**SUPPORTING STATEMENT**

Information Collections Under the Final Regulations Governing the
Student Assistance General Provisions.

**A. Justification**

**1. Necessity of Information Collected**

The General Provisions regulations revise current regulations in the
areas of program administration.

> These final regulations are a result of regulatory review of the
> program regulations to reduce administrative burden for program
> participants, provide benefits to Title IV, HEA program recipients,
> and protect the taxpayers\' interest. This request is for approval of
> reporting and recordkeeping requirements contained in the attached
> regulations related to the General Provisions administrative
> requirements for the Title IV, HEA programs. The information
> collection requirements in these regulations are necessary to
> determine eligibility to receive program benefits and to prevent fraud
> and abuse of program funds.
>
> **General Provisions:** (OMB control number: 1845-0022)
>
> Sections 668.4, 668.10, 668.22, 668.164, 668.165, 674.16, 676.16,
> 682.200, 682.603, 682.604, 685.301, 685.303, contain information
> collection requirements. Sections 668.3, 668.183 and 668.193 also
> contain information collection requirements but are currently approved
> by OMB. The Department is requesting continued approval for these
> sections.
>
> The following changes were made to these sections:
>
> **Sections 668.4, 668.22, 668.164, 682.200, 682.604, 685.301 \--
> Payment periods and disbursements of Title IV grant and loan funds.**
>
> These regulations would, with few exceptions, align disbursements for
> all Title IV grant and loan programs by making a number of changes to
> the payment period definitions and disbursement requirements for all
> Title IV grant and loan programs.
>
> Inconsistent requirements for disbursing Title IV grant and loan funds
> for certain types of programs can result in a student receiving the
> subsequent disbursements of his or her grant funds or Perkins Loan
> funds at a different point in time than second disbursements of his or
> her FFEL or Direct Loan funds. The regulations align Title IV
> disbursements to the same point in time and thus reduce burden for
> institutions and students. Changes to the regulations that would
> achieve greater consistency in the timing of the disbursements of
> Title IV grant and loan funds are proposed to reduce this burden and
> confusion for institutions and students. These proposed changes
> include (1) specifying that an institution must disburse all Title IV
> grant and loan funds on a payment period basis; (2) requiring,
> generally, that an institution disburse all Title IV grant and loan
> funds once each payment period; (3) adding a time component to the
> payment period definitions for clock hour programs to make the
> disbursements of Title IV grant and Perkins Loan funds conform with
> the disbursements of FFEL and Direct Loan funds, which must, by law,
> include a time component; (4) using weeks of instructional time as the
> time component for determining all Title IV grant and loan
> disbursements; (5) removing the institutional option to have more than
> two payment periods for nonterm credit hour programs and clock hour
> programs; and (6) extending to clock hour programs the provision that
> addresses how to identify the end of a payment period when an
> institution is unable to determine whether a student in a nonterm
> credit hour program has completed half the credit hours in a program,
> academic year, or remainder of a program.
>
> The changes will decreased burdens for schools and students.
>
> **Section 668.22 --- Post-withdrawal disbursements of grant funds
> directly to a student.**
>
> The regulations eliminate the current requirement that an institution
> notify a student who has withdrawn from school, and receive
> confirmation from the student, before making a post-withdrawal
> disbursement of Title IV grant funds directly to the student.
> Generally, since Title IV grant funds are the foundation of Title IV
> funds awarded to students for their educational costs, often few of
> these grant funds remain after direct costs are paid. However, when
> the amount of Title IV grants exceeds a student's costs as a
> post-withdrawal disbursement, the amount would be paid directly to the
> student. The regulations eliminate the requirement for the institution
> to send notification of the direct disbursement to the student and
> waiting for the student's confirmation that the direct disbursement of
> the Title IV grant funds are needed. Therefore, burden associated with
> the current notification and confirmation process is eliminated, thus
> under the proposed rule, the student would receive his or her direct
> disbursement of Title IV grant funds from a post-withdrawal
> disbursement more rapidly.
>
> A change makes post-withdrawal disbursement of Title IV loan proceeds
> which, although retaining the borrower notice and confirmation process
> currently set out in the regulations, requires the disbursement "as
> soon as possible" but no later than 120 days after determination of
> the student's withdrawal.

The changes to the requirements for disbursement of post-withdrawal
grant proceeds reduce burden to the institutions by eliminating a
notification and confirmation process, in those cases where the student
is eligible to receive a disbursement of Title IV grant funds directly.
Adding the language "as soon as possible" to the existing 120-day limit
for disbursement of post-withdrawal Title IV loan proceeds will have no
affect on paperwork burden.

# 

**2. Purpose and Use of Information Collected**

**General Provisions:**

The information collected, recorded, and/or disclosed in §668.22 will
continue to be used as necessary in the calculation of earned and
unearned portions of Title IV funds when a student does not complete the
payment period or period of enrollment for which he or she received
Title IV program assistance, or was eligible to receive Title IV program
assistance. The information collected, recorded, and/or disclosed in
§§668.183 and 668.193 will continue to be used as necessary in the
calculation of cohort default rates. If we did not require the
collection, recordation, and/or disclosure of information as specified
in §§668.183 and 668.193, we would not be able to calculate cohort
default rates.

**3. Consideration of Improved Information Technology**

**General Provisions:**

> We maximize the use of available technology in determining the earned
> and unearned amounts of Title IV funds when a student withdraws and
> for calculating cohort default rates. This effort reduces some of the
> burden associated with the calculation for the Return of Title IV
> Funds. This effort also extends to requirements that the cohort
> default rate regulations impose on schools.

**4. Efforts to Identify Duplication**

> A thorough review of procedures indicates that current requirements
> are minimal and avoid duplication. This review was done in conjunction
> with affected parties who have a vested interest in eliminating
> duplication.

**5. Burden Minimization as Applied to Small Business**

No small businesses are impacted by this collection.

**6. Consequences of Less Frequent Data Collection**

> Recordkeeping requirements are imposed to assure accountability of
> program participants for proper program administration and less
> frequent collection could impair accountability of program
> participants.

7.  **Special Circumstances Governing Data Collection**

> The collection of this information will be conducted in a manner that
> is consistent with the guidelines in 5 CFR 1320.5(d)(2).

**8. Consultation Outside the Agency**

> The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) has been published in the
> *Federal Register* for comment. The public has been the provided the
> opportunity to comment on this collection at the same time. The Final
> regulation was published on Nov. 1, 2007.

**9.** **Payments or Gifts to Respondents**

No payments or gifts will be provided to the respondents.

**10. Assurance of Confidentiality**

> A Privacy Act Notice is included on the Application Form and
> Promissory Note. In this notice, the borrower is informed of the
> statutory authority for collecting the information requested. Although
> disclosure of the information is voluntary, the borrower is informed
> that in order to be considered for Perkins Loan, FFEL, or Direct Loan
> Program funds, the information must be provided. The information
> provided is used to verify the borrower\'s identity, to determine the
> borrower\'s eligibility to receive an Perkins Loan, FFEL, or Direct
> Loan Program loan and benefits, to permit the servicing of the
> borrower\'s loan(s), and to locate the borrower and collect on the
> loan(s) if the loan(s) become delinquent or default. A listing of the
> persons and entities to which the information may be disclosed and for
> what purposes the information may be disclosed is also included.

**11. Questions of Sensitive Nature**

The Department is not requesting any sensitive data.

**12. Annual Hour Burden for Respondents/Recordkeepers.**

General Provisions:

> **Sections 668.4, 668.22, 668.164, 682.200, 682.604, 685.301 \--
> Payment periods and disbursements of Title IV grant and loan funds.**
>
> These regulations, with few exceptions, align disbursements for all
> Title IV grant and loan programs by making a number of changes to the
> payment period definitions and disbursement requirements for all Title
> IV grant and loan programs.
>
> Inconsistent requirements for disbursing Title IV grant and loan funds
> for certain types of programs can result in a student receiving the
> subsequent disbursements of his or her grant funds or Perkins Loan
> funds at a different point in time than second disbursements of his or
> her FFEL or Direct Loan funds. The regulations align Title IV
> disbursements to the same point in time and thus reduce burden for
> institutions and students. Changes to the regulations that achieve
> greater consistency in the timing of the disbursements of Title IV
> grant and loan funds reduce this burden and confusion for institutions
> and students. These changes include (1) specifying that an institution
> must disburse all Title IV grant and loan funds on a payment period
> basis; (2) requiring, generally, that an institution disburse all
> Title IV grant and loan funds once each payment period; (3) adding a
> time component to the payment period definitions for clock hour
> programs to make the disbursements of Title IV grant and Perkins Loan
> funds conform with the disbursements of FFEL and Direct Loan funds,
> which must, by law, include a time component; (4) using weeks of
> instructional time as the time component for determining all Title IV
> grant and loan disbursements; (5) removing the institutional option to
> have more than two payment periods for nonterm credit hour programs
> and clock hour programs; and (6) extending to clock hour programs the
> provision that addresses how to identify the end of a payment period
> when an institution is unable to determine whether a student in a
> nonterm credit hour program has completed half the credit hours in a
> program, academic year, or remainder of a program.
>
> The changes will decrease burdens for schools and students, which will
> be reflected in OMB Control Number 1845-0022.

[Burden Hour Assessment]{.underline}:

> \# of R2T4 OTW calculations: 52,467
>
> Est. \# of other R2T4
>
> calculations [X 2.56]{.underline}
>
> Annual est. \# of R2T4
>
> calculations 134,316
>
> \# of R2T4 calculations
>
> in the current inventory: [+\_ 15,650]{.underline}
>
> Total R2T4 calculations: 149,966

burden per calculation X 1 hour

Burden for total

R2T4 calculations 149,966 hours

Est. % affected by

proposed regulation X .12 %

17,996 hours of burden reduction

Affected Entities:

INDIVIDUALS:

17,996 hours of burden reduction X 20% = 3,599 hours

INSTITUTIONS:

17,996 hours of burden reduction X 80% = [14,397 hours]{.underline}

17,996 hours

Respondents, Responses and Burden Hours:

\# of Respondents \# of Responses #Hrs/Response #Hrs

Burden

134,316 149,966 .12 hours - 17,996

> Section 668.22 --- Post-withdrawal disbursements of grant funds
> directly to a student.
>
> The regulations eliminate the current requirement that an institution
> notify a student who has withdrawn from school, and receive
> confirmation from the student, before making a post-withdrawal
> disbursement of Title IV grant funds directly to the student.
> Generally, since Title IV grant funds are the foundation of Title IV
> funds awarded to students for their educational costs, often few of
> these grant funds remain after direct costs are paid. However, when
> the amount of Title IV grants exceeds a student's costs as a
> post-withdrawal disbursement, the amount would be paid directly to the
> student. The regulations eliminates the requirement for the
> institution to send notification of the direct disbursement to the
> student and waiting for the student's confirmation that the direct
> disbursement of the Title IV grant funds are needed. Therefore, burden
> associated with the current notification and confirmation process is
> eliminated, thus under the rule, the student would receive his or her
> direct disbursement of Title IV grant funds from a post-withdrawal
> disbursement more rapidly.
>
> A change is made to the post-withdrawal disbursement of Title IV loan
> proceeds which, although retaining the borrower notice and
> confirmation process currently set out in the regulations, requires
> the disbursement "as soon as possible" but no later than 120 days
> after determination of the student's withdrawal.

The changes to the requirements for disbursement of post-withdrawal
grant proceeds reduce burden to the institutions by eliminating a
notification and confirmation process, in those cases where the student
is eligible to receive a disbursement of Title IV grant funds directly.
The reduction in burden will be reflected in OMB 1845-0022. Adding the
language "as soon as possible" to the existing 120-day limit for
disbursement of post-withdrawal Title IV loan proceeds will have no
affect on paperwork burden.

Current Inventory:

\# of Respondents attributable to

Return to Title IV Funds (R2T4) 18,150

\# of R2T4 OTW calculations: 52,467

Est. \# of other R2T4

calculations [X 2.56]{.underline}

Total Est. \# of R2T4

calculations 134,316

New respondents attributable to

R2T4 [+ 134,316]{.underline}

Total \# Respondents 152,466

\# of Respondents with a post-withdrawal

disbursement consisting of Title

IV grant funds not used to pay

direct costs [X .01 hours]{.underline}

\# of affected respondents 1,525

Amount of burden reduction [X .33 hours]{.underline}

> 503 hours

Affected Entities:

INDIVIDUALS:

503 burden hours X 40% = 201 hours of burden reduction

INSTITUTIONS:

503 burden hours X 60% = [302]{.underline} hours of burden reduction

503 hours

Respondents, Responses and Burden Hours:

\# of Respondents \# of Responses #Hrs/Response #Hrs

Burden

#  152,466 1,525 .33 - 503 

# 

13. **Annual Cost Burden to Respondents**

**General Provisions:**

> Previously, burden to the government was incorrectly reported here,
> but has been reduced to zero.

**14**. **Estimated Annual Cost to the Federal Government**

> There are no additional costs to the Federal government as a result of
> the final regulations.

**15. Reasons for Changes to Burden Hour Estimated**

[Current Burden Inventory:]{.underline}

  ---- ------------ ----------------- ----------------- ------------------
       OMB                                              
       1845-0022                                        
       Version 3.0                                      

                                                        

  \#   Reg Section  \# of respondents Hrs/response      Burden hours

  1    668.3        1200              5                 6000

  2    668.8        80                1                 80

                    80                1                 80

  3    668.12       2398              1                 2398

                    200               0.25              50

  4    668.13       10                3                 30

  5    668.14       2000              1                 2000

  6    668.16       8500              6                 51000

  7    668.19       17600             0.17              2934

  8    668.22       300               4                 1200

                    850               2                 1700

                    8500              1                 8500

                    8500              0.5               4250

       Sub-total                                        

       for 668.22   18150                               15650

                                                        

  9    668.23       10000             1                 10000

                    400               1                 400

  10   668.24       10000             79.9              798164

  11   668.25       5000              1                 5000

  12   668.26       400               3                 1200

  13   668.32                                           0

  14   668.33                                           0

  15   668.34                                           0

  16   668.37                                           0

  17   668.42       8500              0.5               4250

                    8500              3                 25500

  18   668.43       8500              0.5               4250

  19   668.46       8500              4                 34000

                    8500              25                212500

  20   668.90       30                161               4830

                    45                5                 225

  21   668.96       160               4                 640

  22   668.98       15                8                 120

  23   668.113      120               1                 120

  24   668.124      15                8                 120

  25   668.171      2125              1                 2125

  26   668.174      5                 0.5               2.5

  27   668.175      964               0.25              424.5

  28   668.181      160               128               20480

  29   668.182      20                96                1920

  30   668.183      20                16                320

  31   668.184      320               0.5               175

  32   668.185      16                3                 48

  33   668.186 thru 9                 281.56            2534

       668.198                                          

                                                        

       Total        122,582                             1,209,890
  ---- ------------ ----------------- ----------------- ------------------

> **[Summary Current Burden Inventory:]{.underline}**
>
> [Respondents, Responses and Burden Hours:]{.underline}
>
> \# of Respondents \# of Responses #Hrs
>
> Burden
>
> 122,582 93,877 1,209,890
>
> The implementation of the proposed regulations as a result of the
> Negotiated Rulemaking process created additional information
> collections burden. A summary below is provided:
>
> **[New Burden Associated with the regulatory changes:]{.underline}**
>
> [Respondents, Responses and Burden Hours:]{.underline}
>
> \# of Respondents \# of Responses \# Hrs/Response #Hrs
>
> Burden
>
> Sections 668.4, 668.22, 668.164, 682.200, 682.604, 685.301 \-- Payment
> periods and disbursements of Title IV grant and loan funds
>
> 134,316 149,966 .12 -17,996
>
> Section 668.22 -- Post-withdrawal disbursements of grant funds
> directly to a student
>
> 152,466 1,525 .33 -503

Sub-total:

> \# of Respondents \# of Responses #Hrs

Burden

286,782 151,491 -18,499

> **[Revised Burden Inventory:]{.underline}**
>
> [Respondents, Responses and Burden Hours:]{.underline}

\# of Respondents \# of Responses #Hrs

> Burden

409,364 245,368 1,191,391

**16. Collection of Information with Published Results**

The results of the collection of information will not be published.

**17. Approval to Not Display Expiration Date**

ED is not seeking this approval.

**18. Exception to the Certification Statement**

> ED is not requesting any exceptions to the \"Certification for
> Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions\".