| DCLPublicationDate: 3/1/97 DCLID: 97-S-75 AwardYear: Summary: To identify postsecondary institutions which may not have received notice of the requirement to submit an application for recertification in the Federal student financial aid programs. March, 1997 97-S-75 Subject: To identify postsecondary institutions which may not have received notice of the requirement to submit an application for recertification in the Federal student financial aid programs. Dear Colleague: The purpose of this letter is to help identify institutions which may have been missed in the Department's prior mailings concerning the requirement to be recertified for participation. This is urgent because an institution's Program Participation Agreement (PPA) will expire on July 23, 1997, unless it has been recertified. If you have not received an APPLICATION FOR APPROVAL TO PARTICIPATE IN FEDERAL STUDENT FINANCIAL AID PROGRAMS, please contact us immediately so that you will be able to submit a completed application no later than April 23, 1997. If you have already received an Application or submitted it for review, no further action is necessary at this time. If the Department does not complete its review of an institution's complete application by July 23, 1997, participation will be granted automatically on a month-to-month basis for the institution and any locations which have been previously approved until the institution is notified of a recertification action. However, this automatic extension is applicable only if the school's recertification application is materially complete and is received in the Department either by April 23, 1997 or by the date specified in the school's notice of recertification, whichever is earlier. (For example, those schools required to submit their applications by March 31, 1997 must do so in order to have the month-to-month action apply.) What to Do If Your Institution Has Not Received an Application: If your institution has not already received an application for recertification and either your institution's current Program Participation Agreement (PPA) is due to expire, or you can not make that determination because there is no expiration date on the current PPA, contact the Document Receipt and Control Center (DRCC ) at (202) 205-1935 to request a complete application packet. In determining the expiration date of your institution's eligibility to participate in the Title IV programs, you should refer to the Program Participation Agreement (the document which is signed by the Chief Executive Officer and countersigned on behalf of the Secretary of Education), NOT the eligibility letter. Many older PPAs have no expiration date; newer ones will have a date which may have passed or will expire before July 23, 1997. These are the PPAs which need immediate attention if you have not already submitted an application. If we have not notified your institution of the recertification requirement previously, it is your responsibility to immediately request an application and submit it no later than April 23, 1997 or Title IV funding will be jeopardized. What to Do If You Believe Your Institution Does Not Need to Submit an Application If you have already submitted or plan to submit an application based on an earlier mailing, you need to do nothing further at this time. If you believe your institution should not be required to submit a new application for recertification at all, submit a written explanation to my attention within 20 days to: BY U. S. MAIL BY OVERNIGHT MAIL/COURIER SERVICE U. S. Department of Education U. S. Department of Education Institutional Participation Institutional Participation and Oversight Service and Oversight Service P. O. Box 44805 7th & D Streets, S. W. L'Enfant Plaza Station GSA Building, Room 3522 Washington, D. C. 20026-4805 Washington, D. C. 20407 Thank you for your cooperation and prompt response. Sincerely, Marianne R. Phelps Director, Institutional Participation and Oversight Service |