Maintained for Historical Purposes

This resource is being maintained for historical purposes only and is not currently applicable.

(ANN-96-04) (ANN-96-04) Announcing a new way to order the 1997-98 version of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and the Student Guide ...1-800-284-2788

DCLPublicationDate: 9/1/96
DCLID: ANN-96-4
AwardYear:
Summary: Announcing a new way to order the 1997-98 version of the
Free Application for Federal Student Aid and the Student Guide ...1-800-284-2788

ANN-96-4

September 1996

Announcing a new way to order the 1997-98 version of the
Free Application for Federal Student Aid and the Student Guide ...
1-800-284-2788

Dear Colleague:

This letter is your invitation to order bulk quantities of the following
1997-98 publications: the Free Application for Federal Student Aid
(FAFSA), the Spanish-language edition of the FAFSA, and the
Student Guide. To expedite the ordering process, we have set up an
automated Application Ordering System that can be reached through
a toll-free telephone number. This system may be called at any time,
24 hours a day.

ORDERING MADE EASY ... To order, simply call 1-800-284-2788
and follow the recorded instructions. First, you will be asked if you
are checking a previous order or placing an order. Then you will
select your institution type (postsecondary, rather than high school)
and provide your school code number, which is printed in the upper
left-hand corner of the address label on the envelope that enclosed
this letter. Select the school year (1996-97 or 1997-98) and the
publication that you would like to order, and enter the quantity as
prompted. Finally, you will be asked to confirm that order. This
process may be repeated to order other publications.

The automated Application Ordering System has several advantages.
It is accessible at all times, and orders can be placed instantly,
without waiting for mail delivery and order entry. Since you enter
and confirm the order yourself, you can be sure that the order has
been placed accurately. You may call back at any time to check your
order(s).

WHEN TO CONTACT US ABOUT A DELIVERY PROBLEM ...
We will begin mailing the 1997-98 FAFSA to schools in mid-
October. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery by 4th-class mail.
You can check the mailing date for your order by calling our
automated phone system --we expect all FAFSA orders from
colleges to have been mailed by early November. If you have not
received your order within 6 weeks of your mailing date, please let
us know and we will arrange for a replacement shipment. You may
advise us of delivery problems by calling our special customer
service number, 1-800-394-7084, during working hours
(9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern time, Monday-Friday). Please note that
the Spanish-language FAFSA and Student Guide are printed after
the FAFSA and are mailed separately. We do not yet have printing
and shipping dates for the Spanish FAFSA or Student Guide. When
we know the printing schedule, we will notify you by mail as to the
time-frame for mailing and the quantities that will be shipped.

A NOTE ABOUT STUDENT GUIDE ORDERS ... Please limit
your orders of the Student Guide to no more than the total number of
students who apply for financial aid at your school. We will print
approximately 9 million Student Guides this year. Please bear in
mind that this is a relatively expensive publication, and we cannot
afford to provide unlimited quantities to postsecondary schools. A
publication as detailed and extensive as the Student Guide should not
be offered through general mailings that may be duplicated by other
schools. We do not have a fixed order limit for the Guide, but we
hope that each school will find the most efficient way to distribute
the Guide to its students. For instance, at least one school that
provides Internet access to its students have reduced its Guide order
by publicizing the Web site for the Guide to enrolled students (the
on-line Student Guide can be found at
http://www.ed.gov/prog_info/SFA/StudentGuide/).

Your incoming students will continue to have access to student aid
information through several other sources. We will be distributing 4
million copies of Funding Your Education to high schools and
libraries throughout the country. In addition, many students order
individual copies of either the Guide or Funding your Education by
calling the Federal Student Aid Information Center at
1-800-4-FED AID (1-800-433-3243). The toll-free number operators
can also provide information about the Student Financial Assistance
Programs and assist students in completing the FAFSA.

USING SCHOOL CODE ADDRESSES ... For the second year in a
row, we will be using your school code address for bulk orders. Your
school code address is the address that is printed in the Title IV
School Code List publication. (As noted on the previous page, it also
appears in the upper left corner of the envelope that enclosed this
letter.) The use of the school code address list has helped us to
reduce duplication in ordering and track bulk orders better. Please
remember that your school code address may be different than the
address at which you receive Dear Colleague letters, Federal
Registers, and single-copy SFA publications.

If your school has several branch campuses with their own school
code numbers, please coordinate with those branches to make sure
that your orders are not duplicative.

SPECIAL REQUESTS ... There may be circumstances where you
need to contact the ordering system staff for assistance. We have
established a special customer service number for application orders.
You may call this number, 1-800-394-7084, during working hours
(9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern time, Monday-Friday) if you have special
needs that are not addressed by the automated ordering system. For
instance, for security reasons, the ordering system will not allow
callers to change orders, and it only will accept one order for a
particular product within a 30-day period. Should you decide to
cancel an order, or if you decide you need to increase your original
order before 30 days have elapsed, please contact the AOS customer
service staff at 1-800-394-7084.

We appreciate your assistance in making these materials available to
students who may need financial aid to continue their education.

Sincerely,


William J. Ryan
Director, Training and
Program Information Division
Student Financial Assistance Programs