| DCLPublicationDate: 10/1/95 DCLID: GEN-95-47 AwardYear: Summary: Availability of The Blue Book Student Financial Assistance Programs October 1995 GEN-95-47 SUBJECT: Availability of The Blue Book Dear Colleague: We are pleased to provide the 1995 edition of The Blue Book: Accounting, Recordkeeping, and Reporting By Postsecondary Educational Institutions for Federally Funded Student Financial Aid Programs. This edition replaces the May 6, 1991 version of The Blue Book. The primary purpose of The Blue Book is to provide guidance to school business office personnel who handle fiscal record keeping, accounting, and reporting functions for Title IV financial aid programs. However, it also provides general information about Title IV programs, policies, and procedures that will be useful to other institutional personnel involved in administering and managing Title IV programs. The U.S. Department of Education has scheduled a series of two-day workshops on the use of The Blue Book for fiscal officers beginning in October 1995. We encourage the fiscal office staff at your institution to attend one of the workshops. Dear Colleague Letter GEN-95-32, announcing dates, sites, and registration procedures for the workshops, was sent to institutions in June 1995. Two copies of The Blue Book will be mailed to each Title IV participating institution -- one to the fiscal officer and one to the financial aid administrator. If you do not need one of these two copies, please forward a copy to your independent public accountant. Should you need an additional copy for your auditor, president or chief executive officer, controller, or financial aid consultant, you may request a copy from us. You can do so by contacting the Federal Student Aid Information Center, P.O. Box 84, Washington, D.C. 20044 or telephone 1 (800) 4 FED AID (433-3243) 9:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m., Monday - Friday, Eastern Time. Your comments and suggestions regarding any aspect of The Blue Book are welcome. We are interested in learning 1) the purposes for which The Blue Book is being used, i.e., reference, self-study, training new staff; 2) if you use the accounting and recordkeeping system referenced; and 3) the appropriateness of the content and the usefulness of the appendices. You may send your comments to The Blue Book, Student Financial Assistance Programs, Training and Program Information Division, Training Branch, Room 3030, ROB-3, 600 Independence Ave., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20202. We hope you will find the revised publication useful and appreciate any comments or suggestions you can give us. Sincerely, William J. Ryan, Acting Director Training and Program Information Division Student Financial Assistance Programs |