Publication Date: May 20, 2013
Posted Date: May 20, 2013
Subject: Federal Need Analysis Methodology for the 2014-15 Award Year
FR Type: Notice
[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 97 (Monday, May 20, 2013)] [Notices] [Pages 29353-29359] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 2013-11982] ------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Federal Need Analysis Methodology for the 2014-15 Award Year-- Federal Pell Grant, Federal Perkins Loan, Federal Work-Study, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan, Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant and TEACH Grant Programs AGENCY: Federal Student Aid, Department of Education. ACTION: Notice. ------------------------------------------------- Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Numbers: 84.063; 84.038; 84.033; 84.007; 84.268; 84.408; 84.379. SUMMARY: The Secretary announces the annual updates to the tables used in the statutory Federal Need Analysis Methodology that determines a student's expected family contribution (EFC) for award year 2014-2015 for these student financial aid programs. The intent of this notice is to alert the financial aid community and the broader public, to these required annual updates used in the determination of student aid eligibility. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marya Dennis, U.S. Department of Education, Room 63G2, Union Center Plaza, 830 First Street NE., Washington, DC 20202-5454. Telephone: (202) 377-3385. If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) or a text telephone (TTY), call the Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free, at 1- 800-877-8339. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Part F of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), specifies the criteria, data elements, calculations, and tables the Department uses in the Federal Need Analysis Methodology to determine the EFC. Section 478 of part F of title IV of the HEA requires the Secretary to annually update four tables for general price inflation--the Income Protection Allowance, the Adjusted Net Worth of a Business or Farm, the Education Savings and Asset Protection Allowance, and the Assessment Schedules and Rates. The changes are based, in general, upon increases in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). For award year 2014-2015, the Secretary is charged with updating the income protection allowance for parents of dependent students, adjusted net worth of a business or farm, the Education Savings and Asset Protection Allowance, and the assessment schedules and rates to account for inflation that took place between [[Page 29354]] December 2012 and December 2013. However, because the Secretary must publish these tables before December 2013, the increases in the tables must be based on a percentage equal to the estimated percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for 2013. The Secretary must also account for any misestimation of inflation for the immediately preceding year. In developing the table values for the 2013-14 award year, the Secretary assumed a 2.2 percent increase in the CPI-U for the period December 2011 through December 2012. Actual inflation for this time period was 2.1 percent. The Secretary estimates that the increase in the CPI-U for the period December 2012 through December 2013 will be 2.5 percent. Additionally, section 601 of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 (CCRAA, Pub. L. 110-84) amended sections 475 through 478 of the HEA affecting the income protection allowance (IPA) tables for the 2009-2010 through 2012-2013 award years and indexed the annual update by a percentage of the estimated Consumer Price Index thereafter. These changes to the IPA impact dependent students, as well as independent students with dependents other than a spouse and independent students without dependents other than a spouse. As amended by the CCRAA, this notice includes the new 2014-2015 award year values for the IPA tables. The updated tables are in sections 1, 2, and 4 of this notice. As provided for in section 478(d) of the HEA, for each award year the Secretary must also revise the education savings and asset protection allowances. The Education Savings and Asset Protection Allowance table for award year 2014-2015 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 on increases in the Bureau of Labor Statistics budget of the marginal costs for a two-worker family compared to a one-worker family. The items covered by this calculation are: food away from home, apparel, transportation, and household furnishings, and operations. The Employment Expense Allowance table for award year 2014-2015 has been updated in section 5 of this notice. The HEA requires the following annual updates: 1. Income Protection Allowance (IPA). This allowance is the amount of living expenses associated with the maintenance of an individual or family that may be offset against the family's income. The allowance varies by family size. The IPA for the dependent student is $6,260. The IPAs for parents of dependent students for award year 2014-2015 are as follows: CHART OMITTED -- SEE PDF FILE Accessible Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this document in an accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, audiotape, or compact disc) on request to the contact person listed [[Page 29359]] under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT in this notice. Electronic Access to This Document: The official version of this document is the document published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations is available via the Federal Digital System at: www.gpo.gov/fdsys. At this site you can view this document, as well as all other documents of this Department published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at this site. You may also access documents of the Department published in the Federal Register by using the article search feature at: www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, through the advanced search feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published by the Department. Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1087rr. Dated: May 15, 2013. James W. Runcie, Chief Operating Officer, Federal Student Aid. [FR Doc. 2013-11982 Filed 5-17-13; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4000-01-P