Topics

This page contains a list of various Title IV federal student aid topics for which there is a consolidated information hub. You can access each topic of interest from here and then bookmark that page for future use. The Featured Topics section includes topics that are new to the list or accessed the most.

The Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) System is the system through which Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant, Federal Pell Grant (Pell Grant), Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant, and William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) awards are processed. The COD System is also used by schools to complete Campus-Based processes.
From fiscal year 1978 through fiscal year 1998, the Health Education Assistance Loan (HEAL) Program insured loans made by participating lenders to eligible graduate students in schools of medicine, osteopathy, dentistry, veterinary medicine, optometry, podiatry, public health, pharmacy, chiropractic, or in programs in health administration and clinical psychology. It is no longer possible to obtain a new HEAL Program loan. The making of new HEAL Program loans was discontinued on September 30, 1998.

This page provides links to various interest rate information related to Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program loans and Health Education Assistance Loan (HEAL) Program loans, as well as quarterly FFEL Special Allowance Rates.

Federal Student Aid recognizes the important work members of the community do in assisting consumers with the servicing and collection of their federally-owned loans. Federally-owned student loans include Direct Loan Program loans, TEACH Grants converted to Direct Unsubsidized Loans, FFEL Program loans purchased by the U.S. Department of Education (the Department), and Federal Perkins Loan Program loans assigned to the Department.
The office of Federal Student Aid (FSA), within the U.S. Department of Education, has designated the Minority-Serving and Under Resourced Schools Division (MSURSD) as the entity to provide special support and assistance to identified institutions that are currently participating in the Title IV Federal Student Aid Programs. MSURSD is housed in FSA’s Customer Experience Office/School Experience Group. Prior to fall 2010, the group was known as Special Initiatives Services.
The U.S. Department of Education is committed to assisting students enrolled in postsecondary education who have been impacted by hurricanes and natural disasters. This page provides links to information we have posted related to the impact of the natural disasters on students, parents, student loan borrowers, colleges and universities, and financial institutions that participate in the federal student assistance programs.
The Department of Education is pleased to provide various Federal Student Aid (FSA) presentations in audio and video format. Transcripts of the presentations are provided as well. Click on the MP3, WMA, or MP4 file below or the transcript to listen or view the presentation. Some of the presentations are offered in a slideshow format (Microsoft Power Point), Portable Document Format (PDF), or may have handouts available. If additional publications are available, click on the hyperlinked presentation title in the Presentation Title field listed below.
The FAFSA Simplification Act passed on Dec. 27, 2020 as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 made important changes to the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) and the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®), including the restoration of Pell Grant for students incarcerated in federal or state penal institutions and students who are subject to involuntary commitments. The law ties Pell Grant Eligibility to enrollment in an eligible prison education program (PEP). In addition, it creates a new definition of a “prison education program” and adds specific requirements for approval, reporting, oversight, and evaluation of such programs. The provisions of the FAFSA Simplification Act related to incarcerated students, have an effective date of July 1, 2023. This page serves as a repository for all information, guidance, and training related to implementation of this new provision.
Title 1, Part E of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), requires lenders that make private education loans and institutions involved in certain arrangements regarding those loans to make specific disclosures to borrowers of those loans, report related information to the U.S. Department of Education (the Department), and comply with critical protections and prohibitions against conflicts of interest. This page serves as a repository for information, guidance, and training related to the required private education loan reporting.

Section 117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) requires institutions of higher education that offer a bachelor’s degree or higher, or that offer a transfer program of not less than two years that is acceptable for credit towards a bachelor’s degree, and receive federal financial assistance to disclose semiannually to the U.S. Department of Education any gifts received from and contracts with a foreign source that, alone or combined, are valued at $250,000 or more in a calendar year. The statute also requires institutions to report information when owned or controlled by a foreign source.

Over 30 years ago, Congress enacted these disclosure requirements to promote public transparency about the role of foreign funding in U.S. higher education.

This page serves as a repository for all relevant data, information, guidance, and training related to the required foreign gift and contract reporting.

Federal Student Aid has consolidated software and other tools used by the financial aid community for student aid processing on this page. Below are links to access software, installation guides, cover letters, desk references, technical references for programmers, and other related documentation.
This page provides the most updated information pertaining to responsibilities and requirements for institutions of higher education that enter into contracts with third-party servicers. We encourage institutions to review the regulations governing an institution’s use of third-party servicers at 34 CFR. § 668.2 (definition of third-party servicer), 34 CFR § 668.23, and 34 CFR § 668.25.
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