| PublicationDate: 4/26/96 Summary: Letter from Secretary Riley Author: CSB - SFA Customer Support Branch April 26, 1996 Dear President: I am writing to update you on the status of the 1996-97 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) processing and thank you for your efforts to resolve the processing delay. Since I wrote to you eight weeks ago, under the leadership of Deputy Assistant Secretary Elizabeth Hicks, we were able to identify and solve technical problems, develop and implement supplemental procedures for processing, and process over four million original and renewal paper applications. Our private contractors have returned to their normal turnaround cycle; and with the exception of some earlier applications that require special handling, the only applications remaining are those received within the past two weeks of April. The past few months have been difficult, and we appreciate the cooperation and patience of all our customers, including postsecondary institutions, state scholarship offices, guarantors, high schools, and students. I would like to acknowledge postsecondary institutions, in particular, for their vital support during the processing delay. We have received many reports of the extraordinary measures taken by admissions officers and financial aid administrators, such as performing hand calculations or devising other school-based strategies to aid your students. Even though we are current with our processing, we recognize that the earlier delays will most likely require your financial aid staff to perform their part of the application and awarding process in a shorter period of time and under greater pressure than usual. On behalf of the Department, I would like to thank you and your admissions and financial aid staff for your continued efforts. We understand that the higher education community is concerned that they might experience delays in the next major phase of the 1996-97 FAFSA processing cycle -- corrections. We have made arrangements for additional capacity to deal with the high volume of application corrections we expect to receive over a brief period of time. Daily status reports have been available on our Bulletin Board Service (BBS) since March 1, and will continue to be posted until the corrections phase is completed. We intend to maintain a continual dialogue with schools to monitor this process until corrections have been resolved to the satisfaction of those affected. We are implementing a thorough analysis of 1996-97 processing, and we are developing the necessary corrective actions to assure a prompt and efficient processing cycle in 1997-98. A series of focus groups with the higher education community has been convened to give our customers a voice in this process. In closing, the Department of Education is committed to the highest standards of customer service, and I welcome your feedback as we strive toward continuous improvement. Yours sincerely, Richard W. Riley |