APPENDICES
120 FY 2018 AGENCY FINANCIAL REPORT | U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

APPENDIX A: SELECTED DEPARTMENT WEB LINKS AND 

EDUCATION RESOURCES

COLLEGE COMPLETION TOOLKIT

The College Completion Toolkit provides information 

that governors and other state leaders can use to help 

colleges in their state increase student completion rates. 

It highlights key strategies and offers models to learn 

from, as well as other useful resources. http://www.

ed.gov/sites/default/files/cc-toolkit.pdf

COLLEGE COST LISTS

The Department provides college affordability and 

transparency lists under the Higher Education Opportunity 

Act of 2008. Each list is broken out into nine different 

sectors to allow students to compare costs at similar types 

of institutions, including career and technical programs. 

http://collegecost.ed.gov/catc/

COLLEGE NAVIGATOR

College Navigator consists of the latest data from the 

Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, the 

core postsecondary education data collection program 

for the National Center for Education Statistics, as well 

as data from Federal Student Aid on cohort default rates, 

the Office of Postsecondary Education on campus safety 

and accreditation, and information on veterans from the 

Veterans Benefits Administration. https://nces.ed.gov/

collegenavigator/

COLLEGE PREPARATION CHECKLIST

This Departmental tool gives prospective college 

students step-by-step instructions on how to prepare 

academically and financially for education beyond 

high school. Each section is split into subsections for 

students and parents, explaining what needs to be done 

and which publications or websites might be useful to 

them. http://studentaid.ed.gov

Additional resources within the checklist assist students 

in finding scholarships and grants.

https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/prepare-for-college/

checklists

https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/types/grantsscholarships/finding-scholarships

COLLEGE SCORECARDS

The Department’s College Scorecards makes it easier to 

find out more about a college’s affordability and value. The 

College Scorecard continues to be a tool that provides clear, 

accessible, and reliable data on college cost, graduation, 

debt, and postcollege earnings. The College Scorecard 

continues to move the field forward in informing college 

choices with the help of technology and open data, making 

it possible for anyone—a student, a school, a policymaker, 

or a researcher—to decide which factors to evaluate. 

https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/

CONDITION OF EDUCATION AND DIGEST OF 

EDUCATION STATISTICS

The Condition of Education is a congressionally 

mandated annual report that summarizes developments 

and trends in education using the latest available statistics. 

The report presents statistical indicators containing 

text, figures, and data from early learning through 

graduate-level education, as well as labor force outcomes 

and international comparisons. https://nces.ed.gov/

programs/coe/

The primary purpose of the Digest of Education Statistics 

is to provide a compilation of statistical information 

covering the broad field of American education from 

prekindergarten through graduate school. The Digest 

includes a selection of data from many sources, both 

government and private, and draws especially on the 

results of surveys and activities carried out by the 

National Center for Education Statistics. https://nces.

ed.gov/programs/digest/

FINANCIAL AID SHOPPING SHEET

The Financial Aid Shopping Sheet is a consumer tool that 

participating institutions use to notify students about 

their financial aid package. It is a standardized form that 

is designed to simplify the information that prospective 

students receive about costs and financial aid so that 

they can easily compare institutions and make informed 

decisions about where to attend school. https://www2.

ed.gov/policy/highered/guid/aid-offer/index.html
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FY 2018 AGENCY FINANCIAL REPORT | U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE (GAO)

The Government Accountability Office supports 

Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities 

and helps improve the performance and accountability of 

the federal government for the benefit of the American 

people. http://www.gao.gov/docsearch/agency.php

GRANTS INFORMATION AND RESOURCES

In addition to student loans and grants, the Department 

offers other discretionary grants. These are awarded using 

a competitive process, and formula grants use formulas 

determined by Congress with no application process. This 

site lists Department discretionary grant competitions 

previously announced, as well as those planned for later 

announcement, for new awards organized according 

to the Department’s principal program offices. http://

www2.ed.gov/fund/grant/find/edlite-forecast.html

For more information on the Department’s programs, see 

http://www2.ed.gov/programs.

NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF 

EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS

The National Assessment of Educational Progress assesses 

samples of students in grades 4, 8, and 12 in various 

academic subjects. Results of the assessments are reported 

for the nation and states in terms of achievement levels—

Basic, Proficient, and Advanced. https://nces.ed.gov/

nationsreportcard/

OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL (OIG)

The Office of Inspector General conducts independent 

and objective audits, investigations, inspections, and other 

activities to promote the efficiency, effectiveness, and 

integrity of the Department’s programs and operations. 

http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oig/index.html

For a list of recent reports, go to http://www2.ed.gov/

about/offices/list/oig/reports.html.

ONE-STOP SHOPPING FOR STUDENT LOANS

The Department provides a site from which students can 

manage their loans. http://studentloans.gov/

PERFORMANCE DATA

EDFacts is a Department initiative to put performance 

data at the center of policy, management, and budget 

decisions for all K–12 educational programs. EDFacts

centralizes performance data supplied by K–12 state 

educational agencies with other data assets, such as 

financial grant information, within the Department to 

enable better analysis and use in policy development, 

planning, and management. http://www.ed.gov/about/

inits/ed/edfacts/index.html

PRACTICE GUIDES FOR EDUCATORS

The Department offers guides that help educators address 

everyday challenges faced in classrooms and schools. 

Developed by a panel of nationally recognized experts, 

practice guides consist of actionable recommendations, 

strategies for overcoming potential roadblocks, and an 

indication of the strength of evidence supporting each 

recommendation. The guides themselves are subjected to 

rigorous external peer review. Users can sort by subject 

area, academic level, and intended audience to find the 

most recent, relevant, and useful guides. 

https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/PracticeGuides

EDUCATION RESOURCES 

INFORMATION CENTER 

The Department offers ERIC—the world’s largest free, 

digital library of education research. It is composed of 

1.7 million bibliographic records and 400,000 fulltext materials indexed from 1966 to the present. Each 

ERIC bibliographic record contains an abstract of a 

journal article or grey literature document (for example, 

a technical report or conference paper), along with such 

indexed information as author, title, and publication 

date. https://eric.ed.gov

REGIONAL EDUCATIONAL LABORATORY 

(REL) PROGRAM

The Department administers the REL program to 

support the use of research and evidence to help states 

and school districts improve their education programs 

and, ultimately, student performance. To do this, 

each regional REL contractor works with teachers, 

administrators, and policymakers to identify “high-
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APPENDICES | SELECTED DEPARTMENT WEB LINKS AND EDUCATION RESOURCES

FY 2018 AGENCY FINANCIAL REPORT | U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

leverage” problems of practice and build the research 

capacity of local stakeholders. Each REL develops 

partnerships with state- and local-level education agencies 

to gather and analyze data, conduct evaluations, and 

provide technical assistance that address these “highleverage” problems. https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/

PROGRAM INVENTORY

The GPRA Modernization Act of 2010, P.L. 111-352, 

requires that the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) establish a single website with a central inventory 

of all federal programs, including the purpose of each 

program and its contribution to the mission and goals of 

the Department. The initial Federal Program Inventory 

was published in May 2013. The Department described 

each program within 27 budgetary accounts, as well as 

how the programs support the Department’s broader 

strategic goals and objectives.

Since that time, Congress passed the Digital 

Accountability and Transparency Act (DATA Act) 

requiring new public reporting requirements, which 

impact the definition of programs used in this guidance. 

OMB is currently working with agencies to merge 

the implementation of the DATA Act and the Federal 

Program Inventory requirements to the extent possible 

to avoid duplicative efforts. While OMB and agencies 

determine the right implementation strategy, the 

initial Federal Program Inventory remains available on 

performance.gov or at http://www2.ed.gov/programs/

inventory.pdf.

PROJECTIONS OF EDUCATION 

STATISTICS TO 2026 

For the 50 states and the District of Columbia, the tables, 

figures, and text in this report contain data on projections 

of public elementary and secondary enrollment and 

public high school graduates to the year 2026. The report 

includes a methodology section that describes the models 

and assumptions used to develop national and state-level 

projections. https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2018/2018019.pdf

RESOURCES FOR ADULT AND CAREER AND 

TECHNICAL EDUCATION 

The Department, through the Perkins Collaborative 

Resource Network, offers resources and tools for the 

development and implementation of comprehensive 

career guidance programs. This includes guides 

for students, parents, teachers, counselors, and 

administrators across relevant topics, such as planning 

and exploring careers, selecting institutions, finances, 

and guidance evaluation. This source is an example of 

interdepartmental cooperation between the Department 

and the U.S. Department of Labor. http://cte.ed.gov

To support the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity 

Act (WIOA), the Department offers professional 

development resources through the Literacy Information 

and Communication System (LINCS). This initiative 

seeks to expand evidence-based practice in the field of 

adult education and literacy. LINCS serves as Office 

of Career, Technical, and Adult Education’s (OCTAE) 

primary outreach and dissemination mechanism to 

adult educators and provides high-quality, on-demand 

educational opportunities to practitioners of adult 

education. LINCS is comprised of: the LINCS Resource 

Collection, which provides online access to high-quality, 

evidence-based materials and instructional resources; 

the LINCS Community, a virtual professional learning 

space where adult educators can engage in discussions 

focused on critical topics to the field of adult education; 

a Learning Portal that offers anytime, anywhere 

professional development courses; a Professional 

Development Center that provides technical assistance 

to states in meeting the state leadership requirements set 

forth in WIOA; and the Learner Center, which provides 

access to federally developed or federally reviewed 

resources to assist adult learners in reaching their learning 

goals. Through these efforts, LINCS demonstrates 

OCTAE’s commitment to delivering high-quality, 

on-demand educational opportunities to practitioners 

of adult education and literacy, so those practitioners 

can help adult learners successfully transition to 

postsecondary education and 21st century jobs. 

http://lincs.ed.gov/
FY 2018 AGENCY FINANCIAL REPORT | U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 123

APPENDIX B: GLOSSARY OF ACRONYMS 

AND ABBREVIATIONS

ABCP Asset-Backed Commercial Paper

AFR Agency Financial Report

AGI Adjusted Gross Income

APG Agency Priority Goals

APR Annual Performance Report

AR Abandon rate

ASA Average speed to answer

CAM Contracts and 

Acquisition Management

CAT Core Assessment Team

CCMS Continuous Controls 

Monitoring System

CEMS Customer Engagement 

Management Systems

COA Cost of attendance

CPSS Contracts and Purchasing 

Support System

CSF Cyber Security Framework

CSIP Cybersecurity Strategy and 

Implementation Plan

CSP Charter School Program

CSRS Civil Service Retirement System

DATA Digital Accountability and 

Transparency Act of 2014

DCIA Debt Collection Improvement Act 

of 1996

DNP Do Not Pay

DOL U.S. Department of Labor

DRT Data Retrieval Tool

ECASLA Ensuring Continued Access to 

Student Loans Act of 2008 

EDCAPS Education Central Automated 

Processing System

EFC Expected Family Contribution

ERICA Education Resources 

Information Center

ERM Enterprise Risk Management

ESEA Elementary and Secondary 

Education Act

ESSA Every Student Succeeds Act

FAFSA® Free Application for Federal 

Student Aid

FASAB Federal Accounting Standards 

Advisory Board

FAQ Frequently Asked Questions

FCRA Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990

FECA Federal Employees’ 

Compensation Act

FERS Federal Employees 

Retirement System

FFA Financial Aid Administrator

FFB Federal Financing Bank

FFEL Federal Family Education Loan

FFMIA Federal Financial Management 

Improvement Act of 1996

FIO Financial Improvement Operations

FIPCA Federal Improper Payments 

Coordination Act of 2015

FISMA Federal Information Security 

Modernization Act of 2014

FMFIA Federal Managers’ Financial 

Integrity Act of 1982

FMO Financial Management Operations

FMSS Financial Management 

Support System

FPRD Final Program Review 

Determination 
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APPENDICES | GLOSSARY OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

FY 2018 AGENCY FINANCIAL REPORT | U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

FSA Federal Student Aid

FY Fiscal Year

FRDAA Fraud Reduction and Data Analytics 

Act of 2015

FRG Fraud Risk Group

G5 Grants Management System 

GAAP Generally Accepted 

Accounting Principles

GAO	 	Government	Accountability	Office

GLBA Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act 

GONE Grants Oversight and New 

Efficiency Act of 2016

GPRA Government Performance and 

Results Act of 1993

GSA General Services Administration

HBCUs Historically Black Colleges 

and Universities

HCERA Health Care and Education 

Reconciliation Act of 2010

HCM Heightened cash monitoring 

HEA Higher Education Act of 1965

HEAL Health Education Assistance Loans

HHS U.S. Department of Health and 

Human Services

IDEA Individuals with Disabilities 

Education Act 

IDIQ 	Indefinite-Delivery,	

Indefinite-Quantity

IDR Income-Driven Repayment

IES Institute of Education Sciences

IFAP Information for Financial Aid 

Professionals

IHE Institutions of Higher Education

IPERA Improper Payments Elimination and 

Recovery Act of 2010

IPERIA Improper Payments Elimination and 

Recovery Improvement Act of 2012

IPIA Improper Payments Information Act 

of 2002

IRS Internal Revenue Service

IRS DRT IRS Data Retrieval Tool

ISCM Information Security 

Continuous Monitoring

IT Information Technology

LEA Local Educational Agency

LEU Lifetime Eligibility Used

LINCS Literacy Information and 

Communication System

LVC Loan	Verification	Certificate

NLSCD National Longitudinal School 

Choice Database

Next Gen FSA Next Generation Financial 

Services Environment

NFP Nor-for-Profit

NCES National Center for 

Education Statistics

OCFO	 	Office	of	the	Chief	Financial	Officer

OCIO	 	Office	of	the	Chief	

Information	Officer

OCR	 	Office	for	Civil	Rights

OCTAE	 	Office	of	Career,	Technical,	and	

Adult Education

OELA	 	Office	of	English	

Language Acquisition

OESE	 	Office	of	Elementary	and	

Secondary Education

OIG 	Office	of	Inspector	General

OII 	Office	of	Innovation	

and Improvement

OMB	 	Office	of	Management	and	Budget

OPE	 	Office	of	Postsecondary	Education

OPM	 	Office	of	Personnel	Management

OSERS	 	Office	of	Special	Education	and	

Rehabilitative Services
125

GLOSSARY OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS | APPENDICES

FY 2018 AGENCY FINANCIAL REPORT | U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

P–12 Prekindergarten through 12th grade

PAYE Pay as You Earn

Pell Program Pell Grant Program 

PEPS Postsecondary Education 

Participants System

PIV 	Personal	Identity	Verification

PIWG Payment Integrity Workgroup

PSLF Public Service Loan Forgiveness

PTAC Privacy Technical Assistance Center

REACH Research on Education Access 

and Choice

REL Regional Education Laboratory

SAFRA Student Aid and Fiscal 

Responsibility Act (SAFRA Act)

SAP Satisfactory Academic Progress

SAT Senior Assessment Team

SBR Statement of Budgetary Resources

SEA State Educational Agency

STEM	 	Science,	technology,	engineering	

and mathematics

SULA Subsidized Usage Limit Applies

TBMS Technology Business 

Management Solutions

TEACH Teacher Education Assistance for 

College and Higher Education Grant

TIVAS Title IV Additional Servicers

TPD Total and permanent disability 

Treasury U.S. Department of Treasury

WIOA Workforce Innovation and 

Opportunity Act
126 FY 2018 AGENCY FINANCIAL REPORT | U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The following companies were contracted to assist in the 

preparation of the U.S. Department of Education 

FY 2018 Agency Financial Report:

FOR GENERAL LAYOUT AND WEB DESIGN

OmniStudio, Inc.

FOR ACCOUNTING SERVICES

Quality Software Services, Inc.

FMR Consulting, Inc.

Cotton & Company, LLP

The FY 2018 Agency Financial Report 

U.S. Department of Education

Office of the Chief Financial Officer

An electronic version is available 

on the World Wide Web at 

http://www2.ed.gov/about/reports/annual/index.html

U.S. Department of Education, November 2018

This Agency Financial Report (AFR) was produced 

with the energies and talents of our employees and 

contract partners.

Within the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, the 

office of Financial Management Operations (FMO) 

is responsible for certifying, processing, reconciling, 

evaluating, and reporting all agency financial transactions; 

preparing annual financial statements and related notes 

and schedules; and coordinating the external audit of the 

agency’s financial statements.

Financial Improvement Operations (FIO) provides 

leadership and direction in the areas of internal control 

assessment, financial management training, post audit 

activities, and indirect cost determination.

Contracts and Acquisitions Management (CAM) is 

responsible for the solicitation, award, administration, 

and closeout of all contracts and other acquisition 

instruments for the Department.

We offer our sincerest thanks and acknowledgment 

to staff of all participating principal offices. In 

particular, we recognize the following organizations 

for their contribution:

OTHER CONTRIBUTORS

Office of the Deputy Secretary

Federal Student Aid

Office of the Inspector General

Budget Service

Office of Communications and Outreach

Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development

Office of the Chief Information Officer

PARTNERS

Office of Management and Budget

Department of Treasury

Government Accountability Office

Association of Government Accountants
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