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Subject: 2013-2014 Federal Student Aid Application

Publication Date: November 9, 2012

Posted Date: November 9, 2012

Subject: 2013-2014 Federal Student Aid Application

FR Type: Notice


[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 218 (Friday, November 9, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67345-67348]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-27449]
 
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
 
[Docket No.: ED-2012-ICCD-0050]
 
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; 2013-2014 Federal Student Aid Application
 
AGENCY: Department of Education (ED), Federal Student Aid (FSA).
 
ACTION: Notice.
 
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
chapter 3501 et seq.), ED is proposing a revision of an existing 
information collection.
 
DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
December 10, 2012.
 
ADDRESSES: Comments submitted in response to this notice should be 
submitted electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at 
http://www.regulations.gov by selecting Docket ID number ED-2012-ICCD-
0050 or via postal mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. Please 
note that comments submitted by fax or email and those submitted after 
the comment period will not be accepted. Written requests for 
information or comments submitted by postal mail or delivery should be 
addressed to the Director of the Information Collection Clearance 
Division, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., LBJ, 
Room 2E117, Washington, DC 20202-4537.
 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Electronically mail 
ICDocketMgr@ed.gov. Please do not send comments here.
 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department of Education (ED), in 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 
3506(c)(2)(A)), provides the general public and Federal agencies with 
an opportunity to comment on proposed, revised, and continuing 
collections of information. This helps the Department assess the impact 
of its information collection requirements and minimize the public's 
reporting burden. It also helps the public understand the Department's 
information collection requirements and provide the requested data in 
the desired format. ED is soliciting comments on the proposed 
information collection request (ICR) that is described below. The 
Department of Education is especially interested in public comment 
addressing the following issues: (1) Is this collection necessary to 
the proper functions of the Department; (2) will this information be 
processed and used in a timely manner; (3) is the estimate of burden 
accurate; (4) how might the Department enhance the quality, utility, 
and clarity of the information to be collected; and (5) how might the 
Department minimize the burden of this collection on the respondents, 
including through the use of information technology. Please note that 
written comments received in response to this notice will be considered 
public records.
    Title of Collection: 2013-2014 Federal Student Aid Application.
    OMB Control Number: 1845-0001.
    Type of Review: Revision of an existing information collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 46,099,008.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 25,959,853.
    Abstract: Section 483 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as 
amended (HEA), mandates that the Secretary of Education "* * *shall 
produce, distribute, and process free of charge common financial 
reporting forms as described in this subsection to be used for 
application and reapplication to determine the need and eligibility of 
a student for financial assistance* * *".
    The determination of need and eligibility are for the following 
Title IV,
 
[[Page 67346]]
 
HEA, federal student financial assistance programs: The Federal Pell 
Grant Program; the Campus-Based programs (Federal Supplemental 
Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), Federal Work-Study (FWS), and 
the Federal Perkins Loan Program); the William D. Ford Federal Direct 
Loan Program; the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher 
Education (TEACH) Grant; and the Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant.
    Federal Student Aid, an office of the U.S. Department of Education 
(hereafter "the Department"), subsequently developed an application 
process to collect and process the data necessary to determine a 
student's eligibility to receive Title IV, HEA program assistance. The 
application process involves an applicant's submission of the Free 
Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). After submission of the 
FAFSA, an applicant receives a Student Aid Report (SAR), which is a 
summary of the data they submitted on the FAFSA. The applicant reviews 
the SAR, and, if necessary, will make corrections or updates to their 
submitted FAFSA.
    The Department seeks OMB approval of all application components as 
a single "collection of information". The aggregate burden will be 
accounted for under OMB Control Number 1845-0001. The specific 
application components, descriptions and submission methods for each 
are listed in Table 1.

NOTE: CHART OMITTED -- SEE PDF FILE

[[Page 67347]] ----------------------------------------------------------- This information collection also documents an estimate of the annual public burden as it relates to the application process for federal student aid. The Applicant Burden Model (ABM), measures applicant burden through an assessment of the activities each applicant conducts in conjunction with other applicant characteristics and in terms of burden, the average applicant's experience. Key determinants of the ABM include: [ssquf] The total number of applicants that will potentially apply for federal student aid; [ssquf] How the applicant chooses to complete and submit the FAFSA (e.g., by paper or electronically via FOTW); [ssquf] How the applicant chooses to submit any corrections and/or updates (e.g., the paper SAR or electronically via FOTW Corrections); [ssquf] The type of SAR document the applicant receives (eSAR, SAR acknowledgment, or paper SAR); [ssquf] The formula applied to determine the applicant's expected family contribution (EFC) (full need analysis formula, Simplified Needs Test or Automatic Zero); and [ssquf] The average amount of time involved in preparing to complete the application. The ABM is largely driven by the number of potential applicants for the application cycle. The total application projection for 2013-2014 is based upon two factors--estimates of the total enrollment in all degree-granting institutions and the percentage change in FAFSA submissions for the last completed or almost completed application cycle. The ABM is also based on the application options available to students and parents. The Department accounts for each application component based on web trending tools, survey information, and other Department data sources. For 2013-2014, the Department is reporting a net burden reduction of 3,398,000 hours. The reduction is a reflection of the effects of simplifying FAFSA on the Web, which is utilized by the majority of applicants who apply for aid. Simplification of the application is demonstrated by (1) the average completion times for initial submissions and; (2) fewer corrections being made to the application. The projected average completion times for initial submissions has decreased by 11 minutes for 2013-14. In data reported in the 2012-2013 supporting statement, first-time filers using FOTW would take approximately 1.30 hours (78 minutes) to submit an application. The data from 2011-12 indicate that the same user would be able to submit their application in 1.12 hours (67 minutes), reducing their burden by .18 hours (11 minutes). Corrections are also projected to decrease by 760,696 responses for 2013-14. Fewer corrections mean that more comprehensive and accurate data was captured in the initial submission of the application. Updated completion times were calculated for each component and have been used to estimate the burden, excluding the change in the applicant volume. The results demonstrate that the burden for all applicants would have decreased by almost 13 percent or 3,758,702 hours, if the application volume had remained constant. If the Department had not simplified the application process, thus reducing the time required to complete the FAFSA, the new burden estimates would only need to account for the change in applicants. The 1.43% increase in applicants would result in an increase in burden of 347,945 hours. Accounting for both the increase in total applicants and the decrease in individual applicant burden, the net change is an overall decrease of almost 12 percent or 3,398,000 hours. The following Table shows the net burden change and total cost for applicants. The change in total annual responses is also listed in the Table. Total annual responses include the original FAFSA submission and corrections.

NOTE: CHART OMITTED -- SEE PDF FILE

-------------------------------------------------------- The Department takes pride in the continued efforts to simplify the FAFSA submission process and the continued decrease in burden associated with the application process, even as the Department serves more students each year. The results confirm the significant improvements that have been made to the application process. The Department [[Page 67348]] believes that these changes will lead to more students completing the FAFSA and will assist more students with their pursuit of postsecondary education through access to Title IV, HEA program assistance. Dated: November 5, 2012. Darrin A. King, Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Privacy, Information and Records Management Services, Office of Management. [FR Doc. 2012-27449 Filed 11-8-12; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4000-01-P