES'' to add that the AAAP system will maintain information that
will be added during FPS processing, including the results of matching
programs with Federal agencies or State or local governments, or
agencies thereof, so that the public is informed of the areas where CPS
and FPS conduct identical processing of FAFSA data. Also, the
Department is modifying this section to include third-party preparers
as a source of records for this system. In addition, the Department is
modifying this section to indicate that the Department's matching
program with the SSA involves verifying the SSNs of spouses of married
applicants and of individuals who apply for an FSA ID; and to inform
the public that the matching program with the U.S. Department of
Defense (DoD) will only be active through the 2023-2024 award year
following the implementation of the FAFSA Simplification Act on July 1,
2024. Further, the Department is updating this section to explain that
during FPS processing, the AAAP system will receive SAI information
from the Department's FAS. The Department is also updating this section
to clarify that the AAAP system may receive information to process
requests for borrower defense to repayment that are submitted by
``State requestors'' and ``legal assistance organizations'' (``third-
party requestors''), as these terms are defined in 34 CFR 685.401(a),
who may request that the Secretary of Education form groups of
borrowers for borrower defense relief. The Department is also modifying
the `Note' portion of this section to correct the name of the ``TEACH
Initial'' counseling type to ``TEACH Grant Initial and Subsequent,''
the name of the ``TEACH Exit'' counseling type to ``TEACH Grant Exit,''
the name of the ``TEACH Conversion'' counseling type to ``TEACH Grant
Conversion,'' and the name of the agreement from ``TEACH Agreement to
Serve (ATS)'' to ``TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve or Repay
(Agreement).''
The Department is modifying the section entitled ``ROUTINE USES OF
RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS AND
PURPOSES OF SUCH USES'' as follows:
(i) Because of amendments to the HEA made by the FAFSA
Simplification Act and the FAFSA Simplification Technical Corrections
Act (Pub. L. 117-103), which are effective July 1, 2024, the Department
changed the date in the preamble from ``June 30 2023'' to ``June 30,
2024'' addressing when the use restriction in section 483(a)(3)(E) of
the HEA (20 U.S.C. 1090(a)(3)(E)) will no longer be applicable.
(ii) Because CPS serves as a pass-through to send records from the
PAS to SSA, routine use (1)(a) is updated to include, until CPS is
decommissioned after September 30, 2024, the disclosure of records from
CPS on individuals who apply for an FSA ID for the purpose of
verification of their identities;
(iii) Routine use (1)(j) is updated to replace ``repayment of the
amount'' with ``the recovery of liabilities'' to reflect the language
used in the Department's borrower defense to repayment regulations
effective July 1, 2023, pursuant to which the Department will pursue
the recovery of liabilities of discharges against the IHE;
(iv) Routine use (1)(m) is updated to add ``third-party
requestors'' to the entities to which the Department can disclose
records from this system to investigate and resolve complaints,
inquiries, requests for assistance, requests for Federal student loan
repayment relief, and other relief under the borrower defense to
repayment regulations, and to update borrower account records and to
correct errors;
(v) Routine use (1)(n) is updated to allow the Department to make
disclosures to the spouse of a married applicant to inform the spouse
of information about them in an application for title IV, HEA funds;
(vi) Routine use (1)(p) is updated to explain that prior to the
amendments of the HEA made by the FAFSA Simplification Act and the
FAFSA Simplification Technical Corrections Act, which are effective
July 1, 2024, the Department may disclose a student's FAFSA filing
status to a local educational agency, a secondary school where the
student is or was enrolled, a State, local, or Tribal agency, or an
entity that awards aid to students and that the Secretary of Education
has designated under section 483(a)(3)(E) of the HEA (20 U.S.C.
1090(a)(3)(E)) to encourage a student to complete a FAFSA that they
started but did not submit or to assist an applicant with the
completion of a FAFSA;
(vii) Routine use (1)(q) is deleted because the Department is not
making disclosures to other Federal agencies to assist applicants in
completing the FAFSA or income-driven repayment forms online; and
(viii) Former routine use (1)(r) is renumbered as routine use
(1)(q) and is updated to explain that, through June 30, 2024, the
Department may disclose records from this system to State higher
education agencies, eligible IHEs, and other entities that the
Secretary of Education has designated under section 483(a)(3)(E) of the
HEA (20 U.S.C. 1090(a)(3)(E)) that award and administer aid to
students, to determine an applicant's eligibility for the award of aid
by State higher education agencies, eligible IHEs, or by other entities
the Secretary of Education has designated. However, effective July 1,
2024, under amendments to the HEA made by the FAFSA Simplification Act
and the FAFSA Simplification Technical Corrections Act, the Department
will no longer rely on this authority to disclose records from this
system to State higher education agencies, eligible IHEs, and other
entities that the Secretary of Education has designated under section
483(a)(3)(E) of the HEA (20 U.S.C. 1090(a)(3)(E)).
The Department is modifying the section entitled ``POLICIES AND
PRACTICES FOR STORAGE OF RECORDS'' to explain that fully processed
paper applications and supporting paper documentation that are received
on or before June 30, 2024, are stored for applicable periods in
standard Federal Records Center boxes in locked storage rooms at the
contractor facilities in London, Kentucky; and fully processed paper
applications and supporting paper documentation requiring retention and
received on or after July 1, 2024, will be stored in a private records
storage facility, as applicable.
[[Page 39237]]
The Department is modifying the section entitled ``POLICIES AND
PRACTICES FOR RETRIEVAL OF RECORDS'' to clarify that records in this
system pertaining to a title IV, HEA loan applicant, borrower, or grant
recipient are indexed and retrieved by, among other things, the award
year, not the academic year, in which the applicant applied for title
IV, HEA program assistance; to clarify that a combination of SSN, DOB,
and name data elements is used to retrieve some, but not all, records
from Federal Loan Servicers' systems; and to delete the reference to
allowing customers to access ``their relevant Federal Loan Servicer
information.''
The Department is modifying the section entitled ``CONTESTING
RECORD PROCEDURES'' to remove information about the length of the
application processing cycle.
Finally, the Department is modifying the sections entitled ``RECORD
ACCESS PROCEDURES,'' ``CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES,'' and
``NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES'' to refer the public to the corresponding
sections in the system of records notice entitled ``Person
Authentication Service (PAS)'' (18-11-12) because until the CPS system
is decommissioned after September 30, 2024, CPS also maintains records
on individuals who apply for a FSA ID in the PAS system.
Accessible Format: On request to any of the program contact persons
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, individuals with
disabilities can obtain this document in an accessible format. The
Department will provide the requestor with an accessible format that
may include Rich Text Format (RTF) or text format (txt), a thumb drive,
an MP3 file, braille, large print, audiotape, compact disc, or other
accessible format.
Electronic Access to This Document: The official version of this
document is the document published in the Federal Register. You may
access the official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of
Federal Regulations at www.govinfo.gov. At this site you can view this
document, as well as all other documents of this Department published
in the Federal Register, in text or Portable Document Format (PDF). To
use PDF, you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at
the site.
You may also access documents of the Department published in the
Federal Register by using the article search feature at
www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, through the advanced search
feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published
by the Department.
Richard Cordray,
Chief Operating Officer, Federal Student Aid.
For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Chief Operating
Officer, Federal Student Aid (FSA) of the U.S. Department of Education
(Department) publishes a modified system of records notice to read as
follows:
SYSTEM NAME AND NUMBER:
Aid Awareness and Application Processing (18-11-21).
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
Unclassified.
SYSTEM LOCATION:
U.S. Department of Education, 830 First Street NE, Washington, DC
20202.
The following locations are for the Central Processing System
(CPS):
Lee's Summit Federal Records Center, National Archives and Records
Administration (NARA), 200 Space Center Drive, Lee's Summit, MO 64064-
1182 (Note: This is where paper applications are stored);
General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT) Image and Data
Capture (IDC) Center, 1084 South Laurel Road, Building 1, London, KY
40744 (Note: The IDC scans paper financial aid documents and
correspondence, key-enters the data and electronically transmits the
data and related images to the CPS for processing);
Next Generation Data Center (NGDC), 250 Burlington Drive,
Clarksville, VA 23927 (Note: NGDC hosts the infrastructure that
supports CPS applications including backend application processing);
and
CPS Print Facility, 327 Columbia Pike, Rensselaer, NY 12144 (Note:
This facility handles print operations).
The following locations are for the Free Application for Federal
Student Aid (FAFSA[supreg]) Processing System (FPS):
Perspecta/Peraton, 15052 Conference Center Drive, Chantilly, VA
20151 (Note: Perspecta supports the FSA-provided development, security,
and operations (DevSecOps) toolchain configuration; coordinates
environment building; and supports technical operations activities and
application modernization);
Information Capture Solutions (ICS), 25 Air Park Drive, London, KY
40744 (Note: ICS provides image and data capture, print/mailing
operational services, and builds and operates the IDC);
iWorks, 1889 Preston White Drive, Suite 100, Reston, VA 20191
(Note: iWorks provides quality control managers (key personnel);
develops and updates the quality control plan; oversees/validates
service level measures; supports internal Capability Maturity Model
Integration (CMMI) audits; supports Project Management Office (PMO)
activities; and provides application development support using Agile
methodologies);
Red Cedar Consultancy, LLC, 161 Fort Evans Road NE, Suite 200,
Leesburg, VA 20176 (Note: Red Cedar provides application development
support using Agile methodologies);
Windsor Group, LLC, 6820 Wisconsin Avenue, Unit 4004, Chevy Chase,
MD 20815 (Note: Windsor Group provides quality resources in system
security, database administration, and technical writing); and
Jazz Solutions, LLC, 20745 Williamsport Place, Suite 320, Ashburn,
VA 20147 (Note: Jazz Solutions provides application development support
using Agile methodologies and supports application programming
interface (API) management solutions, including designing, building,
and operating services).
The following locations are for the Digital and Customer Care (DCC)
Information Technology (IT) System:
Salesforce Government Cloud, 415 Mission Street, 3rd Floor, San
Francisco, CA 94105 (Note: The system is accessible via the internet to
different categories of users, including Department personnel,
customers, and designated agents of the Department at any location
where they have internet access. This site is the location where
customer interactions with contact center support via all inbound and
outbound channels (phone, email, chat, webform, email, customer
satisfaction survey, fax, physical mail, and controlled correspondence)
and customer-provided feedback (complaints, suspicious activities,
positive feedback, and dispute cases) are tracked and worked by
contractors and the Department. This site also contains workflow
management for processing tasks including, but not limited to: credit
appeals, borrower defense to repayment, commingled Social Security
numbers (SSNs), and archived document retrieval in the Common
Origination and Disbursement (COD) System, and the FAFSA special
correction application process. This site stores customer-provided
documentation to support the interactions and processing tasks, as
needed. This site will also be used by the Department for determining
employer eligibility to support Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF),
and
[[Page 39238]]
Office of Inspector General (OIG) fraud referrals);
Amazon Web Services (AWS) GovCloud (East/West), 410 Terry Avenue,
North Seattle, WA 98109-5210 (Note: The DCC IT system is hosted at this
location. This site is the location where the Shado (Dynamo)
application collects, processes, stores, and makes available user
activity events from across the DCC IT system to provide a complete
view of the customer to the Department and its contractors. This site
is also the location where the Adobe Marketing Campaign application
delivers strategic and real-time personalized email and short message
service (SMS) communications); and
Contact Center Fulfillment Center (Senture facility), 4255 W
Highway 90, Monticello, KY 42633 (Note: This facility handles mail
fulfillment and imaging operations).
The following 10 listings are the locations of the Aid Awareness
and Application Processing Customer Contact Centers: Jacksonville
Contact Center, One Imeson Park Boulevard, Jacksonville, FL 32118;
Knoxville, TN Servicing Center, 120 N Seven Oaks Drive, Knoxville, TN
37922; 1600 Osgood Street, Suite 2-120, North Andover, MA 01845; 11499
Chester Road, Suite 101, Sharonville, OH 45246; 100 Domain Drive, Suite
200, Exeter, NH 03833; 221 N Kansas Street, Suite 700, El Paso, TX
79901; 4255 W Highway 90, Monticello, KY 42633; 555 Vandiver Drive,
Columbia, MO 65202; 633 Spirit Drive, Chesterfield, MO 63005; and 820
First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002.
SYSTEM MANAGER(S):
CPS--System Manager, Student Experience and Aid Delivery, FSA, U.S.
Department of Education, Union Center Plaza (UCP), 830 First Street NE,
Washington, DC 20202-5454.
FPS--Information System Owner, Technology Directorate, Federal
Student Aid, U.S. Department of Education, Union Center Plaza, 830
First Street NE, Washington, DC 20202-5454.
Ombudsman, FSA, U.S. Department of Education, UCP, 830 First Street
NE, Washington, DC 20202-5454.
DCC--Information System Owner, Technology Directorate, Federal
Student Aid, U.S. Department of Education, Union Center Plaza, 830
First Street NE, Washington, DC 20202-5454.
AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
The authority is title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as
amended (HEA) (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.); 20 U.S.C. 1018(f) and 1087e(h);
and the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act of 2003
(20 U.S.C. 1098bb) (including any waivers or modifications that the
Secretary of Education deems necessary to make to any statutory or
regulatory provision applicable to the Federal student financial
assistance programs under title IV of the HEA to achieve specific
purposes listed in the section in connection with a war, other military
operation, or a national emergency). The collection of SSNs of
individuals, and parents of dependent students, who apply for or
receive Federal student financial assistance under programs authorized
by title IV of the HEA is also authorized by 31 U.S.C. 7701 and
Executive Order 9397, as amended by Executive Order 13478 (November 18,
2008).
PURPOSE(S) OF THE SYSTEM:
The information contained in this system is maintained for the
following purposes related to applying for Federal student financial
assistance and administering title IV, HEA programs: (Note: Different
parts of the HEA use the terms ``discharge,'' ``cancellation,'' or
``forgiveness'' to describe when a borrower's loan amount is reduced in
whole or in part by the Department. To reduce complexity, this system
of records notice uses the term ``discharge'' to include all three
terms (``discharge,'' ``cancellation,'' and ``forgiveness''), including
but not limited to discharges of student loans made pursuant to
specific benefit programs. At times, the system of records notice may
refer by name to a specific benefit program, such as the ``Public
Service Loan Forgiveness'' program; such specific references are not
intended to exclude any such program benefits from more general
references to loan discharges.)
(1) Assisting with the determination, correction, processing,
tracking, and reporting of program eligibility and benefits for the
Federal student financial assistance programs authorized by title IV of
the HEA, including, but not limited to, discharge of eligible loans
under title IV, HEA programs;
(2) Making a loan or grant;
(3) Verifying the identity of the applicant for Federal financial
assistance under title IV of the HEA, the spouse of a married
applicant, the parent(s) of a dependent applicant, and, until CPS is
decommissioned after September 30, 2024, an individual who applies for
an FSA ID; and verifying the accuracy of the information in this
system;
(4) Reporting the results of the need analysis and Federal Pell
Grant eligibility determination to applicants, institutions of higher
education (IHEs), third-party servicers, State agencies designated by
the applicant, and Departmental and investigative components;
(5) Reporting the results of duly authorized matching programs
between the Department and other Federal agencies and between the
Department and State or local governments, or agencies thereof, to
applicants, IHEs, third-party servicers, State agencies designated by
the applicant, and Departmental and investigative components where the
Department is required by law to do so or where it would be essential
to the conduct of the matching program to report, such as for the
imposition of criminal, civil, or administrative sanctions;
(6) Enforcing the terms and conditions of a title IV, HEA loan or
grant;
(7) Servicing and collecting a delinquent title IV, HEA loan or
grant;
(8) Initiating enforcement action against individuals, IHEs, or
other entities involved in program fraud, abuse, or noncompliance;
(9) Locating a debtor or recipient of a grant overpayment;
(10) Maintaining a record of the data supplied by those requesting
title IV, HEA program assistance;
(11) Ensuring compliance with and enforcing title IV, HEA
programmatic requirements and various consumer protection laws;
(12) Acting as a repository and source for information necessary to
fulfill the requirements of title IV of the HEA;
(13) Evaluating title IV, HEA program effectiveness;
(14) Enabling IHEs and State grant agencies designated by the
applicant to review and analyze the financial aid data of their
applicant population;
(15) Enabling IHEs and State grant agencies to assist applicants
with the completion of the application for the Federal student
financial assistance programs authorized by title IV of the HEA;
(16) Assisting State agencies, eligible IHEs, and other entities
that award aid to students and that are designated by the Secretary of
Education with making eligibility determinations for the award of aid
and with administering these awards; and
(17) Promoting and encouraging applications for title IV, HEA
program assistance, State assistance, and aid awarded by eligible IHEs
or by other entities designated by the Secretary of Education.
The information contained in this system is also maintained for the
following purposes related to managing customer engagement:
(1) Carrying out the duties and responsibilities of the FSA
Ombudsman,
[[Page 39239]]
including investigating and resolving complaints, inquiries, and
requests for assistance, updating borrower account records, correcting
errors, analyzing complaint trends, and making appropriate
recommendations pursuant to 20 U.S.C. 1018(f);
(2) Carrying out the duties and responsibilities of the Department
to provide Federal student loan repayment relief under Federal law;
(3) Verifying the identity of FSA customers;
(4) Recording complaints, suspicious activities, positive feedback,
and comments as provided by customer interactions with contact center
support via inbound and outbound channels (phone, chat, webform, email,
customer satisfaction survey, fax, physical mail, social media
platforms, digital engagement platforms, and controlled
correspondence);
(5) Tracking individual cases, including complaints, borrower
defense submissions, general inquiries, and chat sessions, through
final resolution, reporting trends, and analyzing the data to recommend
improvements in Federal student financial assistance programs;
(6) Assisting in the informal resolution of disputes submitted by
aid applicants or aid recipients about issues related to title IV, HEA
program assistance;
(7) Carrying out the duties and responsibilities of the Department
under the borrower defense to repayment regulations at 34 CFR 685.206
and 685.222 and 34 CFR part 685, subpart D, including receiving,
reviewing, evaluating, and processing requests for relief under the
borrower defense to repayment regulations; and
(8) Initiating proceedings, where appropriate, to recover
liabilities from an IHE for losses incurred as a result of the act or
omission of the IHE participating in the Federal student loan programs.
The information contained in this system is also maintained for the
following purposes related to assisting aid applicants and recipients
with Federal student financial assistance programs authorized by title
IV of the HEA, and managing customer relationships for marketing and
improving customer service:
(1) Determining employer qualification for borrowers to receive
discharge under the PSLF Program;
(2) Collecting, processing, storing, and making available user
activity events and user-submitted documentation from across the DCC IT
system to provide a complete view of the customer to the Department and
its contractors;
(3) Sending aid applicants and aid recipients strategic and real-
time, personalized communications via email, and SMS ``text messages''
via mobile phone communications to inform them of title IV, HEA aid
marketing campaigns (such as encouraging completion of their FAFSA),
and sending transactional communication to customers (such as
confirmation emails when a user completes an action);
(4) Measuring customer satisfaction and analyzing results; and
(5) Promoting and encouraging the repayment of title IV, HEA
program loans in a timely manner.
The information in this system is also maintained for the following
purposes relating to the Department's administration and oversight of
title IV, HEA programs:
(1) To support the investigation of possible fraud and abuse and to
detect and prevent fraud and abuse in the title IV, HEA Federal grant
and loan programs;
(2) To support compliance with title IV, HEA statutory and
regulatory requirements;
(3) To provide an aid recipient's financial aid history, including
information about the recipient's title IV, HEA loan defaults, title
IV, HEA aid receipt, and title IV, HEA grant program overpayments;
(4) To facilitate receiving and correcting application data,
processing Federal Pell Grants and Direct Loans, and reporting Federal
Perkins Loan Program expenditures to the Department's processing and
reporting systems;
(5) To support pre-claims/supplemental pre-claims assistance;
(6) To assist in locating holders of title IV, HEA loan(s);
(7) To assist in assessing the administration of title IV, HEA
program funds by guaranty agencies, lenders and loan holders, IHEs, and
third-party servicers;
(8) To initiate or support a limitation, suspension, or termination
action, an emergency action, or a debarment or suspension action;
(9) To inform the parent(s) of a dependent applicant of information
about the parent(s), or the spouse of a married applicant of
information about the spouse, in an application for title IV, HEA
funds;
(10) To disclose applicant records to the parent(s) of a dependent
applicant applying for a PLUS loan (to be used on behalf of a student),
to identify the student as the correct beneficiary of the PLUS loan
funds, and to allow the processing of the PLUS loan application and
promissory note;
(11) To expedite the application process;
(12) To enable an applicant, at the applicant's written request, to
obtain income information about the applicant from the Internal Revenue
Service (IRS) using the Data Retrieval Tool, until CPS is
decommissioned after September 30, 2024;
(13) To identify, prevent, reduce, and recoup improper payments,
prevent fraud, and conduct at-risk campaigns, including protecting
customers from Third-Party Debt Relief firms;
(14) To help Federal, State, Tribal, and local government entities
exercise their supervisory and administrative powers (including, but
not limited to licensure, examination, discipline, regulation, or
oversight of educational institutions, Department contractors, guaranty
agencies, lenders and loan holders, and third-party servicers) or to
respond to individual aid applicant or recipient complaints submitted
regarding the practices or processes of the Department and/or the
Department's contractors, or to update information or correct errors
contained in Department records regarding the aid applicant's or
recipient's title IV, HEA program funds;
(15) To provide eligible applicants for title IV, HEA aid, and when
necessary, the spouse or parents of an applicant, with information
about certain Federal means-tested benefits and services for which they
may qualify;
(16) To collect, track, and process Office of Inspector General
(OIG) fraud referrals;
(17) To support research, analysis, and development, and the
implementation and evaluation of educational policies in relation to
title IV, HEA programs; and
(18) To conduct testing, analysis, or take other administrative
actions needed to prepare for or execute programs under title IV of the
HEA.
CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
This system maintains records on individuals who are, were, or may
be participants in any of the Federal student financial assistance
programs under title IV of the HEA who request assistance from the
Department, directly or through State requestors and legal assistance
organizations (``third-party requestors'') who may request that the
Secretary of Education form a group of Federal student loan borrowers
for borrower defense relief. In addition, this system maintains records
on individuals who are students in attendance at a secondary school, as
defined under 20 U.S.C. 7801(45), for which State grant agencies and
other eligible requesting
[[Page 39240]]
entities such as secondary schools, local educational agencies (LEAs),
and Tribal agencies or other designated entities that have an
established relationship with the student pursuant to the terms and
conditions of the Student Aid Internet Gateway (SAIG) Participation
Agreement for State Grant Agencies, submit information (e.g., name,
date of birth (DOB), and zip code) to the Department in order for the
Department to provide such entities with the student's FAFSA filing
status information to promote and encourage the student to apply for
title IV, HEA program assistance, State assistance, and aid awarded by
IHEs or by other entities designated by the Secretary of Education, as
currently permitted by section 483(a)(3)(E) of the HEA (20 U.S.C.
1090(a)(3)(E)) through June 30, 2024.
This system also maintains records on student and parent applicants
(and their third-party preparers), as well as the spouse of a married
applicant and the parent(s) of a dependent applicant, who apply for
Federal student financial assistance under one of the programs
authorized under title IV of the HEA, including, but not limited to
the: (1) Federal Pell Grant Program; (2) Federal Perkins Loans Program;
(3) Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG) Program; (4) National Science
and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent (National SMART) Grant Program;
(5) Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education
(TEACH) Grant Program; (6) Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant (IASG)
Program; (7) Direct Loan Program, which includes Federal Direct
Stafford/Ford Loans, Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford/Ford Loans,
Federal Direct PLUS Loans, and Federal Direct Consolidation Loans; (8)
Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program; and (9) Federal Insured
Student Loan (FISL) Program.
This system also maintains records on individuals who apply for an
FSA ID in the Department's Person Authentication Service (PAS) system
because the Department uses CPS, which maintains records that are part
of this system, as a pass-through to send these individuals' records
from the PAS system to the Social Security Administration (SSA) for
computer matching in order to assist the Department in verifying their
identities. This pass-through will be terminated when CPS is
decommissioned after September 30, 2024.
CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
This system maintains records that contain the following
information:
(1) Information provided by applicants for title IV, HEA program
assistance on an incomplete or completed FAFSA, including, but not
limited to, the applicant's name, address, SSN, DOB, telephone number,
driver's license number (which will not be collected on the FAFSA for
award year 2024-2025 and onward, and will not be collected by FPS),
email address, citizenship status, marital status, legal residence,
status as a veteran, educational status, and financial information
(including asset and income information). (Note: The Federal Tax
Information (FTI) that the Department will obtain directly from the IRS
under the Fostering Undergraduate Talent by Unlocking Resources for
Education (FUTURE) Act, Public Law 116-91, will be maintained in a
separate system of records entitled ``FUTURE Act System (FAS)'' (18-11-
23) for which the Department will publish a system of records notice in
the Federal Register);
(2) Information provided about the parent(s) of a dependent
applicant, including, but not limited to, the parent's highest level of
schooling completed (which will not be collected on the FAFSA starting
with award year 2024-2025 and will not be collected by FPS, after which
point the Department will instead collect on the FAFSA the parent's
college attendance status), marital status, SSN, last name and first
initial, DOB, email address, number of people in the household
supported by the parent, and asset and income information.
(3) Information about the spouse of a married applicant including,
but not limited to: the spouse's name, address, SSN, DOB, telephone
number, email address, citizenship status, marital status, legal
residence, status as a veteran, and financial information (including
asset and income information that is needed for CPS processing until
September 30, 2024);
(4) Information provided by IHEs on behalf of student and parent
applicants, including, but not limited to, verification results,
dependency overrides, and resolution of comment codes or reject codes;
(5) Information calculated by CPS through the 2023-24 award year on
the applicant's expected family contribution (EFC);
(6) Information on the applicant's Institutional Student
Information Record (ISIR), and Student Aid Report (SAR). The Department
uses the ISIR and SAR to report, among other things, the EFC, or the
SAI results that are calculated during FPS processing, to IHEs, State
grant agencies, and applicants. The EFC or SAI is available to, and
used by, IHEs to determine the applicant's eligibility for Federal and
institutional program assistance and the amount of assistance, and
State grant agencies to determine the applicant's eligibility for State
grants and the amount of grant assistance. The Department notifies the
applicant of the results of their application via the SAR. The
Department provides the IHEs identified on the applicant's FAFSA with
the ISIR, which indicates whether there are discrepant or insufficient
information, school adjustments, or CPS assumptions that affect
processing of the FAFSA. Other information in the system includes, but
is not limited to: Secondary EFC (an EFC that is calculated from the
full EFC formula and is printed in the financial aid administrator's
(FAA) Information section of the ISIR), dependency status, Federal Pell
Grant eligibility, duplicate SSN (an indicator that is set to alert
ISIR recipients that two applications were processed with the same SSN,
Incarcerated Student Indicator Flag (an indicator that will be used to
identify an aid applicant as an incarcerated student), selection for
verification, Simplified Needs Test (SNT) or Automatic Zero EFC (used
for extremely low family income), CPS and FPS processing comments,
reject codes (explanation for applicant's FAFSA not computing EFC),
assumptions made with regard to the student's information due to
incomplete or inconsistent FAFSA information, FAA adjustments including
dependency status overrides, and CPS and FPS record processing
information (application receipt date, transaction number, transaction
process date, SAR Serial Number, Compute Number, Data Release Number
(DRN), a four-digit number assigned to each application), National
Student Loan Database System (NSLDS) match results, a bar code, and
transaction source);
(7) Information that identifies aid applicant or aid recipient
complaints, positive feedback, reports of suspicious activity, requests
for assistance, requests for borrower defense relief, requests for PSLF
reconsideration, or other inquiries. Such information includes, but is
not limited to: written documentation of an aid applicant or aid
recipient's complaint, request for assistance, request for relief under
the borrower defense to repayment regulations, case tracking number,
case appeal identifier, or other comment or inquiry; and information
pertaining to the aid recipient's or the aid recipient's parent's
student financial assistance program account(s) under title IV of the
HEA, such as the aid recipient's and the
[[Page 39241]]
aid recipient's parent's names and Federal Student Aid IDs (FSA IDs).
Information may include the name, address, and phone numbers of the aid
recipient's counsel or representative, IHE(s), lender(s), secondary
holder(s) or lender(s), guaranty agency(ies), servicer(s), private
collection agency(ies), and third-party requestor(s), as this term is
defined in 34 CFR 685.401(a), if applicable, and may contain other
loan-level information;
(8) Information provided and generated through customer
interactions with contact center support via inbound and outbound
channels (phone, chat, webform, email, customer satisfaction survey,
fax, physical mail, social media platforms, digital engagement
platforms, and controlled correspondence). Information includes, but is
not limited to: chat transcripts, email communications, audio
recordings of customer calls, and screen recordings of contact center
support desktop during customer interactions;
(9) Loan discharge eligibility and verification information for use
in determining whether a title IV, HEA debt/loan qualifies for
discharge;
(10) Aid recipient's employer information to determine employer
qualification for borrowers to receive discharge under PSLF; OIG fraud
referral information; and customer support interactions including
phone, chat, webform, email, fax, physical mail, and controlled
correspondence;
(11) Information for collecting, processing, and storing user
activity events from across the DCC IT system: campaign details,
delivery details, email/SMS sent timestamp, transaction ID, Federal
Account Number (FAN) ID, activity details, activity date, pages/URL
accessed, user IP address, user-submitted materials, and user request
details;
(12) Information needed to aid in the delivery of strategic and
real-time communication to customers, including, but not limited to,
first name, last name, DOB, state of residence, email, phone number,
mobile device ID, device data, FAFSA transaction data, uniform resource
locator (URL), computer-related data, and customer communication
preferences and user activity (open or clicks) for email and SMS
communications;
(13) Information provided on third-party preparers, including, but
not limited to, first name, last name, SSN or employer identification
number, affiliation, address or employer's address, signature, and
signature date.
Note: This system of records also maintains information that is
collected in this system and stored in other systems of records. The
following information about individuals who apply for or receive a
Federal grant or loan under one of the programs authorized under title
IV of the HEA is collected in this system and stored in the ``Common
Origination and Disbursement (COD) System'' (18-11-02) system of
records: applicant identifiers including applicant's name, SSN, and
DOB; demographic information, including asset and income information
(tax return status, adjusted gross income, Internal Revenue Service
exemptions, and tax year), and enrollment information; borrower's
loan(s) information, including information about recipients of Direct
Loans, FFEL Program loans, Perkins Loans, and FISL Program loans, such
as the period from the origination of the loan through final payment,
and milestones, including, but not limited to, consolidation,
discharge, or other final disposition including details such as loan
amount, disbursements, balances, loan status, repayment plan and
related information, collections, claims, deferments, forbearances, and
refunds; information about students receiving Federal grants, including
recipients of Pell Grants, ACG, National SMART Grants, TEACH Grants,
Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants, and including grant amounts, grant
awards, verification status, lifetime eligibility used (LEU), IASG
eligible veteran's dependent indicator, Children of Fallen Heroes
Scholarship eligibility indicator, and the Pell Grant additional
eligibility indicator; Pell Grant collection status indicator and
overpayment collection information; promissory notes, Direct Loan
Entrance Counseling forms, Federal Student Loan Exit Counseling forms,
PLUS Loan Counseling forms, the Annual School Loan Acknowledgement
(ASLA), Direct PLUS Loan Requests, endorser addendums, and counseling
in the Direct Loan and TEACH Grant programs, such as the date that
applicant completed counseling; PLUS Loan credit report information;
applicant identifier information for an electronic request to repay a
Direct Loan under an income-driven repayment plan and endorser/spouse
information, such as the SSN, date that applicant completed the income-
driven repayment plan application, and current loan balances;
Electronic Direct Consolidation Loan borrower identifier information,
such as the borrower's SSN, the date that borrower completed the
Federal Direct Consolidation Loan application and promissory note, and
current loan balances; and credit check decisions, credit appeals,
credit appeal identifiers, and credit history information to support
the credit appeal process. Further, information from the ``Enterprise
Data Management and Analytics Platform Services (EDMAPS)'' (18-11-22)
system of records is accessible in the DCC IT system to: allow real-
time updates to a customer's identifiers, demographic attributes,
address, phone, and email contact details; update customer preference
for receiving marketing information via text message; allow the
Department and its contractors to identify customers who have completed
a customer satisfaction survey; and enable the Department to contact
borrowers who have been identified by the Department as potentially
having fraudulent activity from a Third-Party Debt Relief (TPDR)
company and are at risk of loan default. The following information is
modifiable by the customer through StudentAid.gov: name, DOB, address,
phone number, and email address. The DCC IT system also sends the
following information to the EDMAPS system for analytics and reporting:
case information including complaints, and OIG fraud referral data.
Information includes, but is not limited to: SSN, DOB, address, phone,
and email. Additionally, some information from Federal Loan Servicers'
systems (covered by the ``Common Services for Borrowers (CSB)'' (18-11-
16) system of records) is accessible on StudentAid.gov to allow
customers to view their payment information, loan information, and to
make payments on StudentAid.gov as they would on the various Federal
Loan Servicer websites. Further, customers can use StudentAid.gov to
update their contact information and access financial aid history that
is stored in the ``National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS)'' (18-11-
06) system of records. Additionally, until CPS is decommissioned after
September 30, 2024, CPS is also used as a pass-through to send
information that is stored in the ``Person Authentication Service
(PAS)'' (18-11-12) system of records to SSA for computer matching on
individuals who apply for an FSA ID in PAS in order to assist the
Department in verifying their identities. The information includes, but
is not limited to: SSN, name, and DOB. Finally, beginning with the
2024-25 award year application cycle, the IRS will disclose directly to
the Department FTI for FAFSA application processing and aid eligibility
determination; that FTI will not be maintained in this system.
Beginning July 30, 2023, the IRS will also disclose directly to the
Department FTI to determine eligibility
[[Page 39242]]
and monthly payment amounts under Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) plans;
that FTI also will not be maintained in this system. All FTI that the
Department will obtain directly from the IRS under the FUTURE Act will
be maintained within the FTI Module (FTIM) system that will be
compliant with the IRS Publication 1075, ``Tax Information Security
Guidelines for Federal, State and Local Agencies, Safeguards for
Protecting Federal Tax Returns and Return Information,'' and that will
be covered under the Department's system of records notice entitled
``FUTURE Act System (FAS)'' (18-11-23). This system will continue to
maintain both historical income information (obtained from the IRS
until CPS is decommissioned) and applicant-provided income information
(either through a manual FAFSA entry or submission of alternative
documentation of income (ADOI) through the IDR process). Any reference
to income throughout this system of records notice refers explicitly to
income information that the Department did not obtain directly from the
IRS but obtained from the applicant or from another source.
RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
Information maintained in this system of records is obtained from
applicants, the parents of dependent applicants, third-party preparers,
and the spouse of married applicants for title IV, HEA program
assistance, on the paper FAFSA, Portable Document Format (PDF) FAFSA,
the online FAFSA form, and FAFSA by phone; the authorized employees or
representatives of authorized entities (namely, IHEs, institutional
third-party servicers, FFEL Program lenders, FFEL Program guaranty
agencies, Federal loan servicers, State grant agencies, other Federal
agencies, and research agencies); and from other persons or entities
from which information is obtained following a disclosure under the
routine uses set forth below.
The Financial Aid Administrators at IHEs designated by the
applicant and IHEs' third-party servicers may correct the records in
this system as a result of documentation provided by the applicant or
by a dependent applicant's parents, such as Federal income return(s)
(IRS Form 1040), Social Security card(s), and Department of Homeland
Security I-551 Permanent Resident Card.
This system maintains information added during CPS processing and
that will be added during FPS processing and information received from
other Department systems, including the NSLDS, the COD System, and the
SAIG Participation Management System. The results of matching programs
with Federal agencies or State or local governments, or agencies
thereof, are added to the student's record during CPS processing and
will be added to the student's record during FPS processing. The
Department's matching programs at the time of the publication of this
system of records notice are with the SSA to verify the SSNs of
applicants, dependent applicants' parent(s), and spouses of married
applicants, as well as of individuals who apply for an FSA ID, and to
confirm the U.S. citizenship status of applicants as recorded in SSA
records and date of death (if applicable) of applicants, and dependent
applicants' parents, pursuant to title IV of the HEA, including
sections 428B(f)(2), 483(a)(12) (which under the FAFSA Simplification
Act will be section 483(a)(2)(B)), and 484(g) and (p) (which the FAFSA
Simplification Act redesignates as section 484(o)) of the HEA (20
U.S.C. 1078-2(f)(2), 1090(a)(12) (which the FAFSA Simplification Act
amends to be 1090(a)(2)(B)), and 1091(g) and (p) (which the FAFSA
Simplification Act redesignates as 1091(o)); with the Department of
Veterans Affairs (VA) to verify the status of applicants who claim to
be veterans, pursuant to section 480(c) and (d)(1)(D) of the HEA (20
U.S.C. 1087vv(c) and (d)(1)(D)); with the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) to confirm the immigration status of applicants for
assistance as authorized by section 484(g) of the HEA (20 U.S.C.
1091(g)); with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to enforce any
requirement imposed at the discretion of a court, pursuant to section
5301 of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, Public Law 100-690, as amended
by section 1002(d) of the Crime Control Act of 1990, Public Law 101-647
(21 U.S.C. 862), denying Federal benefits under the programs
established by title IV of the HEA to any individual convicted of a
State or Federal offense for the distribution or possession of a
controlled substance; and, through award year 2023-2024 following the
implementation of the FAFSA Simplification Act on July 1, 2024, with
the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to identify dependents of U.S.
military personnel who died in service in Iraq and Afghanistan after
September 11, 2001, to determine if they are eligible for increased
amounts of title IV, HEA program assistance, pursuant to sections 420R
and 473(b) of the HEA (20 U.S.C. 1070h and 1087mm(b)), which will be
replaced by section 401(c) under the FAFSA Simplification Act.
During CPS and FPS processing, the Department's COD System sends
information to these systems for students who have received a Federal
Pell Grant. CPS and FPS use this information for verification analysis
and for end-of-year reporting. These data elements include, but are not
limited to: Verification Selection and Status, Potential Over-award
Project (POP) indicator, Institutional Cost of Attendance, Reporting
and Attended Campus Pell ID and Enrollment Date, and Federal Pell Grant
Program information (Scheduled Federal Pell Grant Award, Origination
Award Amount, Total Accepted Disbursement Amount, Number of
Disbursements Accepted, Percentage of Eligibility Used At This Attended
Campus Institution, and Date of Last Activity from the Origination or
Disbursement table).
CPS and FPS also receive applicant information from the
Department's NSLDS system each time an application is processed or
corrected. This process assesses student aid eligibility, updates
financial aid history, and ensures compliance with title IV, HEA
regulations. Some of this information appears on the applicant's SAR
and ISIR. Title IV, HEA award information is provided to NSLDS from
several different sources. Federal Perkins Loan information and Federal
Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) overpayment
information is sent from IHEs or their third-party servicers; the
Department's COD System provides Federal Pell Grant and Direct Loan
data; and State and guaranty agencies provide information on FFEL loans
received from lending institutions participating in the FFEL programs.
Financial aid transcript information reported by NSLDS provides aid
recipients, IHEs, and third-party servicers with information about the
type(s), amount(s), dates, and overpayment status of prior and current
title IV, HEA funds the aid recipient has received. FFEL and William D.
Ford Federal Direct Student Loan data information reported by NSLDS
includes, but is not limited to: (1) Aggregate Loan Data, such as
Subsidized, Unsubsidized; Combined Outstanding Principal Balances;
Unallocated Consolidated Outstanding Principal Balances, Subsidized,
Unsubsidized; Combined Pending Disbursements, Subsidized, Unsubsidized;
Combined Totals; and Unallocated Consolidated Totals; (2) Detailed Loan
Data, such as Loan Sequence Number; Loan Type Code; Loan Change Flag;
Loan Program Code; Current Status Code and Date; Outstanding Principal
Balance and Date;
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Net Loan Amount; Loan Begin and End Dates; Amount and Date of Last
Disbursement; Guaranty Agency Code; School Code; Contact Code; and
Institution Type and Grade Level; and (3) system flags for Additional
Unsubsidized Loan; Capitalized Interest; Defaulted Loan Change;
Discharged Loan Change; Loan Satisfactory Repayment Change; Active
Bankruptcy Change; Overpayments Change; Aggregate Loan Change;
Defaulted Loan; Discharged Loan; Loan Satisfactory Repayment; Active
Bankruptcy; Additional Loans; Direct Loan Master Promissory Note;
Direct PLUS Loan Master Promissory Note; Subsidized Loan Limit; and the
Combined Loan Limit. Federal Perkins Loan information reported by NSLDS
includes, but is not limited to: Cumulative and Current Year
Disbursement Amounts; flags for Perkins Loan Change; Defaulted Loan;
Discharged Loan; Loan Satisfactory Repayment; Active Bankruptcy;
Additional Loans; and Perkins Overpayment Flag and Contact (School or
Region). Federal Pell Grant payment information reported includes, but
is not limited to: Pell Sequence Number; Pell Attended School Code;
Pell Transaction Number; Last Update Date; Scheduled Amount; Award
Amount; Amount Paid to Date; Percent Scheduled Award Used; Pell Payment
EFC; Flags for Pell Verification; and Pell Payment Change. TEACH Grant
Program information includes, but is not limited to: TEACH Grant
Overpayment Contact; TEACH Grant Overpayment Flag; TEACH Grant Loan
Principal Balance; TEACH Grant Total; and TEACH Grant Change Flag. Iraq
and Afghanistan Service Grants information includes, but is not limited
to, Total Award Amount. The Department obtains from and exchanges
information that is included in this system of records with IHEs,
third-party servicers, and State agencies. These eligible entities
register with the SAIG system to participate in the information
exchanges specified for their business processes.
During FPS processing, this system will receive the SAI information
from the Department's FAS. The SAI is calculated using FTI that the IRS
will provide directly to the Department under the FUTURE Act that will
not be maintained in this system, but instead the system of records
entitled ``FUTURE Act System (FAS)'' (18-11-23).
Additionally, for individuals who request assistance from the
Department, directly or through State requestors and legal assistance
organizations (``third-party requestors''), as these terms are defined
in 34 CFR 685.401(a), who may request that the Secretary of Education
form a group of Federal student loan borrowers for borrower defense
relief, information is obtained from individuals (e.g., borrowers),
their counsel or representatives, or students or their parents (when
the individual is a borrower and depending on whether the individual is
a parent or student), Federal agencies, State agencies, IHEs, lenders,
private collection agencies, guaranty agencies, accreditors, and from
other persons or entities from whom or from which data is obtained
following a disclosure under routine uses set forth below.
Note: Some customer information that is retrieved from Federal Loan
Servicers' IT systems (covered by the system of records notice entitled
``Common Services for Borrowers (CSB)'' (18-11-16)) is accessible
through StudentAid.gov to provide customers with payment and loan
information and to enable customers to make loan payments as they would
on the various Federal Loan Servicer websites. Information that is
collected in this system is stored in and retrieved from the COD System
(covered by the system of records notice entitled ``Common Origination
and Disbursement (COD) System'' (18-11-02)) to allow: applicants and
borrowers to submit Counseling (Entrance, Exit, Financial Awareness
Counseling, PLUS, TEACH Grant Initial and Subsequent, TEACH Grant Exit,
TEACH Grant Conversion), Master Promissory Note (MPN), Endorser
Addendum, TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve or Repay (Agreement), Loan
Consolidation, Income-Driven Repayment, PLUS Loan Request, and Annual
Student Loan Acknowledgement (ASLA) applications through
StudentAid.gov; credit check decision, credit appeal, and credit
history information to be viewable on StudentAid.gov to support credit
appeal processing; users to view and search the PSLF employer database
as retrieved from the COD System and provide updates to employers'
information; and the PDF version of the PSLF/Temporary Expanded PSLF
(TEPSLF) certification and application form that is generated from the
PSLF Help Tool to be accessible. Information is also retrieved from the
COD System to provide StudentAid.gov functionality for creating and
updating customer records. The following information from the EDMAPS
system is accessible in the DCC IT system: customer information that is
retrieved to allow real-time updates to a customer's identifiers,
demographic attributes, address, phone, and email contact details; SMS
opt-in/out information for customer communication preferences to opt-
in/out of receiving marketing information via text message; information
for customers who have been identified by the Department and its
contractors as having completed a customer satisfaction survey;
information for borrowers who will be contacted by the Department
because they have been identified by the Department as having
potentially fraudulent activity from a TPDR company; and information on
borrowers who have been identified by the Department and its
contractors as being at risk for loan default.
ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES
OF USERS AND PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
The Department may disclose information maintained in a record in
this system of records under the routine uses listed in this system of
records notice without the consent of the individual if the disclosure
is compatible with the purposes for which the record was collected.
These disclosures may be made on a case-by-case basis or pursuant to a
computer matching agreement that meets the requirements of the Privacy
Act of 1974, as amended (Privacy Act) (5 U.S.C. 552a). Until June 30,
2024, section 483(a)(3)(E) of the HEA (20 U.S.C. 1090(a)(3)(E))
restricts the use of the information gathered from the electronic
version of the FAFSA to the application, award, and administration of
aid awarded under title IV of the HEA, aid awarded by States, aid
awarded by eligible institutions, or aid awarded by such entities as
the Secretary of Education may designate.
(1) Program Disclosures. The Department may disclose records from
the system of records for the following program purposes:
(a) To verify the identity of the applicant, the spouse of a
married applicant, and the parent(s) of a dependent applicant, to
verify, until CPS is decommissioned after September 30, 2024, the
identities of individuals who apply for a FSA ID, to determine the
accuracy of the information contained in the record, to support
compliance with title IV, HEA statutory and regulatory requirements,
and to assist with the determination, correction, processing, tracking,
and reporting of program eligibility and benefits, the Department may
disclose records to guaranty agencies, lenders and loan holders
participating in the FFEL Program, IHEs, third-party servicers, and
Federal, State, local, or Tribal agencies;
(b) To provide an applicant's financial aid history to IHEs,
guaranty agencies
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and State agencies, lenders and loan holders participating in the FFEL
Program, and third-party servicers, including information about the
applicant's title IV, HEA loan defaults, and title IV, HEA grant
program overpayments, the Department may disclose records to IHEs,
guaranty agencies and State agencies, lenders and loan holders
participating in the FFEL Program, and third-party servicers;
(c) To facilitate receiving and correcting application information,
processing Federal Pell Grants and Direct Loans, and reporting Federal
Perkins Loan Program expenditures to the Department's processing and
reporting systems, the Department may disclose records to IHEs, State
agencies, and third-party servicers;
(d) To assist loan holders with the collection and servicing of
title IV, HEA loans, to support pre-claims/supplemental pre-claims
assistance, to assist in locating borrowers, and to assist in locating
students who owe grant overpayments, the Department may disclose
records to guaranty agencies, lenders and loan holders participating in
the FFEL Program, IHEs, third-party servicers, and Federal, State,
local, and Tribal agencies;
(e) To facilitate assessments of title IV, HEA program compliance,
the Department may disclose records to guaranty agencies and IHEs,
third-party servicers, and Federal, State, and local agencies;
(f) To assist in locating holders of loans, the Department may
disclose records to guaranty agencies, lenders and loan holders
participating in the FFEL Program, IHEs, third-party servicers, and
Federal, State, and local agencies;
(g) To assist in assessing the administration of title IV, HEA
program funds by guaranty agencies, lenders and loan holders in the
FFEL Program, IHEs, and third-party servicers, the Department may
disclose records to Federal and State agencies;
(h) To enforce the terms of a loan or grant or to assist in the
collection of loan or grant overpayments, the Department may disclose
records to guaranty agencies, lenders and loan holders participating in
the FFEL Program, IHEs, third-party servicers, and Federal, State, and
local agencies;
(i) To assist borrowers in repayment, the Department may disclose
records to guaranty agencies, lenders and loan holders participating in
the FFEL Program, IHEs, third-party servicers, and Federal, State, and
local agencies;
(j) To determine the relief that is appropriate if the Secretary of
Education grants a borrower defense to repayment discharge application,
as well as to pursue the recovery of liabilities of such discharges
against the IHE, the Department may disclose records to Federal, State,
and Tribal agencies, accreditors, IHEs, lenders and loan holders,
guaranty agencies, third-party servicers, and private collection
agencies;
(k) To initiate legal action against an individual or entity
involved in an illegal or unauthorized title IV, HEA program
expenditure or activity, the Department may disclose records to
guaranty agencies, lenders and loan holders participating in the FFEL
Program, IHEs, third-party servicers, and Federal, State, local, and
Tribal agencies;
(l) To initiate or support a limitation, suspension, or termination
action, an emergency action, or a debarment or suspension action, the
Department may disclose records to guaranty agencies, lenders and loan
holders participating in the FFEL Program, IHEs, third-party servicers,
and Federal, State, local, and Tribal agencies;
(m) To investigate and resolve complaints, inquiries, requests for
assistance, requests for Federal student loan repayment relief and
other relief under the borrower defense to repayment regulations, and
to update borrower account records and to correct errors, the
Department may disclose records to guaranty agencies, lenders and loan
holders participating in the FFEL Program, accreditors, IHEs, third-
party requestors, third-party servicers, private collection agencies,
and Federal, State, and local agencies;
(n) To inform the parent(s) of a dependent applicant of information
about the parent(s), or the spouse of a married applicant of
information about the spouse, in an application for title IV, HEA
funds, the Department may disclose records to the parent(s), or spouse,
respectively;
(o) To identify the student as the correct beneficiary of the PLUS
loan funds, and to allow the processing of the PLUS loan application
and promissory note, the Department may disclose records to the
parent(s) applying for the parent PLUS loan;
(p) To encourage a student to complete a FAFSA that they started
but did not submit or to assist a student with the completion of a
FAFSA, the Department may disclose an student's FAFSA filing status to
a local educational agency, a secondary school where the student is or
was enrolled, a State, local, or Tribal agency, or an entity that
awards aid to students and that the Secretary of Education has
designated under section 483(a)(3)(E) of the HEA (20 U.S.C.
1090(a)(3)(E)), prior to the amendments of the HEA made by the FAFSA
Simplification Act (Pub. L. 116-260) and the FAFSA Simplification
Technical Corrections Act (Pub. L. 117-103), which are effective July
1, 2024;
(q) Through June 30, 2024, the Department may disclose records from
this system to State higher education agencies, eligible IHEs, and
other entities that the Secretary of Education has designated under
section 483(a)(3)(E) of the HEA (20 U.S.C. 1090(a)(3)(E)) that award
and administer aid to students, to determine an applicant's eligibility
for the award of aid by State higher education agencies, eligible IHEs,
or by other entities the Secretary of Education has designated.
(Beginning July 1, 2024, under amendments to the HEA made by the FAFSA
Simplification Act and the FAFSA Simplification Technical Corrections
Act, the Department will no longer rely on this authority to disclose
records from this system to State higher education agencies, eligible
IHEs, and other entities that the Secretary of Education has designated
under section 483(a)(3)(E) of the HEA (20 U.S.C. 1090(a)(3)(E))); and
(r) To help Federal, State, Tribal, and local government entities
exercise their supervisory and administrative powers (including, but
not limited to licensure, examination, discipline, regulation, or
oversight of IHEs, Department contractors, guaranty agencies, lenders
and loan holders, and third-party servicers) or to respond to aid
applicant or recipient complaints submitted regarding the practices or
processes of the Department and/or the Department's contractors, or to
update information or correct errors contained in Department records
regarding the aid applicant's or recipient's title IV, HEA program
funds, the Department may disclose records to governmental entities at
the Federal, State, Tribal, and local levels. These records may include
all aspects of loans and grants made under title IV of the HEA to
permit these governmental entities to verify compliance with applicable
debt collection, consumer protection, financial, and other applicable
statutory, regulatory, or local requirements. Before making a
disclosure to these Federal, State, local, or Tribal governmental
entities, the Department will require them to maintain safeguards
consistent with the Privacy Act to protect the security and
confidentiality of the disclosed records.
Note: Some information that is maintained in this system of records
is also maintained in other Department systems of records and,
therefore, may be disclosed pursuant to the routine
[[Page 39245]]
uses published in those other systems' system of records notices,
including the ``Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) System'' (18-
11-02), ``National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS)'' (18-11-06), and
``Common Services for Borrowers (CSB)'' (18-11-16).
(2) 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
statute, regulations, or order of a competent authority, the Department
may disclose the relevant records to the appropriate agency, whether
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.
(3) Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Disclosure.
(a) Introduction. In the event that one of the parties listed in
sub-paragraphs (i) through (v) of this routine use is involved in
judicial or administrative litigation or ADR, or has an interest in
judicial or administrative 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 their official capacity;
(iii) Any Department employee in their individual capacity where
the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) agrees to or has been requested to
provide or arrange for representation of the employee;
(iv) Any Department employee in their individual capacity where the
Department has agreed to represent the employee; and
(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 the DOJ. If the Department determines that
disclosure of certain records to the DOJ is relevant and necessary to
judicial or administrative litigation or ADR, the Department may
disclose those records as a routine use to the DOJ.
(c) Adjudicative Disclosure. If the Department determines that it
is relevant and necessary to judicial or administrative litigation or
ADR to disclose certain records to an adjudicative body before which
the Department is authorized to appear or to a person or 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, person, or entity.
(d) Disclosure to Parties, Counsel, Representatives, and Witnesses.
If the Department determines that disclosure of certain records is
relevant and necessary to judicial or administrative litigation or ADR,
the Department may disclose those records as a routine use to the
party, counsel, representative, or witness.
(4) Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Privacy Act Advice
Disclosure. The Department may disclose records to the DOJ or to the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) if the Department determines that
disclosure is desirable or necessary in determining whether records are
required to be disclosed under the FOIA or the Privacy Act.
(5) Contract Disclosure. If the Department contracts with an entity
to perform any function that requires disclosing records in this system
of records to the contractor's employees, the Department may disclose
the records to those employees. As part of such a contract, the
Department shall require the contractor to agree to establish and
maintain safeguards to protect the security and confidentiality of the
disclosed records.
(6) Congressional Member Disclosure. The Department may disclose
the records of an individual to a member of Congress or the member's
staff when necessary to respond to an inquiry from the member made at
the written request of and on behalf of the individual whose records
are being disclosed. The member's right to the information is no
greater than the right of the individual who requested it.
(7) Employment, Benefit, and Contracting Disclosure.
(a) For Decisions by the Department. The Department may disclose a
record to a Federal, State, or local agency, or to another public
agency or professional organization, maintaining civil, criminal, or
other relevant enforcement or other pertinent records, if necessary to
obtain information relevant to a Department decision concerning the
hiring or retention of an employee or other personnel action, the
issuance of a security clearance, the letting of a contract, or the
issuance of a license, grant, or other benefit.
(b) For Decisions by Other Public Agencies and Professional
Organizations. The Department may disclose a record to a Federal,
State, local, or other public agency or professional organization, or
the Department's contractor in connection with the hiring or retention
of an employee or other personnel action, the issuance of a security
clearance, the reporting of an investigation of an employee, the
letting of a contract, or the issuance of a license, grant, or other
benefit, to the extent that the record is relevant and necessary to the
receiving entity's decision on the matter.
(8) Employee Grievance, Complaint, or Conduct Disclosure. If a
record is relevant and necessary to an employee grievance, complaint,
or disciplinary action involving a present or former employee of the
Department, the Department may disclose a record from this system of
records in the course of investigation, fact-finding, or adjudication
to any party to the grievance, complaint, or action; to the party's
counsel or representative; to a witness; or to a designated fact-
finder, mediator, or other person designated to resolve issues or
decide the matter.
(9) Labor Organization Disclosure. The Department may disclose
records from this system of records to an arbitrator to resolve
disputes under a negotiated grievance procedure or to officials of
labor organizations recognized under 5 U.S.C. chapter 71 when relevant
and necessary to their duties of exclusive representation.
(10) Disclosure to the DOJ. The Department may disclose records to
the DOJ to the extent necessary for obtaining DOJ advice on any matter
relevant to an audit, inspection, or other inquiry related to the
programs covered by this system.
(11) Research Disclosure. The Department may disclose records to a
researcher if the Department determines that the individual or
organization to which the disclosure would be made is qualified to
carry out specific research related to functions or purposes of this
system of records. The Department may disclose records from this system
of records to that researcher solely for the purpose of carrying out
that research related to the functions or purposes of this system of
records. The researcher must agree to establish and maintain safeguards
to protect the security and confidentiality of the disclosed records.
(12) Disclosure to the OMB and Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
for Federal Credit Reform Act (FCRA) Support. The Department may
disclose records to OMB and CBO as necessary to fulfill FCRA
requirements in accordance with 2 U.S.C. 661b.
(13) Disclosure in the Course of Responding to Breach of Data. The
Department may disclose records to appropriate agencies, entities, and
persons when (a) the Department
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suspects or has confirmed that there has been a breach of the system of
records; (b) the Department has determined that as a result of the
suspected or confirmed breach there is a risk of harm to individuals,
the Department (including its information systems, programs, and
operations), the Federal Government, or national security; and (c) the
disclosure made to such agencies, entities, and persons is reasonably
necessary to assist in connection with the Department's efforts to
respond to the suspected or confirmed breach or to prevent, minimize,
or remedy such harm.
(14) Disclosure in Assisting another Agency in Responding to a
Breach of Data. The Department may disclose records from this system of
records to another Federal agency or Federal entity, when the
Department determines that information from this system of records is
reasonably necessary to assist the recipient agency or entity in (a)
responding to a suspected or confirmed breach, or (b) preventing,
minimizing, or remedying the risk of harm to individuals, the recipient
agency or entity (including its information systems, programs, and
operations), the Federal Government, or national security, resulting
from a suspected or confirmed breach.
(15) Disclosure of Information to State and Federal Agencies. The
Department may disclose records from this system of records to (a) a
Federal or State agency, its employees, agents (including contractors
of its agents), or contractors, or (b) a fiscal or financial agent
designated by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, including employees,
agents, or contractors of such agent, for the purpose of identifying,
preventing, or recouping improper payments to an applicant for, or
recipient of, Federal funds.
(16) Disclosure to the National Archives and Records Administration
(NARA). The Department may disclose records from this system of records
to NARA for the purpose of records management inspections conducted
under the authority of 44 U.S.C. 2904 and 2906.
DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES:
Disclosures pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(12): The Department may
disclose the following information to a consumer reporting agency
regarding a valid, overdue claim of the Department: (1) the name,
address, taxpayer identification number, and other information
necessary to establish the identity of the individual responsible for
the claim; (2) the amount, status, and history of the claim; and (3)
the program under which the claim arose. The Department may disclose
the information specified in this paragraph under 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(12)
and the procedures contained in subsection 31 U.S.C. 3711(e). A
consumer reporting agency to which these disclosures may be made is
defined at 15 U.S.C. 1681a(f) and 31 U.S.C. 3701(a)(3).
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORAGE OF RECORDS:
System records are paper-based and stored in locked rooms or
electronic and stored on secured computer systems and in the cloud.
Fully processed paper applications and supporting paper
documentation that are received on or before June 30, 2024, are stored
for applicable periods in standard Federal Records Center boxes in
locked storage rooms at the contractor facilities in London, Kentucky.
Fully processed paper applications and supporting paper documentation
requiring retention and received on or after July 1, 2024, will be
stored in a private records storage facility, as applicable. The
records storage facilities currently utilized are listed in the
``System Location'' section above.
Digitized paper applicant records, which include optically imaged
documents, are stored on DADS (disks) in a virtual disk library, which
is also electronic, in the computer facilities controlled by the Next
Generation Data Center (NGDC) in Clarksville, VA.
Records that are collected in this system for applicants of Federal
grants or loans are stored in the COD System for individuals who apply
under one of the programs authorized under title IV of the HEA,
including, but not limited to the: (1) Federal Pell Grant Program; (2)
Federal Perkins Loans Program; (3) ACG Program; (4) National SMART
Grant Program; (5) TEACH Grant Program; (6) Iraq and Afghanistan
Service Grant Program; (7) Direct Loan Program, which includes Federal
Direct Stafford/Ford Loans, Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford/Ford
Loans and Federal Direct PLUS Loans and Federal Direct Consolidation
Loans; (8) FFEL Program; and (9) FISL Program.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETRIEVAL OF RECORDS:
Records in this system pertaining to a title IV, HEA loan
applicant, borrower, or grant recipient are indexed and retrieved by a
single data element, or a combination of the following data elements,
to include SSN, name, DOB, the award year in which the applicant
applied for title IV, HEA program assistance, and case tracking number.
These data elements are also used to retrieve information of title IV,
HEA program applicants for and recipients of Federal grants or loans
from the COD System (applicant information is collected in this system
of records and stored in the COD System).
This system also uses a credit appeal identifier to retrieve credit
appeal information from the COD System to support the credit appeal
process.
Additionally, this system uses a combination of SSN, DOB, and name
data elements to retrieve some records from Federal Loan Servicers'
systems (covered by the system of records notice entitled ``Common
Services for Borrowers (CSB)'' (18-11-16)) to allow customers to access
their payment information, loan information and to make payments on
StudentAid.gov as they would on the various Federal Loan Servicer
websites.
This system also uses customer identifiers to retrieve customer
information data from the EDMAPS system (covered by the system of
records noticed entitled ``Enterprise Data Management and Analytics
Platform Services (EDMAPS) System'' (18-11-22)) to allow real-time
updates to customer information and communication preferences; and for
the Department and its contractors to identify customers who have
completed a customer satisfaction survey in the DCC system; who may
have potential fraudulent activity from a TPDR company; and who may be
at risk for loan default.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETENTION AND DISPOSAL OF RECORDS:
Records maintained in this system are primarily retained and
disposed of in accordance with the records schedules listed below. The
Department has submitted amendments to these records schedules to NARA
for its review and approval.
(a) Department Records Schedule 051: FSA National Student Loan Data
System (NSLDS) (DAA-0441-2017-0004) (ED 051). (Records covered by ED
051 will not be destroyed until NARA-approved amendments to ED 051 are
in effect, as applicable.)
(b) Department Records Schedule 052: Ombudsman Case Files (N1-441-
09-21) (ED 052). (Records covered by ED 052 will not be destroyed until
NARA-approved amendments to ED 052 are in effect, as applicable.)
(c) Department Records Schedule 072: FSA Application, Origination,
and Disbursement Records (DAA-0441-2013-0002) (ED 072). (Records
covered by ED 072 will not be destroyed until
[[Page 39247]]
NARA-approved amendments to ED 072 are in effect, as applicable.)
ADMINISTRATIVE, TECHNICAL, AND PHYSICAL SAFEGUARDS:
All users of the system will have a unique user ID with a password.
All physical access to the data housed at system locations is
controlled and monitored by security personnel who check each
individual entering the building for their employee or visitor badge.
The IT systems employed by the Department offers a high degree of
resistance to tampering and circumvention with firewalls, encryption,
and password protection. This security system limits data access to
Department and contract staff on a ``need-to-know'' basis and controls
individual users' ability to access and alter records within the
system. All interactions by users of the system are recorded.
In accordance with the Federal Information Security Management Act
of 2002 (FISMA), as amended by the Federal Information Security
Modernization Act of 2014, every Department system must receive a
signed Authorization to Operate (ATO) from a designated Department
official. The ATO process includes a rigorous assessment of security
and privacy controls, a plan of actions and milestones to remediate any
identified deficiencies, and a continuous monitoring program.
FISMA controls implemented are comprised of a combination of
management, operational, and technical controls, and include the
following control families: access control, awareness and training,
audit and accountability, security assessment and authorization,
configuration management, contingency planning, identification and
authentication, incident response, maintenance, media protection,
physical and environmental protection, planning, personnel security,
privacy, risk assessment, system and services acquisition, system and
communications protection, system and information integrity, and
program management.
RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
If you wish to gain access to a record in this system, contact the
respective system manager at the address listed above. You must provide
necessary particulars such as your name, SSN, and any other identifying
information requested by the Department while processing the request to
distinguish between individuals with the same name.
Alternatively, to gain access to a record in the system, you may
make a Privacy Act request through the U.S. Department of Education,
FOIA Service Center at https://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/leg/foia/request_privacy.html by completing the applicable request forms.
Requests by an individual for access to a record must meet the
requirements of the Department's Privacy Act regulations at 34 CFR
5b.5, including proof of identity.
Borrowers are able to access their financial aid history from NSLDS
in this system. If you wish to gain access to other records in the
NSLDS, please refer to the RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES section in the
system of records notice entitled ``National Student Loan Data System
(NSLDS)'' (18-11-06).
For title IV, HEA program applicants and recipients of Federal
grants or loans, if you wish to gain access to such information about
you from the COD System, please refer to the RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES
section in the system of records notice entitled ``Common Origination
and Disbursement (COD) System'' (18-11-02).
If you wish to gain access to the EDMAPS system information that is
about you and accessible in this system, please refer to the RECORD
ACCESS PROCEDURES section in the system of records notice entitled
``Enterprise Data Management and Analytics Platform Services (EDMAPS)
System'' (18-11-22).
If you wish to gain access to the PAS system information about you
that is maintained in this system until CPS is decommissioned after
September 30, 2024, please refer to the RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES
section in the system of records notice entitled ``Person
Authentication Service (PAS)'' (18-11-12).
If you wish to gain access to the information in the Federal Loan
Servicers' IT systems that is about you and accessible in this system,
please refer to the RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES section in the system of
records notice entitled ``Common Services for Borrowers (CSB)'' (18-11-
16).
CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
If you wish to contest or change the content of a record about you
in the system of records, provide the respective system manager with
your name, DOB, SSN, and any other identifying information requested by
the Department while processing the request to distinguish between
individuals with the same name. Identify the specific items to be
changed and provide a written justification for the change.
To contest information submitted or included on a FAFSA application
for the current award year, send your request to the FOIA Service
Center listed in the Notification Procedures section.
Financial aid history from NSLDS is accessible in this system. To
contest name and address records about you, provide the respective
system manager with your name, DOB, SSN, and any other identifying
information requested by the Department while processing the request to
distinguish between individuals with the same name. All other financial
aid history records from NSLDS must be contested by following the
CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES identified in the system of records notice
entitled ``National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS)'' (18-11-06).
For title IV, HEA program applicants and recipients of Federal
grants or loans, if you wish to contest such information about you,
please refer to the CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES section in the system
of records notice entitled ``Common Origination and Disbursement (COD)
System'' (18-11-02).
To contest information about you in a Federal Loan Servicer IT
system, such as the payment and loan information that is accessible in
this system, please refer to the CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES section
in the system of records notice entitled ``Common Services for
Borrowers (CSB)'' (18-11-16).
To contest the EDMAPS system information that is accessible in this
system, please refer to the CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES section in the
system of records notice entitled ``Enterprise Data Management and
Analytics Platform Services (EDMAPS) System'' (18-11-22).
To contest the PAS system information about you that is maintained
in this system until CPS is decommissioned after September 30, 2024,
please refer to the CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES section in the system
of records notice entitled ``Person Authentication Service (PAS)'' (18-
11-12).
Requests to amend a record must meet the requirements of the
Department's Privacy Act regulations at 34 CFR 5b.7.
NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES:
If you wish to determine whether a record exists about you in the
system of records, contact the respective system manager at the address
listed above. You must provide necessary particulars
[[Page 39248]]
such as your name, SSN, and any other identifying information requested
by the Department while processing the request to distinguish between
individuals with the same name.
Alternatively, you may make a Privacy Act request through the U.S.
Department of Education, FOIA Service Center at https://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/leg/foia/request_privacy.html by completing the applicable
request forms.
If you wish to submit a request for notification to determine
whether a record exists about you in the COD System as a title IV, HEA
program applicant or recipient of a Federal grant or loan, please refer
to the NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES section in the system of records notice
entitled ``Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) System'' (18-11-
02).
Borrowers are able to access their financial aid history from NSLDS
in this system. If you wish to submit a request for notification to
determine whether a record exists about you in the NSLDS system of
records, please refer to the NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES section in the
system of records notice entitled ``National Student Loan Data System
(NSLDS)'' (18-11-06).
If you wish to submit a request for notification to determine
whether a record exists about you in a Federal Loan Servicer IT system,
please refer to the NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES section in the system of
records notice entitled ``Common Services for Borrowers (CSB)'' (18-11-
16).
If you wish to submit a request for notification to determine
whether a record exists about you in EDMAPS system, please refer to the
NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES section in the system of records notice
entitled ``Enterprise Data Management and Analytics Platform Services
(EDMAPS) System'' (18-11-22).
If you wish to submit a request for notification to determine
whether a record exists about you in the PAS system, please refer to
the NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES section in the system of records notice
entitled ``Person Authentication Service (PAS)'' (18-11-12).
Requests for notification about whether the system of records
contains information about an individual must meet the requirements of
the Department's Privacy Act regulations at 34 CFR 5b.5, including
proof of identity.
EXEMPTIONS PROMULGATED FOR THE SYSTEM:
None.
HISTORY:
The system of records entitled ``Aid Awareness and Application
Processing'' (18-11-21) was originally published in full in the Federal
Register on September 13, 2022 (87 FR 56026-56037).
[FR Doc. 2023-12831 Filed 6-14-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P