Posted Date:July 18, 2013
| Author: | Sue O'Flaherty, Service Director, Program Management, Federal Student Aid |
Subject: Final Form, Instructions, Desk Reference and Technical Reference for FISAP Due by October 1, 2013
We are pleased to announce that the Fiscal Operations Report for 2012-2013 and Application to Participate for 2014-2015 (FISAP) has been approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). We have posted the FISAP form, instructions, and the Desk Reference to the Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) Web site. The FISAP itself will be available on the e-Campus Based (eCB) Web site by August 1, 2013.
As announced in the Notice of the 2013-2014 Award Year Deadline Dates for the Campus-Based Programs published in the Federal Register on March 7, 2013 (78 FR 14776), the date by which a school must submit the FISAP and the required Signature Pages is Tuesday, October 1, 2013.
In addition, we are pleased to announce the posting of the Technical Reference for the 2014-2015 FISAP. This document provides technical specifications and record layouts for schools or other organizations that wish to design custom software systems.
These documents and the reminders below will assist schools in completing the FISAP.
Check your Access to FISAP on the Web
If it has been more than 90 days since you have logged on to the eCampus-Based Web site, you will need to reset your password. Information on how to reset your password, register a Destination Point Administrator, and contact information for assistance is provided in the Desk Reference. The Desk Reference is also available online at the login page for the eCampus-Based Web site. Please ensure that your access to this Web site application is functional before you need to enter data to file your FISAP.
Changes to the FISAP
In addition to annual award year and date references, significant changes have been made to three key areas as explained below. We have also removed the FISAP Upload feature from the eCampus-Based (eCB) System.
Part I, Section A, item 5. Additional Institutions
This item was formerly identified as “Additional Locations.” However, we have discovered an unintended misuse of terminology which resulted in some institutions incorrectly interpreting this item and providing incorrect information. This item is to be used by an institution that is reporting, on one FISAP, information for not only itself but also for one or more other institutions that, while having different unique OPEIDs are under the same administrative control or ownership as the reporting institution.
We are not asking institutions to identify their additional campus locations. We are only asking institutions that are filing the FISAP to identify any additional institutions for which they are combining data on the FISAP.
Explanation of Unique OPEID Numbers: An institution’s unique 8-digit OPEID is the one associated with what is commonly called the “main campus.” The first digit and the last two digits of the “main campus” OPEID are always zero.
How OPEIDs are Structured:
- The first six digits of an OPEID identify the institution.
- The last two ds of an OPEID identify the institution.
- The last two digits identify the location (main campus or an additional locatie first digit of the OPEID is then incremented to 1. If an institution has more than 199 additional locations, the first digit of the OPEID is incremented to 2, etc.
Reminder - Making funds available to all qualified students: Campus-Based funds are awarded to the reporting institution (the institution filing the FISAP) and the reporting institution must ensure that funds are made reasonably available to all qualified students at each eligible institution for which it has requested funds and at each additional campus location listed in each of the institutions’ Program Participation Agreements (PPA).
Further instructions concerning Additional Institutions are provided on pages iii and I-2 in the FISAP Instructions.
Part II, Section D and F, Non-Traditional Calendar Enrollment Information
A non-traditional calendar means an institution admits a new group of students monthly, or more frequently, into a majority of its eligible programs—even if those students enroll on a quarter, trimester, or semester basis. Currently the FISAP only requests “non-traditional institutions” to provide only undergraduate enrollment information.
At one time this was appropriate because a non-traditional institution’s level of degree tended to range from certificates to associate degrees or to other undergraduate credentials. However, some institutions now offer programs above the undergraduate level using non-traditional calendars. In order for these institutions to accurately represent their graduate enrollment on the FISAP form, we are expanding Lines 9-22 of Part II, Section D to include columns (c) and (d), for graduate enrollment.
Institutions with non-traditional calendars will also be able to report Graduate/Professional student data in the income grid in Section F, items 25 through 39, column (e).
These changes allow Institutions with non-traditional calendars that have graduate students to report correctly on the FISAP. Note: These new columns (c) and (d) have the same edits as columns (a) and (b) and a null value will not be accepted. As a result, institutions that do not offer graduate programs must enter zero (0) in these columns.
Further instructions are provided on pages II-4 through II-12 in the FISAP Instructions.
Part VI, Section A, Distribution of Program Recipients and Expenditures by Type of Student
To provide for more precise statistical analysis, the income grid in this section has been expanded to include for independent students, four $10,000 increments over the current $60,000 limit up to $100,000 and over; and for dependent students, four $5,000 increments over the current $20,000 up to $40,000 and over.
These expanded income grid fields have the same edits as the existing fields and a null value will not be accepted. Schools must enter zero (0) for income grid fields that do not apply.
FISAP Upload Option Discontinued
Because fewer than one percent (.05%) of the institutions that file a FISAP use the FISAP Upload option, the maintenance effort outweighs its usefulness. Therefore, it will be removed from the eCB System.
Changes to FISAP Instructions
In addition to annual award year and date references, the following changes will be made to the FISAP Instructions.
Introduction
Page iii – Provides additional information concerning Additional Institutions.
Page v – Updates Campus-Based deadline dates and funding schedule.
Part I, Section A.
Field 1(a) – Explains the need for additional information if the school is a new applicant for 2014-2015 but its students were included in a FISAP filed by a differe015 but its students were included in a FISAP filed by a different institution last year.
Field 5 – Revises Additional InI, Section A.
Introduction – Adds a note to explain that if a school’s Program Participation Agreement does not reflect eligibility for a specific Campus-Based program, data cannot be entered to request funds for that program.
Part II, Section C.
Field 6 - Provides additional information concerning Waiver of the FWS/FSEOG institutional-share requirement for Title III/V institutions.
Part II, Section D.
Fields 7-8 – Provides clarification that high school students who are also enrolled in postsecondary classes are not “regular” students and are not to be reported as enrolled for the purposes of the FISAP.
Fields 9-21 – Provides clarification concerning enrollment information for a school with a non-traditional calendar.
Changes to Technical Reference
Record Layout Changes:
FISAP Record Type removed due to discontinued FISAP Upload Option (previously field 1) and field numbering revised accordingly.
Fields 18 through 24 modified to reflect changes in Additional Institutions data entry.
Fields 75 through 102 added to reflect changes in non-traditional enrollment information collection.
Fields 436 through 442 modified to reflect expansion of the Part VI income grid.
Fields 443 through 470 added to reflect expansion of the Part VI income grid.
Fields 520 through 547 added to reflect expansion of the Part VI income grid.
Additions to Edit Information:
Field 28 – space is not a valid character in the FAA email address.
Added an edit to validate unduplicated recipient count to the following fields – 400, 407, 414, 421, 428, 435, 442, 477, 484, 491, 498, 512, 519, 552, and 559.
Contact Information
For additional information about the FISAP or the reference documents, please contact the Campus-Based Call Center at 877/801-7168. Customer service representatives are available Monday through Friday from 8:00 A.M. until 8:00 P.M. (ET). You may also e-mail CBFOB@ed.gov.