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(GEN-13-01) (GEN-13-01) Subject: Dear Colleague Letters Issued Under GEN and ANN Types Beginning January 2013

Publication Date: January 14, 2013

DCL ID: GEN-13-01

Subject: Dear Colleague Letters Issued Under GEN and ANN Types Beginning January 2013

Summary: This letter informs the community that the Department will issue new Dear Colleague Letters under two types—GEN and ANN—beginning in January 2013. The change further streamlines the Dear Colleague Letter categorization scheme to make it easier for members of the financial aid community to locate electronically-posted guidance.

Dear Colleague:

As our electronic posting of Dear Colleague Letters has developed and expanded over the years, the Department of Education (the Department) has continually worked to streamline how we categorize posted letters. Our categorization scheme for the past several years has included five Dear Colleague Letter types (ANN, CB, FP, GEN, and P); however, there has been a steady decline in the use of three of the five types (CB, FP, and P). To make it easier for members of the financial aid community to locate posted guidance, we have decided to retire the three seldom-used Dear Colleague Letter types.

Beginning in January 2013, we will issue new Dear Colleague Letters under two types—GEN and ANN.

  • Letters that we issue under the GEN type going forward will cover topics that we have historically categorized as General Distribution Letters (GEN type), Campus-Based Programs (CB type), Financial Partners (FP type), and Pell Grant Program (P type).

    • Note: The “Subject” of each GEN Dear Colleague Letter will clearly identify the information covered within that letter. As such, members of the financial aid community will be able to recognize guidance that we would have previously posted under one of the retired types (CB, FP, and P).

  • Letters that we issue under the ANN type going forward will continue to cover information about training opportunities that we have historically categorized as Training Announcements (ANN type).

All Dear Colleague Letters posted prior to January 2013 will retain the “DCL ID” assigned at the time of posting and remain accessible to members of the financial aid community via the Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) Web site.

We appreciate the financial aid community’s support as we begin to use the new Dear Colleague Letter categorization scheme.

Sincerely,

Jeff Baker, Director
Policy Liaison and Implementation
Federal Student Aid
U.S. Department of Education