This Book

Purpose

The primary purpose of *The Blue Book* is to provide guidance to school
business office personnel who handle fiscal recordkeeping, accounting,
and reporting functions for federal Title IV student financial aid
programs authorized by the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended
(HEA). In addition, it provides a technical resource of Title IV
management responsibilities that are shared between various
administrative offices in a school. It also provides general information
about Title IV programs, policies, and procedures that are useful to all
institutional personnel who administer and manage Title IV programs.

Some procedures discussed in *The Blue Book* are recommended to help
institutions meet the fiscal responsibilities they agree to when they
sign a Title IV Program Participation Agreement (PPA) with the U.S.
Department of Education (ED). Other procedures described in *The Blue
Book* are required by federal laws and regulations. Although *The Blue
Book*'s primary focus is fiscal responsibilities, financial aid
administrators can also use *The Blue Book* as a reference tool for
shared responsibilities.

This edition of *The Blue Book* places special emphasis on the benefits
and challenges of managing Title IV programs electronically. The goals
of any electronic‑management system are to maintain accurate,
well‑organized records; submit required reports in an accurate and
timely manner; comply with federal laws and regulations; and provide
quality service to students.

Further, ED requires schools to use automated methods to meet certain
Title IV requirements, such as retrieving Institutional Student
Information Records (ISIRs) through the Internet, reporting Federal Pell
Grant disbursements through the Recipient Financial Management System
(RFMS), submitting the Fiscal Operations Report and Application to
Participate (FISAP) electronically, and reporting Title IV information
(including overpayments) online to the National Student Loan Data System
(NSLDS). Some schools also use ED's Grant Administration and Payment
System (GAPS) to request and draw down Title IV funds.\*

As a result, cooperation and communication across a school's
administrative offices, especially between the business office and the
financial aid office, are more important than ever. Schools also need to
be careful to ensure that electronic management does not blur the
legally required separation of *authorizing* Title IV funds and
*disbursing* Title IV funds. *The Blue Book* is designed to help schools
achieve these goals and to use ED's automated systems successfully.

What This Book Contains

![](media/image1.png){width="6.853472222222222in"
height="8.424305555555556in"}

Using *The Blue Book* at Your School

*The* *Blue Book* can perform several different functions for a school.
For example, it can serve as a:

-   training guide for new employees (especially in conjunction with
    ED's Fiscal Management Training Workshop and its Participant's
    Guide),

-   reference manual for any employee, *and*

-   basis for a school's fiscal policies and procedures manual.

Regardless of how a school uses this book, remember that it is only a
guide, and it does not replace federal laws, regulations, or generally
accepted accounting principles (GAAP). School personnel are still
responsible for familiarizing themselves with all relevant primary
source documents.

Margin References

*The Blue Book* uses three icons in the margin notes to direct readers
to other resources for the material being discussed in the text.

![](media/image2.wmf){width="0.48680555555555555in"
height="0.5055555555555555in"}

> The Computer icon is for electronic references, directing readers to
> Web sites of particular interest.
>
> ![](media/image3.wmf){width="0.44930555555555557in"
> height="0.45694444444444443in"}The Book icon is for published
> references and directs readers to specific regulations and other
> resources of particular interest (some of which might also be
> available electronically).
>
> ![](media/image4.wmf){width="0.8201388888888889in"
> height="0.8111111111111111in"}
>
> The New icon is for newly available Web sites and published resources,
> as well as new program guidelines.

![](media/image3.wmf){width="0.24027777777777778in"
height="0.24444444444444444in"}Other Resources

A companion publication to *The Blue Book* is ED's *Student Financial
Aid Handbook* (Handbook), which is a primary resource for financial aid
administrators. The Handbook is mentioned frequently throughout *The
Blue Book*. The Handbook consists of nine volumes published individually
and successively by ED each year and distributed to school financial aid
offices. Fiscal office personnel should know where to locate their
school's copy of the Handbook, and they might want to copy pertinent
sections for their own use or print them from\
ED's Web site.\*

Another ED publication vital to the work of a fiscal officer is the\
*U.S. Department of Education Payee Guide for the Grant Administration
and Payment System (GAPS)* \[GAPS *Payee Guide*\]. It provides
information on systems operations and procedures for federal funds paid
to schools through GAPS.\
The GAPS *Payee Guide* helps schools fulfill their responsibilities in
expediting payments, completing forms and reports, and controlling
federal cash received through GAPS. It also serves as a guide to ED's
new ePayments Web site.

Effective Date

This edition of *The Blue Book* is written on the basis of laws,
regulations, policies, and procedures published by April 1, 2000 and in
effect for the 2001-02 award year. Schools should be aware, however,
these laws, regulations, policies, and procedures are subject to change.
It is a school's responsibility to keep abreast of such changes so it
remains in compliance with current rules. Regular updates and changes in
policy guidance are posted on a daily basis on ED's IFAP Web site.

Comments and Suggestions on *The Blue Book*

Your comments and suggestions about any aspect of *The Blue Book* are
welcome. We are particularly interested in learning:

-   the purposes for which *The Blue Book* is being used (for example,
    reference, self-study, training new staff);

-   the appropriateness of the content and the usefulness of the
    appendices; *and*

-   whether you feel this publication is among those that ED's Office of
    Student Financial Assistance (OSFA) should update on a regular
    basis.

You may send your comments to:

*The Blue Book*/SFA University

SFA/U.S. Department of Education

Room 600-C, Portals Building

1280 Maryland Avenue, SW

Washington, DC 20202-5361