| PublicationDate: 11/2/98 Summary: Changes to the Electronic Access Code (EAC) and Renewal FAFSA process for the 1999-2000 application processing cycle. Author: ODAS - Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary - SFA Posted November 2, 1998 Members of the Financial Aid Community: I would like to respond to several comments that have been posted on FINAID-L recently about changes the Department of Education has made to the Electronic Access Code (EAC) and Renewal FAFSA process for the 1999-2000 application processing cycle. The Department understands the importance of communicating to the financial aid community any changes we make to the application processing system, and we attempted to do so in this case. The change to the way EACs will be handled in 1999-2000 was announced at the 1998 NASFAA Conference in July, and we have shared this information at state and regional financial aid conferences and meetings as well. In addition, the Renewal Application process, including a discussion of the EAC changes, is covered in detail in Action Letter #1, GEN-98-19, which was posted to the Department's Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) website on September 4, 1998. We also discussed the changes with the FAFSA on the Web focus group. Recent FINAID-L comments and questions have focused on the Department's decision to automatically send EACs to graduate students (and to certain undergraduate students) instead of sending them paper Renewal FAFSAs. In particular, there seems to be concern about the Department's decision not to send printed Renewal FAFSAs to schools that participate in the Renewal Application process under Choice B (CPS prints Renewal FAFSAs and bulk mails them to schools to distribute) for these students, even if the school requested them. The Department decided to automatically send EACs in lieu of Renewal FAFSAs to graduate students, and certain undergraduate students, for several reasons. First, the Department's longstanding goal is to significantly increase the number of students filing applications electronically. Since our statistics indicate that graduate students are more likely to file over the web, the Department targeted this group of students to automatically receive EACs. Our second reason was a practical one: it is very expensive to print and process paper Renewal FAFSAs. Since our statistics also show that the response rate for graduate students who return paper Renewal FAFSAs is so low, mailing them paper Renewal FAFSAs is not a cost-effective use of scarce taxpayer dollars. Printing EACs for this group of students means significant cost savings. Third, we wanted to encourage graduate students to use Renewal FAFSA on the Web because the application processing time is so fastCit usually takes just three to four days for schools to receive the processed results on the Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR). Renewal FAFSA on the Web applications can be processed so rapidly for graduate students because the EAC acts as an electronic signature, which means that no signature page is required. We are aware that college students tend to be a fairly mobile group and that some students will have moved to new addresses since submitting their 1998-99 FAFSAs. In anticipation of the creation of the Renewal Application (RAPP) database, which is used to produce EACs and Renewal FAFSAs for students, each year at conferences, meetings, and in our Action Letters we ask schools to encourage students to update their addresses in the Central Processing System (CPS). By updating their addresses in the CPS, students can be confident that they will receive mailings from the Department, including their EACs and Renewal FAFSAs. Experience has shown us, though, that many students do not update their addresses with the CPS, which means that their EACs (or Renewal FAFSAs) will be mailed to an old address. For security reasons, the Department does not permit EACs to be forwarded to another mailing address; therefore, students who have moved, but not updated their address with the CPS, may not be able to use Renewal FAFSA on the Web to reapply for aid. Students who do not receive EACs because they have moved have several alternatives for applying for aid for 1999-2000. 1. The most desirable alternative is to have the student complete one of the Department's other electronic applications: FAFSA on the Web, FAFSA Express, or EDExpress (if the school participates). While these electronic applications are not as easy for the student to complete as Renewal FAFSA on the Web because more information must be provided, the built-in skip logic, edits, and faster processing time benefit both students and schools. In addition, encouraging students to use one of the electronic FAFSAs will support the Department's and the financial aid community's commitment to moving toward a fully electronic delivery system. 2. The school can request the student's Renewal Application record in its electronic Renewal Application Data (RAD) file and print out a Renewal FAFSA for students who did not receive an EAC because they moved. The benefit to this approach is that it's simple for the student; however, it means a little more work for the school because all school-printed Renewal FAFSA data must be entered and transmitted by the school to the CPS. (For more details about this alternative, see Action Letter #1, GEN-98-19.) 3. Students who requested and obtained an EAC as part of the 1998-99 Renewal Application process can use that same EAC to access their 1999-2000 Renewal FAFSA on the Web. 4. The student can complete a paper FAFSA. We recognize the validity of some concerns about the automatic EAC process. Nonetheless, we strongly believe we are on the right course and hope to expand the use of EACs in the future. Another concern that was raised recently on FINAID-L has to do with independent students who are applying for the Health and Human Services (HHS) programs and want to use Renewal FAFSA on the Web. Current HHS guidance is that all students applying for HHS funds, whether they are dependent or independent, must provide parental data, including a parent signature, on their financial aid application. While paper versions of the FAFSA and Renewal FAFSA have a line for parent signatures that independent students can use, our electronic products do not. We have contacted HHS to see if any accommodations can be made to their signature requirement so that graduate students are not discouraged from using our electronic products to apply for Title IV and HHS funds. HHS staff will determine whether relaxing signature requirements is possible for the 1999-2000 application cycle within the next few weeks. HHS has asked us to tell the financial aid community that it welcomes comments on this issue and that comments should be directed to HHS staff. As we continue to work toward a fully electronic delivery system, we welcome your ideas and suggestions and encourage you to share them with us. In fact, now is an excellent time to share your ideas because we are about to begin the planning process for the 2000-2001 application year. Please feel free to fax your suggestions and comments to (202) 401-1637 or e-mail us at FAFSAWEB@ncs.com. Sincerely, Jeanne Saunders Director, Applications and Pell Processing Division |