| PublicationDate: 7/2/96 Summary: Pin Protections and Access Author: CPS - Central Processing System (CPS) July 2, 1996 Pin Protections and Access We wish to share with you the results of our reconsideration of our policy regarding release of the PIN by ED's contractor who operates the toll-free Federal Student Aid Information Center (1-800-4 FED AID). On June 17, we posted a notice saying that we had changed the instructions to our 1-800-4 FED AID contractor that had allowed them to release a Personal Identity Number (PIN) to a caller who identified himself or herself as a particular student and provided the name, date of birth, Social Security number, and address of that student. In that notice we said that we felt, because of privacy concerns, that we had gone too far in allowing the toll-free number to release the PIN. We also asked for your comments to help us reexamine this practice. The twelve comments we received were mostly in favor of releasing the PIN over the telephone (ten for, two against). Most of the comments noted that releasing the PIN offered convenience and faster service to students and noted also that in practical terms, it is unlikely that an aid administrator at a school would misuse the PIN. As a result of extensive internal discussions and consultations, and careful consideration of the comments that were provided, we have determined that our June action was proper and that we should not allow the the PIN to be released over the telephone. If a student wants to know his or her PIN and does not have a copy of a SAR (or SAR Acknowledgement), he or she should request a duplicate SAR, which will contain the PIN, by calling 1-319-337-5665. If the student has changed addresses, he or she should write to: Federal Student Aid Programs P.O. Box 60004 Cahokia. IL 62206-6004 or to : Federal Student Aid Programs P.O. Box 7021 Lawrence, KS 66044, give his or her name, date of birth, Social Security Number, old address, and request that the old address be changed to the new one. A duplicate SAR, containing the PIN, will be sent to the student at the new address. We weighed this very helpful feedback against the federal obligation to protect the privacy of the personal information that the student provides on the FAFSA. While the operators at the toll-free number will discuss information that the student has reported, those discussions are generally in the context of a discussion on how to correct a SAR, or a discussion over what the student thought he or she reported vs. what the student's record actually shows. If the contents of the FAFSA are to be released to a school not originally listed on the FAFSA, it can only be with the permission of the student, who is in control of the PIN and who can provide it to a school. To protect the student's PIN and his or her right to control where the information provided on a student aid application is sent, we only provide the PIN on the paper SAR sent to the applicant. This policy is consistent with other organizations that will mail a PIN but will not release it over the telephone. We realize that this will inconvenience schools. However,beginning with the 1997-98 processing year, we anticipate, allowing a student to add a new school (or schools) to those originally listed on the FAFSA and to make an address change over the phone using the PIN. The student can call the Federal Student Aid Information Center's commercial number (1-319-337-5665), identify himself or herself with the PIN and other identifying information, and make the changes. The comments you provided us were very helpful and were a central part of our extended review of this issue. We will retain them and use them as we discuss other means we might take to alleviate the issues those those comments highlighted. |