# Presentation: 881607

## 2001-2002 Application Delivery System Update

- <date/time>

## 2001-2002 Delivery System Update

**Important Dates**
**Application Processing Volumes**
**FAFSA Changes**
**Paper Renewal FAFSA/Renewal Application Process**
**PINs**
**Electronic Applications**
**Changes to SAR and ISIR**
**Changes to System Edits, Database Matches**
**EDExpress**

- Session 2 -

## 2001-2002 Delivery SystemImportant Dates

**Nov****	****Delivery System Changes ****	****	****Action Letters on IFAP**
**Nov****	****Revised ISIR Layout in 2001- 2002 ****	****Technical Reference**
**Nov****	****Federal School Code List mailed **
**Dec****	****Guide to ISIRs posted on IFAP **
**Jan 1****	****All electronic applications available**
***Jan 2******	******2001- 2002 delivery system ******	******	******starts up!!***

- Session 2 -

**Notes:**
Nov 	In November we will post a series of Delivery System Changes 	Action Letters on IFAP
We’ve posted:
EDExpress Changes Action Letter (#3)
Changes to Delivery System Action Letter (#4)
Will soon post changes to electonic applications (#5) 
Nov	Revised ISIR Layout in 2001-2002 Technical 		Reference (first draft was posted on IFAP in July 2000)
Nov	Federal School Code List will be mailed to schools in 		November; also, we’ll update school code list on web
Dec	Guide to ISIRs posted on IFAP 
Jan 1	Electronic applications available -- FAFSA on the 		Web/Renewal FAFSA on the Web/FAFSA 			Express/COTW/FAFSA Express available to be 		downloaded on www.fafsa.ed.gov
Jan 2	2001-2002 delivery system starts up.  This is about 2 weeks 	earlier than we’ve ever been able to start up the CPS, so we’re 	excited about that.  Schools should begin to receive ISIRs about 	3 or 4 days later.    

## Electronic Applications1999-2000 and 2000-2001

**For the first 46 weeks of processing for 1999-2000 and 2000-2001**** **

- Wow!

- Session 2 -

**Notes:**
Overall, 2000-2001 application volume has increased 2.1% over 1999-2000.

## FAFSA Processing

- Electronic vs. Paper

- 14%

- 15%

- 17%

- 20%

- 24%

- 32%

- 40%

-    50%

- Session 2 -

**Notes:**
This slide gives you an historical perspective on our paper vs. electronic forms processing.
We began modestly in 1994-95 with 14% of our application being received electronically -- these were exclusively EDExpess applications that you entered -- and have seen steady increase to at least 40% for the current year.
The percent for 2001-2002 is unknown; we hope for 50% but our success depends on help from schools to get their students to use the web.

## FAFSA on the Web Promotional Kits

- To promote FAFSA on the Web, ED  once again developing FAFSA on the Web Promotional Kits
- Will distribute to:
**Postsecondary schools**
**High schools**
**State agencies**
**Libraries**
**PTAs **
**TRIO Centers**** **

- Session 2 -

**Notes:**
In order to encourage you, and also others who work with FA applications, to promote using the web to apply for FA to students and their families.  
To do this,  will once again provide FOTW promotional kits containing posters, brochures, etc., for you to use.
Kits will include:
Brochures
Posters
bookmarks
flyer re: banner ad
Tips sheet
Post-It Notes
(Brochures, posters, bookmarks, and TIPs sheets can be reordered).
In November, Kits will be mailed to:
high schools
postsecondary schools
state agencies
libraries
 PTAs 
TRIO Centers 

## 2001-2002 FAFSA

- FAFSA Ordering/Distribution
- Announcement on IFAP (ANN-00-14)
- Distribution began in October
- 2001-2002 FAFSA Color Scheme
**Green = PANTONE CVU 344U**
**Purple = PANTONE CVU 263**
- Includes postcard

- Session 2 -

**Notes:**
 OMB cleared the 2001-2002 FAFSA on May 26, 2000.
 There is an Announcement on IFAP (ANN-00-14, posted in September 2000) on how to order your supply of FAFSAs, both English and Spanish versions (or other publications like the 2001-2002 Student Guide and various SFA brochures)
Go to IFAP, select the link called “Ordering Publications”, then click on “Bulk Publication Ordering System.”  Postsecondary schools will need to provide their 8-digit OPEID before placing their order.
Orders will be fulfilled in the order that they were placed.  
2001-2002 FAFSA Color Scheme 
Green is for students - PANTONE 344U
Purple is for parents = PANTONE CVU 263 (Stable color)
We will once again include a return-receipt postcard with the paper FAFSA.

## 2001-2002 FAFSA

- Building on success of 1999-2000 Redesign
- Rejection rate for original paper FAFSAs through first 6 months of processing
- 1998-1999:  16%
- 1999-2000:  8.1%
- 2000-2001:  7.6%

- Session 2 -

**Notes:**
This year we have built on the successes of the 1999-2000 redesign where we took form from 16 to 8 pages (4 page application and 4 pages of instructions).
The 2001-2002 FAFSA retains the core design of the redesigned 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 FAFSA, with a few significant changes to the application.
We have kept the linear flow of the form, so that it moves from top to bottom, which seems to be straightforward for our applicants and seems to work well for everyone.
I want to share some pretty exciting statistics about the FAFSA:
In 1998-99, which was the last year of the old version of the FAFSA, for first six months or processing, the reject rate on first transactions was 16%
For the same period in 1999-2000 (first six months), the reject rate was only 8.1%, or nearly half.
And in 2000-2001, the reject rate has continued to decline to 7.6%. 
These are very exciting figures; these are hundreds of thousands of students whose first applications are not rejected.
We think this translates to fewer hours spent by student, parents, and YOU, correcting data and we hope to keep improving the application as we move forward.

## 2001-2002 FAFSA

- Changes made to the 2001-2002 FAFSA based on
- Feedback from students, parents, schools, and states
- Usability Testing
- Send suggestions and comments to:
- U.S. Department of Education
- FAFSA Coordinator
- Application Processing
- ROB-3, Room 4621
- Washington, DC 20202-5454

- Session 2 -

**Notes:**
The changes we made to the 2001-2002 FAFSA were made basically as a result of two things -- 
feedback and comments from students, parents, financial aid administrators, state agencies, and others.
Usability testing. We performed 7 rounds of usability testing on the FAFSA with students and parents throughout the development process.
Our goals for testing the FAFSA were to:
Make the form friendlier, easier to understand, and less intimidating, and 
to get the best data possible from students and parents the first time around.
But, truly, some of the best changes came from you, the financial aid professionals, especially suggested alternate wording for FAFSA questions.
We encourage you to continue to make suggestions -- send them to the address on the slide.
So, let’s go ahead and look at the actual form, starting with page one.
Again, I’m going to cover the highlights today, not all of the changes.  I encourage you to read the Action Letter, which covers all FAFSA changes in great detail.

## 2001-2002 FAFSA

- Session 2 -

**Notes:**
We have revised the insert quite extensively.  We asked many of you if you could tell applicants something when filling out FAFSA, what would it be.  The insert tells applicants these things.

I think if you look at the first page of the 2001-2002 FAFSA you’ll immediately see some differences.
It looks different.  It’s --
Cleaner
Less intimidating
You’ll also notice that we’ve put state deadlines in a vertical box along the right hand side of the page.  This has proven to be much easier for applicants to read.
We also added number to some of the text:  1, 2, 3, 4
The numbers loosely translate into:
What you should do before completing the form, 
What you should do while you’re filling out the application
What you should do after you complete it, and
Then some encouragement to actually begin completing the form.
The numbers seem to break the application into manageable parts that give the impression that You can do it.  1,2,3, it’s not that much to do, it’s possible.
With narrow column, more white space, and the addition of 1,2,3, and 4, we found in usability testing that people are much more likely to read this page instead of skipping straight to the form itself.
During our comment period for the form the number one non-data element comment we received from FAAs was PLEASE tell the student that they must have a SAR into the FA Office by their last day of enrollment.  So . . .  we have included a statement on the first page that tells students just that.
Information about 2000 tax return and unusual circumstances moved higher up on page to be more noticeable
Web address provided for on-line status checking 

## 2001-2002 FAFSANotes on Page 2

- Values of “grade level” question (#30) changed to better correspond to year in school
- “0” for 1st year/never attended college
- Graduate/professional split into first-year and continuing

- Session 2 -

**Notes:**
Turn to page 2 of the form
Okay, let’s look at Notes for Question 30, Grade Level
Values of “grade level” question (#30) change to better correspond to year in school
“0” for 1st year/never attended college.   1 is for first year, attended college previously, then 2, 3, 4, 5 correspond to sophomore, junior, senior, 5th year U/G
Graduate/professional split into first-year and continuing, 6 and 7

## 2001-2002 FAFSA Page 3

- Application form layout revised
- Friendlier look
- Questions more prominent and delineated
- First name changed from 9 to 12 characters
- Address changed from 28 to 35 characters

- Session 2 -

**Notes:**
Okay, let’s look at the first page of the application (which is page 3 of the form).
It looks different:
The large, boxy blocks of color gone, now we have more rounded curves
The individual questions are more clearly delineated. 
In usability testing, it seemed to be much easier for applicants to get thru the form, which is something we’re striving for.

One data element change on page one that I’d like to point out is that:
First name field has been increased from 9 to 12 characters.
In the 1999-2000 application year we discovered that we had 53,000 Christophs.
Now Christoph is a fine name; I don’t in any way mean to belittle it, but it just may be that some of these Christophs may be in reality Christophers yearning to be free.
So we’ve increased first name field
This change also makes the CPS consistent with other ED systems
We also increased address field from 28 to 25 characters to be better able to capture complete addresses in more cases. 

## 2001-2002 Paper Original FAFSAPage 3, The Drug Question

- The Drug Question moved from Question 28 to 35:
- Increase its prominence
- Move from under instruction directing applicants to leave blank questions that do not apply to them
- “Do not leave question blank” wording added
- Reworded question for “Yes/No” response
- Treatment of Renewal FAFSA, electronic applications, and SAR same as current year

- Session 2 -

**Notes:**
This question was confusing for many applicants, and as a result, many students initially left the question blank.
The first thing we did in developing the 2001-2002 drug question was to move it from Question 28 to 35 and place it at the bottom of page 3.  We did this to:
increase its prominence, reducing the likelihood that it will be left blank, and 
move the question out from under the instruction at the top of the page that directs applicants to leave blank any questions on page 3 that do not apply to them.
In addition, we added a bold indicator next to the question that says “DO NOT LEAVE QUESTION 35 BLANK. 
We also worked closely with some schools and states to develop wording for this question that would be easier to understand, and tested multiple versions of the drug question with students.  
We’re using a “yes” and “no” approach on FAFSA.  This is how the wording will appear on the 2001-2002 FAFSA:
35. Do not leave this question blank.  Have you ever been convicted of possessing or selling illegal drugs?  If you have, answer “Yes,” complete and submit this application, and we will send you a worksheet in the mail for you to determine if your conviction affects your eligibility for aid.
Students then fill in a “Yes” or a “No” oval, just as they do with other Yes/No questions on the FAFSA.   
Treatment of Renewal FAFSA, electronic applications, and SAR same as current year

## 2001-2002 FAFSAPage 3, The Drug Question, cont.

- FAFSA answers translate to following values on SAR:
- “No” on FAFSA	=	“1” on SAR
- “Yes” on FAFSA 	=	“3” on SAR
- SAR values for Question 35 are:
- 1	=	No (eligibility not affected)
- 2	=	Yes (part-year eligibility)
- 3	=	Yes / Don’t know
- Worksheet included with SAR if Question 35 is “blank” or “3”

- Session 2 -

**Notes:**
FAFSA “yes” and “no” values are translated to numerical values on the SAR:
Students who enter “No” to question 35 on the FAFSA will receive a “1” on their SARs.  
Students who enter “Yes” will receive a “3” on their SARs, indicating that they have a conviction that might affect their eligibility.  
But there are actually three different values on the SAR, as follows:

1	=	No (eligibility not affected)
2	=	Yes (part-year eligibility)
3	=	Yes / Don’t know  
This response can also be left “BLANK,” although that is not desirable.
So on an 01 transaction you should never see a response of “2,” just 1’s, 3’s, and blanks (but hopefully not many of those)
Students who leave the question blank will receive a SAR comment stressing that they must answer question 35.  The will also receive a worksheet with their SAR to help them figure out whether any convictions they may have affect their eligibility for aid. 
Applicants who answer this question with a “3” will get a  SAR comment directing them to use the worksheet to determine whether their conviction affects their eligibility and to use the SAR to make a correction if necessary.  So, students may be changing their responses from a 3 to a 2, or a 3 to a 1.

## 2001-2002 FAFSAPage 3, The Drug Question, cont.

- Question #35 correctable
- On SAR
- Via the Web
- Through school
- By calling Federal Student Aid Information Center
- Response of “2” or “3” will generate SAR “C” code and comment
- Blank response will generate comment, but no SAR “C” code
- When a “2” or “3” response changed to “1,” SAR comment generated

- Session 2 -

**Notes:**
If necessary, the student can change their response to this question:
In addition to all regular means of correcting SAR data (SAR, Web, and  corrections through schools), we will also retain all of the special means of correction put into place for this question in 2000-2001:
Students can make corrections via the automated voice response system at the Federal Student Aid Information Center, or 
Student can call the FSAIC and have an operator make the correction over the phone, provided the student gives all of the proper identifying information

If the student responds to the question with a 2 or a 3, in addition to a SAR comment there will also be a SAR “C” code.
Blank responses will generate a comment, but no SAR “C” code.  The treatment of blanks has not changed from last year (actually, with the exception of the wording change on the FAFSA, procedures are pretty much the same).  If student left this answer blank, schools can award and disburse aid.  ED will notify you if student changes their response.
When a student changes a response from a 2 or a 3 to a 1, they will also get a comment (but not C code) alerting them to the fact that they’ve changed their answer so that they now appear eligible for aid.

## 2001-2002 FAFSAPages 4 and 5

- Tax return filing (#36 and 70)
- “Have filed” now “Have completed”
- “Will file” now “Will file, but have not completed”
- Earned Income Credit (EIC) moved to Worksheet A
- Business and Investment Farm questions combined
- Cash/savings moved to after assets

- Session 2 -

**Notes:**
With that, let’s move to page 4 (2nd page of the application form) where we’ve made some more “refinements”:
Revised wording of Tax Return Filing questions (36 and 70)
We’ve had problems with the current year wording and we received a lot of comments on it:
Current wording really wasn’t getting at what we wanted. What we wanted was the difference between students who had completed their return, whether or not they had submitted it to the IRS and people who were basically guessing wildly.
So we changed the “have filed” wording to “Have completed . . .” my return
And, the “will file” wording has been changed to “Will file, but have not yet completed” my return.
We ran the wording thru usability testing and students seemed to understand it much better 
We’re optimistic that this change is going to go a long way toward addressing the comments we received from many of you about the difficulty  you were having with the wording of this question.

EIC -- We moved EIC off of the application form and onto Worksheet A, which I’ll talk about in a minute.

We also combined business and investment farm net worth because so few people enter anything in these lines and it freed up more space on the form.

We moved the cash and savings question after the other asset questions.  
For some reason, when answering this question before investments it seemed to cue them to guess more wildly on the rest of the investment questions.  
By moving it to the end, students seemed more likely to first go to the notes to see what we meant by investments and this helped them to answer the investment questions more accurately.

## 2001-2002 FAFSA  Page 4, Step Three

- Two changes made to Step Three “dependency questions”
- Changed wording of the graduate or professional student question
- Split “Do you have dependents” question into two separate questions

- Session 2 -

**Notes:**
Let’s talk about the Dependency questions in step 3.  As many of you know, students had a very difficult time understanding some of these question.  I’d like to describe 2 big changes we made in this section.  
First, we changed the wording of the graduate and professional student question.
In many ways, this question is representative of the FAFSA as a whole.  
For us, as financial aid professionals, whether a student is a graduate or professional student is fairly straightforward.  
However, the FAFSA is the single federal financial aid application for all students in the United States.  
So this single question has to be understood and correctly answered by everyone, from the high school senior who is preparing to go to college for the first time, to the ‘all-but-dissertation’ graduate student working to finish up a Ph.D., and everyone in between.
During usability testing we learned that the terms “graduate” and “professional” are easily misunderstood.  So we changed the wording of this question to read as follows:
Will you be working on a master’s or doctorate program (such as an MA, MBA, MD, JD, or Ph.D.) during the school year 2001-2002.
Once we came up with this wording, we tested it again and EVERYONE got it right.
Second, to make the “Do you have dependents?” question easier to understand, we split the old FAFSA question  into 2 separate questions:
Number 55 is now do you have children who receive more than half of their support from you?
Number 56 is now Do you have dependents (other than your children or spouse) who live with you and receive more than half their support from you, now and through June 30, 2002?

## 2001-2002 FAFSA  Worksheets

- Untaxed income split into
- Worksheet A, and
- Worksheet B
- Income Exclusion worksheet now Worksheet C

- Session 2 -

**Notes:**
Before we wrap up our discuss about FAFSA changes I want to talk a minute about the worksheets on page 8.
As you can see, we split Worksheet A into two worksheets this year, Worksheet A and B.  
When we did our major redesign of the form in 1999-2000, one of the ways we did that was to take several of the questions on the form and move them to the Worksheets, items like AFDC, which is now TANF, SS benefits, child support payments. 
In the years since, we’ve had lots of comments to please put them back!
We don’t want to put them back for a number of reasons, but chiefly because the number of people who actually answer those questions doesn’t justify having them take up space on the form itself. 
But when we asked FAAs why they wanted them back on the form, the number one reason we heard was that the school or state had a special aid program that uses this data to identify particularly needy students. 
So what we’ve done is split Worksheet A into two worksheets, A and B.  Based on a suggestion we got this year, we have a Worksheet A where students report income that is associated with particularly needy students, and Worksheet B where students report income not normally associated with the neediest students.   So WS A has “needy” untaxed income items like TANF and Earned Income Credit, and WS B has other types of untaxed income items, like tax deferred pensions, IRA deductions, and so on.

Finally, the Income Exclusion Worksheet (formerly Worksheet B) is now Worksheet C.

## 2001-2002 Renewal FAFSA

- Questions reworded and reordered to correspond to FAFSA changes
- Change made to carry forward all schools listed on student’s 		2000-2001 application, unless student tells us to delete school or  enters different school code

- Session 2 -

**Notes:**
The Renewal FAFSA isn’t changing much in terms of format and design from the current form.

Questions reworded and reordered to correspond to the changes we made to the FAFSA, but the basic design will remain the same.
I do want to highlight two changes that we are making to the form.
The first  major change that we are making is the way we present the school codes on the form and what the student does to indicate whether or not they want ISIR data sent to those schools.
Basically, we’re going to do the opposite of what we do now.  
We’re going to automatically carry forward the school codes on the renewal appl, unless the student specifically tells us not to. 
Means you’ll get a few more ISIRs for students who are not attending your school, but at least you’ll get all of the ones that you need to have.

## Renewal FAFSA

- CPS pre-populated data from 2000-2001 FAFSA
- Number in College for dependent students
- Legal Resident by 1/1/96?
- Parent SSNs and Last Name
- Business and farm net worth
- “No” answer to “Legal Dependents” question
- Drug Question
- Renewal FAFSA and Instructions on IFAP

- Session 2 -

**Notes:**
The second big change are to the items that we’ll carry forward from the student’s 2000-2001 FAFSA.
We’ll continue to prepopulate data on the 2001-2002 renewal FAFSA from the students 2000-2001 application as we’ve been doing, but we’ll prepopulate a few additional fields as well.  Most of these are things that you all asked us to carry forward from last year’s application: 
Number in College for dependent students -- because that definition will be the same now as last year we’re able to carry it forward.
Answer to whether applicant will be a legal resident before 1/1/96 -- We’ll carry forward that answer.
Parent SSNs and Last Name
Business and farm net worth -- Since we combined business and farm networth, we’ll take last year’s values for the two separate questions, add them together, and carry the single answer forward.
“No” answer to “Legal Dependents” question -- the two questions:  Do you have children and Do you have other dependents, we’re going to take the one question from last year and if the answer was “no”, we’ll prepopulate the new questions both as no.   If they said yes, we’re going to leave it blank, because we don’t really know which question they were saying “yes” to and we don’t want to guess.
Drug question
A “1” will be carried forward as a “1” 
A “3” will be carried forward as a “3”
A “blank” as a “blank”
And “2” will be carried forward as a “1”
Renewal FAFSA and Instructions are on IFAP. 

## Renewal Application Process

- CPS will automatically send PINs instead of paper Renewal FAFSAs to:
- All 2000-2001 web filers (FOTW/RFOTW/COTW)
- Applicants who indicated on 2000-2001 FAFSA that they were graduate or 5th year undergraduate students
- PIN mailers alert students of Renewal Application process and encourage them to use RFOTW to reapply for aid
- Postal Service will forward PINs to these students if they filed a change of address form

- Session 2 -

**Notes:**
We are once again offering a renewal application process in 2001-2002.
Two Action Letters currently on IFAP.
Action Letter #1 posted to IFAP in July 2000 and provides general information about changes
Second Action Letter on IFAP in September 2000 provides detailed description of changes and instructions for making requests

CPS will automatically send PINs instead of paper Renewal FAFSAs to:  
All 2000-2001 web filers (FOTW/RFOTW/COTW)
Applicants who indicated on 2000-2001 FAFSA that they were graduate or 5th year undergraduate students

PIN mailers will alert students of Renewal Application process and encourage them to use RFOTW to reapply for aid

Postal Service will forward PINs to these students if they filed a change of address form

## Renewal Application Process

- Schools can use RAD file to determine if student received PIN or paper Renewal FAFSA
- Schools can request RAD file and print report:
- PIN indicator set:  Student received PIN
- PIN indicator blank:  Student received paper Renewal FAFSA

- Session 2 -

**Notes:**
Many of you have indicated that you’d like to have a way to figure out which of your students received Renewal FAFSAs and which received PINs, so we will continue to give you this ability.
After 10/27, which is the date we finished processing the Ren. Appl. requests and created the RAD file, we know whose getting paper Renewal and whose getting a PIN.
You can request  RAD file to determine if student received PIN or paper Renewal FAFSA
Schools can request RAD file and print report:
PIN indicator set:  Student received PIN
PIN indicator blank:  Student received paper Renewal FAFSA

## Renewal Application Process  New for 2001-2002

- Changed Renewal Application Process so that:
- Students can reapply for aid using Renewal FAFSA on the Web on continual basis
- FAAs can use web to request Renewal Applications be printed and mailed to school for distribution (available in Spring 2001)

- Session 2 -

**Notes:**
In 2001-2002, we will be offering a couple of new features to our Renewal Application process:

On a continuing basis, students will be able to reapply for aid using Renewal FAFSA on the Web 
This means that after the initial Renewal application build that we do every fall, and we send out renewal appls to students, we’ll now be updating and adding to our database so student who apply after the initial Renewal period will be able to go to the Web and complete a Renewal FAFSA on the Web.
Another new feature that we’ve added is for you to be able to go out to the web and request a printed Renewal Application for an individual student.   This is something you’ve been asking for for awhile now and we’re now finally able to do it.  So if you have a student you need to request a paper Renewal FAFSA, beginning in Spring 2001 you will be able to go out on the web and make this request.    The Renewal Applications will be printed and mailed to you for distribution to the student. 

## Renewal Application Process  Important Dates 

- Nov 2 - 10:  CPS mailed Renewal FAFSAs to schools to distribute to students
- Nov 13 - Dec 29: CPS prints and mails Renewal FAFSAs not requested by schools
- Nov 13 - Dec 29: PIN mailers sent to students

- Session 2 -

**Notes:**
Nov 2 - 10:  CPS prints and mails  Renewal FAFSAs to schools to distribute to students
Nov 13 - Dec 29: CPS prints and mails Renewal FAFSAs not requested by schools
Nov 13 - Dec 29: PIN mailers sent to students

## PINs 

- Key to electronic commerce and modernizing our systems
- Serves as electronic signature
- Used to gain access to ED systems, including
- Renewal FAFSA on the Web
- Corrections on the Web
- NSLDS
- Direct Loan Origination
- Direct Loan Servicing
- Loan Consolidation (status of application)

- Session 2 -

**Notes:**
Now I’d like to switch gears and talk about our electronic application products, beginning with  PINs

PINs are the key to electronic commerce and modernizing our systems
Serves as electronic signature  
Used to gain access to ED systems, including 
Renewal FAFSA on the Web
Corrections on the Web
NSLDS
Direct Loan Servicing
Loan Consolidation (status of application)

## PINs

- PINs mailed to all 2001-2002 applicants if they:
- Did not receive one as part of the Renewal Application Process
- Signed their FAFSA
- Provided a complete mailing address, and
- Successfully matched with SSA
- PIN mailer will include tear-out card
- From PIN web site, users can create their own PIN
- Students can change their address on the PIN web site

- Session 2 -

**Notes:**

PINs mailed to all 2001-2002 applicants who 
did not already receive one as part of the Ren. Application Process 
who signed FAFSA, 
provided complete mailing address, and 
successfully matched with SSA. 
We’ll send the same PIN to student who previously received one, and
New applicants will get PINs for the first time. 

We’ve also made some improvements to our PINs based on suggestions from you:
Beginning in November 2000, PIN mailer will include a tear-out card
From PIN web site users can create their own PIN 
Students can change their address on the PIN web site-- caution, though, that this does not update their CPS address, at least not yet 

Comment on the PIN Registration System that we tried to implement this past Spring -- still negotiating with SSA and hope to implement the system later this fall.

## Slide 27

- Session 2 -

## FAFSA on the Web              Enhancements 

- Available Jan. 1, 2001
- Improved form-based version; eliminated interview format
- Most students using form-based format
- Incorporates best of both formats
- Includes skip logic and editing
- Spanish version available

- Session 2 -

**Notes:**
Available Jan. 2, 2001
In 2000-2001, we offered both an Interview and Form-based format for FOTW, but
Only 13% are using the Interview Format
87% are using the Form-based 
We decided to focus our attention on improving the form-based version and eliminate the Interview version since it was clearly not the application format of choice.    
The Form-based version will includes skip logic, edits, help text and so on.
Spanish version available
Screens, help text, and responses in Spanish
Spanish-speaking customer service representatives to assist users (at the 1-800 number)

## FAFSA on the WebEnhancements

- Captures PIN up front
- Makes signature process easier
- Will scan to see if student is eligible to file a Renewal FAFSA
- If eligible, student given option to apply using Renewal FAFSA on the Web

- Session 2 -

**Notes:**
Students continue to have some difficulty with the signature page process, so we have tried to address this problem in 2001-2002.

As you know, we mailed PINs to all 2000-2001 aid applicants who passed our SSN match, so many students now have PINs (more than 13 million PINs have been mailed to date).
To take advantage of this, we have changed FOTW to allow for an up front signature process for the student (much like RFOTW and COTW).
When the student goes to FOTW, we’ll ask them if they have a PIN.
If they do, we’ll capture PIN up front
Makes signature process easier
Allows for automatic scan to see if student is eligible to file a Renewal Application 
If eligible, student given option to apply using Renewal FAFSA on the Web

Students can also sign electronically at the end of the process, like currently.
If no PIN, student can: 
Print and sign signature page at end of application
Sign rejected SAR

## Redesigned Screens

- Session 2 -

**Notes:**
Redesigned Home Page and FOTW Application screens
Tabular organization  
FOTW re-engineered using Java Servlets
Serves up one application page at a time   
Reduces scrolling
Easier navigation

## Improved Progress Bar

- Session 2 -

**Notes:**
We have improved our FOTW progress bar
Makes clearer to applicants:
The steps involved in completing FOTW 
Lets them easily see which sections they have already completed, and
which sections still need to be completed
Includes steps for signature and submittal processes
Allows for easy navigation back to sections already completed

## FAFSA on the WebEnhancements

- New and improved “save” process
- With User ID and self-selected password, application saved to web site
- Application saved for 45 days

- Session 2 -

**Notes:**
To save, students must enter SSN, DOB, First 2 letters of their last name, and a user-defined password.

To access their application, student just needs to click on a tab on FOTW that takes student to a login Information screen.  Student just enters their SSN, date of birth, first 2 letters of last name, and the password they selected when they saved the application in the first place. 

We will save the application on the serve for 45 days.  To extend the date, the student just needs to access their FOTW application and the clock will be reset to give the applicant another 45 days.  

## FAFSA on the WebEnhancements

- Option to provide e-mail address
- 50-character field
- Will be included on ISIR
- Can correct via web or by calling 		1-800-4FED AID
- Displayed on SAR, but not correctable
- ED will use e-mail address for electronic postcard

- Session 2 -

**Notes:**
Many of you have asked us to collect email addresses for students
So in 2001-2002, we will give students the option to provide e-mail addresses on their electronic applications.
50-character field
Will be included on ISIR
Can correct via web or by calling 1-800-4FED AID
Displayed on SAR, but not correctable

Note:  Students who correct email address by calling PIC will get a SAR
Students who correct email on web will get a SAR Acknowledgement.

We will use the Email address to send students an electronic postcard letting them know the status of their application. 

## FAFSA on the WebEnhancements

- Expanded on-line application status checking feature.  Students can:
- View receipt and processing dates, as in current cycle
- With PIN, view EFC and application data
- View comments
- Correct data by clicking on link to Corrections on the Web

- Session 2 -

**Notes:**
Expanded on-line application status checking feature for students
Can view EFC and processing dates, as in current cycle
Will be able to view all applicant data in a format that looks similar to the SAR 
Can choose specific transaction 
Can view comments associated with transaction 

After viewing, can correct data by clicking on link to Corrections on the Web 

## FAFSA on the WebEnhancements

- Will add real-time help on-line
- Will allow applicants to
- Ask questions on-line
- Get help on-line
- Available from multiple points on the web, including within application

- Session 2 -

**Notes:**
Will add real-time help on-line
Will allow applicants to
Ask questions online
We will respond right away so that they can proceed with their application without interruption and having to wait.
Get help online 
Available from multiple points on the web, including within application

## Corrections on the Web

- Implemented on April 28, 2000 for 2000-2001 and beyond
- PIN required to access web corrections
- PIN serves as student’s electronic signature
- Student can change all data elements, except SSN and date of birth
***Parents*** of dependent students must sign only when* ****parent*** data is corrected

- Session 2 -

**Notes:**

Implemented on April 28, 2000, for 2000-2001 processing year and beyond
Just like with Renewal FOTW, PIN required to access web corrections
Student can change all data elements on SAR, except SSN and date of birth
PIN serves as student’s electronic signature
Parents of dependent students must sign only when parent data is corrected

## New Shopping Cart Approach to Corrections on the Web

- Session 2 -

**Notes:**
New “shopping cart” approach to making corrections on the web
Summary list of questions provided
Applicant can select specific questions to correct
Only pages with selected questions shown to student

## FAFSA Express

- Available to download from the Web at www.fafsa.ed.gov on Jan. 1, 2001
- Web signature options available to FAFSA Express users
- 2001-2002 will be last year for FAFSA Express

- Session 2 -

**Notes:**
Available to download from the Web at www.fafsa.ed.gov on Jan. 2, 2001
Web signature options available to FAFSA Express users
2001-2002 will be last year for FAFSA Express 
Volume has steadily declined 
Since so few people are using, we’d like to phase out product and focus our attention on our web products, so we’re announcing at conferences and in the Action Letter that this will be the last year for FE.

## Student Aid ReportNew for 2001-2002

- SAR redesigned to be an easier document for students to understand and use
- SAR redesign effort will occur in two phases
- In 2001-2002, focused on Part One
- In 2002-2003, will improve Part Two
- Extensive usability testing with students and parents

- Session 2 -

**Notes:**
We’ve redesigned the SAR for 2001-2002 so that it it more of a student-focused document. 

SAR redesign effort will occur in two phases
In 2001-2002, focused on Part One
In 2002-3003, will improve Part Two

Extensive usability testing done with students and parents -- describe.

## Redesigned SAR

***Redesigned SAR***

- Session 2 -

**Notes:**
Font changed so that SAR looks friendlier
Letter format used
First page illustrates where applicant is in the process and who players are
No more separate Information Review and Information Request forms;
If information is needed, a message saying this will appear in step 2 under You (the Student)
If student is selected for verification, a message that “School will ask for copies of certain financial documents.”
No more separate Part One and Part Two of SAR.
Will no longer include duplicative summary page of applicant information

## SAR Comments

- Session 2 -

**Notes:**
Folded Information and Codes page information into SAR, rather than print as separate enclosure

Revised and reorganized comments so they’re easier to understand and less cumbersome to read through.

Will no longer print comments that are for school use only.

## Other Changes to SAR

- Session 2 -

**Notes:**
Eliminated intermediate EFC values in Financial Aid Office Use Only section.

## Condensed Financial Aid History Information

- Session 2 -

**Notes:**
NSLDS History Page condensed to reflect just that information that a student would need and want to know.
Aggregate Loan Information
Information about all defaulted loans
We will also refer students to NSLDS web site if they want more information than that. 
A complete copy of  2001-2002 SAR is on IFAP.  We encourage you to look at it and give us your feedback.     

## Student Aid ReportNew for 2001-2002

- Students who apply on web or make corrections on web will receive SAR Acknowledgement, unless application is rejected for signature
- FAFSA Express filers will continue to receive SAR

- Session 2 -

**Notes:**
Another change we’ve made to the SAR that you’ll want to know about is that:

Students who apply on web or make corrections on web will receive SAR Acknowledgement -- we made this change because students can now make COTW so they really don’t have a need for a full SAR.
Exception: Student/parent doesn’t sign, in which case student will receive rejected SAR.
FAFSA Express filers will continue to receive SAR, because they may not have access to the Web to make corrections.

## 2001-2002 SAR and ISIR

- SAR will be green
- SAR and ISIR record layout follow order of questions on FAFSA
- Draft ISIR record layout available on IFAP

- Session 2 -

## ISIR ChangesYou asked for it, you got it!

- New flag indicates whether correction was made by student, school, or CPS
- New EFC Change Flag indicates if EFC has changed from previous transaction
- Correction flags modified to identify corrections both by transaction and cumulatively

- Session 2 -

**Notes:**

New flag indicates whether correction was made by student or school 

We’re adding a new flag to your ISIRs that will tell you if the EFC has changed from the previous transaction.  We’re calling this new flag the “EFC Change Flag” 

Another change we made was to the corrections flags that we carry of the ISIR for each SAR field.  Some of you wanted the flags to be cumulative and some of you wanted them to be transaction specific.  
Right now they’re cumulative and each time a correction is made to a field we add a flag and carry that flag on all subsequent transactions.  We continue to add flags to fields as they are corrected.  
So we decided to make everyone happy and modify our correction flags to identify corrections both by transaction and cumulatively
0	=	Field has not been corrected
1	=	Field corrected on this transaction
2	=	Field corrected on previous 						transaction

## ISIR Changes

- New file sent daily that lists applicants in Signature Hold File (separate message class)
- Students can call to have their record moved from signature hold file to CPS
- School can collect signature page and transmit signature record to CPS

- Session 2 -

**Notes:**
We’ll also be sending you a new file that will be transmitted to you along with your ISIRs that will  list all applicants in Signature Hold File who listed your school on their application, waiting for their signature to come in for their electronic applications.
This file will be sent to you in a separate message class so that you can easily identify it.
And will give you, in addition to the identifying information, the type of application the student completed and 
What signatures we have and what signatures we don’t have.
One of the concerns we heard repeatedly at our focus groups this year was that this signature hold file was like a black hole and no one knew who was sitting in the file and what we were waiting for and how long we’d been waiting.
So this file should help alleviate this concern.
Students can call to have their record moved from signature hold file to CPS
School can collect signature page and transmit signature record to CPS

## ISIR Changes                 NSLDS History Information 

- New fields added to ISIR at student level
- Direct Loan Master Promissory Note (MPN) flag
- FFEL MPN flag and FFEL Lender Code
- New fields added to ISIR at loan level
- Additional unsubsidized loan flag
- Capitalized interest flag

- Session 2 -

**Notes:**
We also adding a few fields to the NSLDS information that you get on the ISIR:

One new field will be an indicator for Master Promissory Notes.  
Will have a Direct Loan Master Promissory Note (MPN) flag, and
We’ll also have an FFEL MPN Flag 
Associated with the MPN will be an FFEL Lender Code
6-digit code or N/A if does not apply
Y, if more than one lender
This information will be at the student level versus at the specific loan level.
So for each applicant who has an NSLDS record, these fields will be included.

We’ll also be adding a couple fields from NSLDS that will be  at the loan level:
One is an Additional Unsub Flag.  This flag has been added to inform schools that the specific loan amount borrowed includes:
Unsub Loan amounts in excess of what the student would normally be eligible to receive, either because the dependent student’s parent was denied a PLUS and the student borrowed additional unsub or 
the student is a Health Professions student.  
P = if it was a PLUS, H = if it was a Health Professions Loan, B = if both
The other new loan-level field being added is the Capitalized Interest flag that will indicate if the loan amount includes capitalized interest.

## Changes to Edits

- Edit added to “number in college” for dependent students
- Currently, number in college set to “1” if equal to number of family members
- If parents are married, # in college cannot be greater than # of family members minus two
- If PJ used, edits not applied

- Session 2 -

**Notes:**
With the change in who can be included in number in college last year we did add an edit to exclude parents.
So for 2000-2001 we added an edit that looked at number in family and number in college and if they were equal we’d set the number in college to “1”

However, that didn’t catch all of the cases where parents might have been included in the number in college so we have added some additional edits to the CPS for 2000-2001 and will carry these edits forward into 2001-2002.  These are: 
if parents are married, # in college cannot be greater than # of family members minus two
If PJ used, edits not applied 

## Changes to Edits

- If student corrects marital status or “Are You Married” question, comment generated
- If Date of Birth (DOB) equals 1900, 1901, or 1902, SAR/ISIR rejected (verifiable reject A)
- If taxes paid equal to AGI, SAR/ISIR rejected (verifiable reject C)
- Paper FAFSAs without student signature will be processed; student sent rejected SAR (reject 14)

- Session 2 -

**Notes:**
We have some other new edits.  Some of these were requested by FAAs in our focus groups.  Others were added based on some of the things we saw this year that we wanted to handle somewhat differently. 

At a focus group someone suggested that we add an edit that generates  a comment  if the student changes either their marital status or the Are you married? Questions since these are not up-datable fields and the FAA wanted an easier way to identify these situations.  

Date of Birth -- we decided we needed to put a reject back into the system for this field.  If a student enters a date of birth equal to 1900, 1901, or 1902, we’ll reject their application because this is probably a mistake.  We will make this a verifiable reject, meaning that if the student re-enters the date on their SAR we will accept it the second time around.    

Another edit an FAA asked us to add was for cases were the amount of taxes paid is equal to AGI.  We currently don’t have an edit that catches these situations, even though in all cases that we could think of it is wrong.  So beginning in 2001-2002, we will reject applications were taxes paid equals AGI (verifiable reject C) which should fix this problem.  

The last change is an attempt to line up the paper FAFSA with electronic applications and isn’t really an “edit” per se.
We’ll accept paper FAFSAs without student signatures, although student will get a rejected SAR in response (reject 14). 

## Changes to Edits

- New Duplicate SSN Flag will alert FAAs when SSN is equal to transaction already on file, but first two letters of last name are different

- Session 2 -

**Notes:**
A duplicate SSN Flag will be added to the system for 2001-2002.  A new edit will set this flag when the SSN is equal to a transaction already on file but the first two letters of the last name are different.  
This is your cue that it appears that two different students are using the same SSN.

## Database Matches

- Match with SSA’s Prisoner’s File will be implemented in 2001-2002 as postscreening
- Will implement automatic INS secondary confirmation match some time after start up
- Status of IRS Match
- No match implemented yet
- Statistical studies underway

- Session 2 -

**Notes:**
Prisoner’s Match:  After working out some of the issues that we have with this match, and seeing more of the data about the number of situations where we have prisoners who are applying for financial aid, we’re going to implement this match in 2001-2002 as a postscreening match.  Which means we won’t be doing it initially as the application is processed, but will be doing it on a regular basis, about every two weeks, after processing.  
We’ll send file to SSA for matching, and get the information back.
Will systems generate a transaction for any records we find where the student is incarcerated. 
So you’ll receive a systems generated transaction with a specific code that tells you what type of facility the student is incarcerated in.

The other match is an extension of our existing match with INS.  We have worked out an arrangement with INS to implement an automatic secondary confirmation match with them.  
Implemented after start up. 
We will continue to send records to the INS for matching and give you the results.  
For those who don’t match, the INS will perform secondary confirmation and will notify us (and we’ll notify you) of the results of the secondary match

 IRS match update.

## 2001-2002 EDExpress New Products 

- New EDExpress software enables schools to request, import, and print Renewal FAFSAs
- New Return of Title IV Funds software

- Session 2 -

## EDExpress Changes to Software 

- Ability to bring forward majority of set-ups and queries from prior year
- Other EDExpress enhancements will be described in various breakout sessions

- Session 2 -

## For Help

- IFAP
- http://www.ifap.ed.gov
- SFA Technical Support website
- http://www.ed.gov/sfatech
- SFATech e-mail listserve
- For more info and subscription instructions:          http://www.ed.gov/sfatech/listserv.html

- Session 2 -

## For Help

- CPS Customer Support:  1-800-330-5947
- CPS@NCS.COM
- TIV WAN Customer Service: 				1-800-615-1189
- FAFSA Express and FAFSA on the Web Customer Service:
- 1-800-801-0576
- TTY:  1-800-730-8913

- Session 2 -

## Give Us Your Comments or Questions

- Application Processing, Students Channel
- Phone:  (202) 260-9988
- FAX:     (202) 401-1637

- Session 2 -

## Questions

- Session 2 -