DCLPublicationDate: 7/1/96 DCLID: GEN-96-12 AwardYear: Summary: SFAP Customer Support Branch Inquiry Service. Your direct help line for questions and information on administering the Title IV Student Financial Assistance Programs at your institution. Call 1-800-4ED-SFAP (1-800-433-7327). July 1996 GEN-96-12 SUMMARY: SFAP Customer Support Branch Inquiry Service. Your direct help line for questions and information on administering the Title IV Student Financial Assistance Programs at your institution. Call 1-800-4ED-SFAP (1-800-433-7327). Dear Colleague: We are proud to announce the national availability of toll-free information services for financial aid professionals provided by our new Customer Support Branch. Its mission is to answer questions from student financial aid professionals about Title IV policy and other issues such as application processing and SAR corrections. We will also help with contacting other staffs in the U.S. Department of Education (ED). This service is intended to complement the Federal Student Aid Information Center (1-800-4FED-AID, or 1-800-433-3243), which answers questions from students and parents, and which handles ED publication orders. A Service that Cuts through the Red Tape Customer Support's goal is high quality service incorporating both accuracy and timeliness. Our representatives are well versed in all the SFA program and operational areas and have access to experts to assist with your more difficult inquiries. Some inquiries may take longer because we need to wait for a decision on a new policy issue. When we can, we will give general guidance as to what the decision will be or when it will be expected. In most cases, however, Customer Support is able to answer your inquiries within three days*1*. Contacting Customer Support You may contact Customer Support by a variety of means. Please use whichever is most convenient for you. BY TELEPHONE Call 1-800-433-7327 (1-800-4ED-SFAP). Customer Support representatives are on hand to answer your policy related questions from 9 am - 5 pm, Eastern Time, Monday through Friday. (After hours you may leave a message and we will gladly return your call the next day.) BY FAX Fax your questions to 202-260-4199. You may want to send your more complicated inquiries this way. You may also request that we fax forms, such as the Federal Perkins Loan Promissory Note, to your organization if you need them immediately to meet an impending deadline. BY E-MAIL Send your questions via electronic mail to csb@sfa.ope.ed.gov. In addition to a detailed question, please be sure to include your name, the name of your institution, and your phone number. BY THE STUDENT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE BULLETIN BOARD SERVICE The Student Financial Assistance Bulletin Board Service (SFA BBS) is an on-line service that the Department of Education has developed to disseminate documents to the education community via the Internet. 1. Telnet address: sfa.ope.ed.gov. 2. Modem: 1-800-429-9933. If you do not already have it, you can call us at 1-800-433-7327, fax us at 202-260-4199, or e-mail us at csb@sfa.ope.ed.gov for a free copy of the SFA BBS software. Feedback to the Department If you have suggestions, we encourage you to call and let us know what we can do to improve our services. As our customer and a member of the student financial aid community, your suggestions will help us save time and money while delivering better service. We will be glad to forward your suggestions for improving the Title IV Delivery System or program regulations to the appropriate decision makers. Also, let us know what SFA is doing right if it has eased your life or workload. Only through feedback can we continue making improvements to better serve you. Sincerely, Elizabeth M. Hicks Deputy Assistant Secretary Student Financial Assistance Programs *1* Please note, however, that Customer Support is unable to assist with ongoing program review issues. For these issues you must contact the regional reviewer in charge of your review. |