**DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION**

Notice of Proposed Information Collection Requests **AGENCY:** Department of Education , Federal Student Aid **SUMMARY:** As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice req uests comments on the 2013
- 2014 versions of the forms used by individuals applying for federal student aid including the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the Student Aid Report (SAR). **DATES :**  Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before XX, XX, 2012 . Comments may b e submitted electronically by e - mailing FAFSA.Comments@ed.gov
. **Title:** 2013
- 2014 Federal Student Aid Application **Type of Review:** Revision **OMB Number:** 1845
- 0001 **Frequency:** Annually **Respondents:** Individuals **Annual Respondents:** 25,053,80 9 **Annual Responses:** 46,099,00 8 **Annual Burden Hours:** 25, 95 9,853 **Abstract:** Section 483 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), mandates that the Secretary of Education “...shall produce, distribute, and process free of charge common financial reporting forms as described in this subsection to be used for application and reapplication to determine the need and eligibility of a student for financial assistance .. .” . The determination of ne ed and eligibility are for the following Title IV, HEA, federal student financial assistance programs: the Federal Pell Grant Program; the Campus
- Based programs (Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), Federal Work
- Study (FWS), and the Federal Perkins Loan Program); the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program; the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant; and the Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant. Federal Student Aid, an office of the U.S. Depart ment of Education (hereafter “the Department”), subsequently developed an application process to collect and process the data necessary to determine a student’s eligibility to receive Title IV, HEA program assistance. The application process involves an a pplicant’s submission of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). After submission of the FAFSA, an applicant receives a Student Aid Report (SAR), which is a summary of the data they submitted on the FAFSA. The applicant reviews the SAR, and, if necessary, will make corrections or updates to their submitted FAFSA.The Department seeks OMB approval of all application components as a single ‘‘ collection of

information”. The aggregate burden will be accounted for under OMB Control Number 1845
- 0001. The specific application components, descriptions and submission methods for each are listed in Table 1.
**Table 1. Federal Student Aid Application**  **Components Component**  **Description Submission Method**  **Initial Submission of FAFSA** FAFSA on the Web (FOTW) Online FAFSA that offers applicants a customized

experience. Submitted by the applicant via www.fafsa.gov . FOTW
– Renewal Online FAFSA for applicants who have previously

completed the FAFSA. FOTW
– EZ Online FAFSA for applicants who qualify for the

Simplified Needs Test (SNT) or Automatic Zero (Auto Zero) needs analysis formulas. FOTW
– EZ Renewal Online FAFSA for applicants who have previously

completed the FAFSA and who qualify for the SNT or Auto Zero needs analysis formulas. FAFSA on the Phone (FOTP) The Federal Student Aid Information Center

(FSAIC) representatives assist applicants by filin g the FAFSA on their behalf through FOTW. Submitted through www.fafsa.gov for applicants who call 1
- 800
-4- FED
-AID. FOTP
- EZ FSAIC representatives assist applicants who qualify

for the SNT or Auto Zero needs analysis formulas by filing the FAFSA on their behalf through FOTW. FAA Access Online tool that a financial aid administrator (FAA)

utilizes to submit a FAFSA. Submitted through www.faaacess.ed.go v by a FAA on behalf of an applicant. FAA Access
– Renewal Online tool that a FAA can utilize to submit a

Renewal FAFSA. FAA Access
– EZ Online tool that a FAA can utilize to submit a

FAFSA for applicants who qualify for the SNT or Auto Zero needs analysis formulas. FAA Access
- EZ Renewal Online tool that a FAA can utilize to submit a

FAFSA for applicants who have previously completed the FAFSA and who qualify for the SNT or Auto Zero needs analysis formulas. Electronic Other This is a submission done by a FAA, on behalf of

the applicant, using the Electronic Data Exchange (EDE). The FAA may be using their mainframe computer or software to facilitate the EDE process.PDF FAFSA or

Paper FAFSA The paper version of the FAFSA printed by the

Department for applicants who are unable to access the Internet or the online PDF FAFSA for applicants who can access the Internet but are unable to complete the form using FOTW. Mailed by the applicant.
**Correcting Submitted FAFSA Information and Reviewing FAFSA Information** FOTW
– Corrections Any applicant who has a Federal Student Aid PIN

(FSA PIN)

– regardless of how they originally applied

– may make correct ions using FOTW Corrections. Submitted by the applicant via www.fafsa.gov . Electronic Other

– Corrections With the applicant's permission, corrections can be

made by a FAA using the EDE. The FAA may be using their mainframe computer or software to facilitate the EDE process. Paper SAR
- This is a SAR and an option for corrections. The full paper summary that is mailed to paper

applicants who di d not provide an e
- mail address and to applicants whose records were rejected due to critical errors during processing. Applicants can write corrections directly on the paper SAR and mail for processing. Mailed by the applicant.

FAA Access
– Corrections An institution can use FAA Access to correct the

FAFSA. Submitted through www.faaacess.ed.go v by a FAA on behalf of an applicant. Internal Department Corrections The Department will submit an applicant's record

for system -generated corrections. There is no burde n to the applicants under this correction type as these are system - based corrections. FSAIC Corrections Any applicant, with their Data Release Number

(DRN), can change the postsecondary institutions listed on their FAFSA or change their address by calling FSAIC. These changes are made directly in the CPS system by a FSAIC representative. SAR Electronic (eSAR) The eSAR is an online version of the SAR that is

available on FOTW to all applicants with a PIN. Notifications for the eSAR are sent to students who applied electronically or by paper and provided an e
- mail address. These notifications are sent by e
- mail and include a secure hyperlink that takes the user to the FOTW site. Cannot be submitted for processing.SAR

Acknowledgment This is the condensed paper SAR that is mailed to

applicants who applied electronically but did not provide an e
- mail address and do not meet the criteria for a full paper SAR .This information collection also documents an estimate of the annual public burden as it relates to the

application process for federal student aid. The Applicant Burden Model (ABM), measures applicant burden through an assessment of the activities each applicant conducts in conjunction with other applicant characteristics and in terms of burden, the average applicant’s experience. Key determinants of the ABM include:

 The total number of applicants that will potentially apply for federal student aid;  How the applicant chooses to complete and submit the FAFSA (e.g., by paper or electro nically via FOTW);  How the applicant chooses to submit any corrections and/or updates (e.g., the paper SAR or electronically via FOTW Corrections);  The type of SAR document the applicant receives (eSAR, SAR acknowledgment, or paper SAR);  The formula applie d to determine the applicant’s expected family contribution ( EFC ) (full need analysis formula, Simplified Needs Test or Automatic Zero); and  The average amount of time involved in preparing to complete the application. The ABM is largely driven by the number of potential applicants for the application cycle. The total application projection for 2013
- 2014 is based upon two factors
- estimates of the total enrollment in all degree - granting institutions and the percentage change in FAFSA submissions for the last completed or almost completed application cycle. The ABM is also based on the application options available to students and parents. The Department accounts for each application component based on web trending too ls, survey information, and other Department data sources. For 2013
- 2014 , the Department is reporting a net burden reduction of 3,398,000 hours. The reduction is a reflection of the effects of simplifying FAFSA on the Web, which is utilized by the majority of applicants who apply for aid. S implification of the application i s demonstrated by 1) the average completion times for initial submissions and; 2) fewer corrections being made to the application. Th e projected average completion times for initial submissions has decreased by 11 minutes for 2013
- 14. In data reported in the 2012
- 2013 supporting statement, first
- time filers using FOTW would take approximately 1.30 hours (78 minutes) to submit an applic ation. The data from 2011
- 12 indicate that the same user would be able to submit their application in 1.1 2 hours (67 minutes), reducing their burden by .18 hours ( 11 minutes ) . Corrections are also projected to decrease by 760,696 responses for 2013
- 14. F ewer corrections mean that more comprehensive and accurate data was captured in the initial submission of the application. Updated completion times were calculated for each component and have been used to estimate the burden, excluding the change in the ap plicant volume. The results demonstrate that the burden for all applicants would have decreased by almost 13 percent or 3,758,702 hours, if the application volume had remained constant. If the Department had not simplified the application process, thus re ducing the time required to complete the FAFSA, the new burden estimates would only need to account for the change in applicants. The 1.43% increase in applicants would result in an increase in burden of 347,945 hours. Accounting for both the increase in total applicants and the decrease in individual applicant burden, the net change is an overall decrea se of almost 12 percent or 3,398,000 hours. The following Table shows the net burden change and total cost for applicants. The change in total annual responses is also listed in the Table. Total annual responses include the original FAFSA submission and corrections.**Table 2.** Net Burden Change **2012 -** **2013 2013**  **- 2014**  **Change %**  **Change Burden Disposition**  Accounting for change in applicant burden **and** change in applicants. Total Applicants 24,705,864 25,053,80 9 +347,94 5 +1.4 1 % **Net decrease in burden.**  The 1.4 1 % increase in applicants is offset by the results of the simplification changes implemented by the Department. This has resulted in an overall decrease in burden of 11.57% or 3,397,545 hours. Total Applicant Burden 29,357,853 25,9 59,853
- 3,39 8,000
- 11.6 %

Total Annual Responses 46,447,024 46,099,007
- 348,017
- . 75 % Cost for All Applicants $234,804.24 $190,224.76 $44,579.48
- 18.99% The Department takes pride in the continued efforts to simplify the FAFSA submission process and the continued decrease in burden associated with the application process, even as the Department serves more students each year. The results confirm the signi ficant improvements that have been made to the application process. The Department believes that these changes will lead to more students completing the FAFSA and will assist more students with their pursuit of postsecondary education through access to Ti tle IV, HEA program assistance . **REQUEST FOR COMMENTS:** Comments should be submitted to the Department as indicated. All comments will become a matter of public record. Requests for copies of the proposed information collection request may be accessed from http://edicsweb. ed.gov, by selecting the ``Browse Pending Collections'' link and by clicking on link number xxxxxxx . When you access the information collection, click on ``Download Attachments'' to view. Written requests for information should be addressed to U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., LBJ, Washington, DC 20202
-4537. Requests may also be electronically mailed to ICDocketMgr@ed.gov or faxed to 202
-401
- 0920. Please specify the complete title of the info rmation collection when making your request. Comments regarding burden and/or the collection activity requirements should be electronically mailed to ICDocketMgr@ed.gov
. Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1
- 800
- 877
- 8339. **DATES:** Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before xx xx, 201 2 . Comments may be submitted electronically by e - mailing FAFSA.Comments@ed.gov
. Any comments received after this date will be retained for consideration in the next annual review of the federal student aid application.**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:** Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the

deaf (TDD) may call the FIRS at 1
- 800
- 877
- 8339 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday. **SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:** The Secretary is publishing this request for comment under the Provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq . Under that Act, the Department must obtain the review and approval of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) before it may use a form to collect information. However, under procedure for obtainin g approval from OMB, the Department must first obtain public comment of the proposed form, and to obtain that comment, the Department must publish this notice in the Federal Register. In addition to comments requested above, to accommodate the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Secretary is interested in receiving comments with regard to the following matters: (1) is this collection necessary to the proper functions of the Department, (2) will this information be processed and used in a time ly manner, (3) is the estimate of burden accurate, (4) how might the Department enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected, and (5) how might the Department minimize the burden of this collection on the respondents, includ ing through the us e of information technology.