
SFA Information for Financial Aid Professionals
U.S. Department of Education




DCLPublicationDate: 8/1/94 DCLID: GEN-94-26 AwardYear: 1995-1996 Summary: Schools may choose to have 1995-96 Renewal Applications mailed to them instead of to their students. August 1994 ACTION LETTER #1 GEN-94-26 SUMMARY: Schools may choose to have 1995-96 Renewal Applications mailed to them instead of to their students. Dear Colleague: The Department of Education(ED) has revised the 1995-96 Electronic Data Exchange(EDE) procedures and software to allow institutions an additional option for printing EDE-requested Renewal Applications for the 1995-96 processing cycle. The changes made will give EDE institutions the option of having 1995-96 Renewal Applications for designated students printed by the FAFSA processor, American College Testing(ACT). The FAFSA processor will perform the following functions: - Print EDE-requested Renewal Applications - Insert Renewal Applications, instructions, and a return envelope into unsealed window envelopes - Package the Renewal Applications securely in boxes and mail them in bulk to a school address designated by the institution - Perform data entry on completed EDE Renewal Applications. HOW THE REVISED PROCEDURES WILL BENEFIT EDE SCHOOLS ED will provide an interactive system via General Electronic Support(GES) query that will give schools the opportunity to request 1995-96 EDE Renewal Applications in a manner similar to that used for 1994-95, but with the additional choice of designating that the FAFSA processor print and forward them to the schools in bulk. [[Page 2]] Schools may request, on a batch by batch basis, that Renewal Applications be printed for selected students or groups of students and be mailed to a designated school address. If a school designates that the FAFSA processor print and bulk mail the Renewal Applications, the software will REQUIRE the school to provide a complete and accurate mailing address for each batch. Once the address has been provided for each batch, it cannot be changed. Schools or their servicers will be able to distribute the EDE-requested Renewal Applications according to their time schedule and include other institutional information if they choose to do so. When students complete these applications, they will be able to submit them to the FAFSA processor for processing. This new process will relieve institutions from having to perform the data entry for the EDE-requested Renewal Applications printed by the FAFSA processor. The FAFSA processor will print ED's identifiers (FFFFF) at the top of the EDE- requested Renewal Applications as they currently do on the regular Renewal Applications. BULK PACKAGING AND MAILING The FAFSA processor will insert each EDE-requested Renewal Application along with an instruction booklet (approximately 12 pages), and a #10 size return envelope into a 9" x 12" size window envelope which will contain no return address, no postage, and the envelope will be left unsealed. The postage expense to mail the Renewal Application packets will be borne by the schools. For 1994-95, the weight of the package was just under 2 ounces. Schools may choose to utilize their campus mail to distribute Renewal Application packets. It will be the school's responsibility to annotate or stamp its appropriate return address on each of the window envelopes and to receive and make proper disposition of all mail that is undeliverable. The FAFSA processor will insert the EDE-requested Renewal Application packets for each batch into appropriately sized box(es). Each box will contain a label which denotes how many boxes were mailed for each batch (Example: Box l of 5, Box 2 of 5, etc.). The boxes will be sent to the address designated by the school via first class mail. The packets inside the boxes will be sorted in Social Security Number(SSN) order UNLESS the school has elected its batches by individual SSN. In this case, the envelopes will be in the order selected by the school. [[Page 3]] DAMAGED OR LOST EDE-REQUESTED RENEWAL APPLICATIONS ED has instructed the FAFSA processor to print each batch only ONCE. Therefore, neither schools nor students will be able to request a duplicate EDE-requested Renewal Application. Additionally, the FAFSA processor will not reprint or replace any lost or damaged forms, whether they are lost in the mail or by students/schools after being mailed. If it is determined that some of the EDE-requested Renewal Applications have actually been lost or damaged, a FAFSA processor customer service representative will be available to direct schools to the affected records on their file so that the schools can determine whether they want to print a Renewal Application at the school or provide the student with a FAFSA. A customer service phone number will be provided to participating institutions. RETURNED EDE-REQUESTED RENEWAL APPLICATIONS If a box is returned to the FAFSA processor by the postal service, the processor will research the problem with the school to the extent possible, with assistance from ED if necessary. If an updated address is provided for returned boxes, they will be remailed to the corrected address. In order to reduce the possibility of returned boxes, it is critical for schools to initially provide ED with a complete and correct mailing address for delivery of the Renewal Application boxes, including a specific person's name if necessary. In the unlikely event that the mailing is never received by the school and is not returned to the FAFSA processor, the school will be responsible for providing the affected students with 1995-96 FAFSAs or printing Renewal Applications at the school. Any Renewal Applications printed by the school MUST be returned to the school for data entry and cannot be submitted to the FAFSA processor. [[Page 4]] DEADLINES Schools can begin requesting EDE-requested Renewal Applications on October 3, 1994. The cutoff date for accepting the requests is November 15, 1994. The FAFSA processor will begin mailing the printed EDE-requested Renewal Applications on or before January 3, 1995 and will complete the mailing by January 17, 1995. After November 15, schools may request Renewal Applications through EDE, but the school will be responsible for printing them and for performing the data entry. Students whose Renewal Applications are not requested by the school will receive them from one of the MDE processors and they will be mailed to the address provided on their last valid 1994-95 application transaction. In order to obtain an estimate of the number of schools who are interested in this new option and to make projections for the 1995-96 Renewal Application processing requirements, we request that schools complete the enclosed attachment and return it to the designated address by August 26, 1994. This attachment gives schools the opportunity to ask questions or make comments regarding the EDE-requested Renewal Application printing option that ED will implement for the 1995-96 award year. In addition to our continuing efforts to improve the delivery system and processing procedures, these changes have been made in response to your concerns and recommendations. We will assess the comments and questions that are received as a result of this letter, and we will be providing additional information on this process in the near future. We welcome your continued assistance in helping us to improve the delivery system and thank you for your cooperation. Sincerely, Leo Kornfeld Deputy Assistant Secretary for Student Financial Assistance Enclosure |