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Publication Date:
June 1, 2007 Page Numbers: 30568-30572 Summary: Notice of revised of the Federal Need Analysis Methodology for the 2008-2009 award year. Posted on 06-01-2007 [Federal Register: June 1, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 105)] [Notices] [Page 30568-30572] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [http://www.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr01jn07-61] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Federal Pell Grant, Academic Competitiveness Grant, National Science and Mathematics Access To Retain Talent Grant, Federal Perkins Loan, Federal Work-Study, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, Federal Family Education Loan, and William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Programs AGENCY: Federal Student Aid, U.S. Department of Education. ACTION: Notice of revision of the Federal Need Analysis Methodology for the 2008-2009 award year. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: The Secretary announces the annual updates to the tables that will be used in the statutory ``Federal Need Analysis Methodology'' to determine a student's expected family contribution (EFC) for award year 2008-2009 for the student financial aid programs authorized under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA). An EFC is the amount a student and his or her family may reasonably be expected to contribute toward the student's postsecondary educational costs for purposes of determining financial aid eligibility. The Title IV programs include the Federal Pell Grant, Academic Competitiveness Grant, National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant, Federal Perkins Loan, Federal Work-Study, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, Federal Family Education Loan, and William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Programs (Title IV HEA Programs). FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Marya Dennis, Management and Program Analyst, U.S. Department of Education, Union Center Plaza, 830 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20202. Telephone: (202) 377-3385. If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339. Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape or computer diskette) on request to the contact person listed in the preceding paragraph. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Part F of Title IV of the HEA specifies the criteria, data elements, calculations, and tables used in the Federal Need Analysis Methodology EFC calculations. Section 478 of Part F of Title IV requires the Secretary to adjust four of the tables--the Income Protection Allowance, the Adjusted Net Worth of a Farm or Business, the Education Savings and Asset Protection Allowance, and the Assessment Schedules and Rates--each award year to adjust for general price inflation. The changes are based, in general, upon increases in the Consumer Price Index. For award year 2008-2009 the Secretary is charged with updating the income protection allowance, adjusted net worth of a business or farm, and the assessment schedules and rates to account for inflation that took place between December 2006 and December 2007. However, because the Secretary must publish these tables before December 2007, the increases in the tables must be based upon a percentage equal to the estimated percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers for 2006. The Secretary estimates that the increase in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the period December 2006 through December 2007 will be 2.8 percent. Additionally, the Higher Education Reconciliation Act of 2005 (HERA, Pub. L. 109-171) modified the updating procedure for the income protection allowance for dependent students and the income protection allowance tables for both independent students with dependents other than a spouse and independent students without dependents other than a spouse. HERA established new 2007-08 award year values for these income protection allowances, which are being updated for the 2008-09 award year using the Secretary's estimated inflation rate of 2.8 percent. The updated tables are in sections 1, 2, and 4 of this notice. The Secretary must also revise, for each award year, the education savings and asset protection allowances as provided for in section 478(d) of the HEA. The Education Savings and Asset Protection Allowance table for award year 2008-2009 has been updated in section 3 of this notice. Section 478(h) of the HEA also requires the Secretary to increase the amount specified for the Employment Expense Allowance, adjusted for inflation. This calculation is based upon increases in the Bureau of Labor Statistics budget of the marginal costs for a two- worker family compared to a one-worker family for food away from home, apparel, transportation, and household furnishings and operations. The Employment Expense Allowance table for award year 2008-2009 has been updated in section 5 of this notice. |