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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 37 (Thursday, February 24, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10347-10349]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-03868]

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No.: ED-2022-SCC-0024]

Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; 2023-
2024 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)

AGENCY: Federal Student Aid (FSA), Department of Education (ED).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, ED is 
proposing a revision of a currently approved collection.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
April 25, 2022.

ADDRESSES: To access and review all the documents related to the 
information collection listed in this notice, please use http://www.regulations.gov by searching the Docket ID number ED-2022-SCC-0024. 
Comments submitted

[[Page 10348]]

in response to this notice should be submitted electronically through 
the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov by 
selecting the Docket ID number or via postal mail, commercial delivery, 
or hand delivery. If the regulations.gov site is not available to the 
public for any reason, ED will temporarily accept comments at 
[email protected]. Please include the docket ID number and the title 
of the information collection request when requesting documents or 
submitting comments. Please note that comments submitted by fax or 
email and those submitted after the comment period will not be 
accepted. Written requests for information or comments submitted by 
postal mail or delivery should be addressed to the PRA Coordinator of 
the Strategic Collections and Clearance Governance and Strategy 
Division, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave. SW, LBJ, Room 
6W208D, Washington, DC 20202-8240.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For specific questions related to 
collection activities, please contact Beth Grebeldinger, 202-570-8414.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department of Education (ED), in 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 
3506(c)(2)(A)), provides the general public and Federal agencies with 
an opportunity to comment on proposed, revised, and continuing 
collections of information. This helps the Department assess the impact 
of its information collection requirements and minimize the public's 
reporting burden. It also helps the public understand the Department's 
information collection requirements and provide the requested data in 
the desired format. ED is soliciting comments on the proposed 
information collection request (ICR) that is described below. The 
Department of Education is especially interested in public comment 
addressing the following issues: (1) Is this collection necessary to 
the proper functions of the Department; (2) will this information be 
processed and used in a timely 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, 
including through the use of information technology. Please note that 
written comments received in response to this notice will be considered 
public records.
    Title of Collection: 2023-2024 Free Application for Federal Student 
Aid.
    OMB Control Number: 1845-0001.
    Type of Review: A revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals and Households.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 33,962,310.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 22,844,712.
    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 need 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) and Federal Work-
Study (FWS)),; the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) 
Program; the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher 
Education (TEACH) Grant; the Children of Fallen Heroes Scholarship; and 
the Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant.
    Federal Student Aid (FSA), an office of the U.S. Department of 
Education, 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 applicant's submission of the Free Application for Federal 
Student Aid (FAFSA[supreg]). After submission and processing of the 
FAFSA form, an applicant receives a Student Aid Report (SAR), which is 
a summary of the processed data they submitted on the FAFSA form. The 
applicant reviews the SAR, and, if necessary, will make corrections or 
updates to their submitted FAFSA data. Institutions of higher education 
listed by the applicant on the FAFSA form also receive a summary of 
processed data submitted on the FAFSA form which is called the 
Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR).
    ED and FSA seek 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
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                            Submission
          Component                  Description              method
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                       Initial Submission of FAFSA
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FAFSA.......................  The electronic version of  Submitted by
                               the FAFSA form completed   the applicant.
                               by applicants.
FAFSA--Renewal..............  The electronic version of
                               the FAFSA form completed
                               by applicants who have
                               previously completed the
                               FAFSA form.
FAFSA--EZ...................  The electronic version of
                               the FAFSA form for
                               applicants who qualify
                               Automatic Zero (Auto
                               Zero) needs analysis
                               formula and the
                               applicant's State of
                               Legal Residence is one
                               that allows for the
                               skipping of questions
                               not used in the EFC
                               calculation.
FAFSA--EZ Renewal...........  The electronic version of
                               the FAFSA form for
                               applicants who have
                               previously completed the
                               FAFSA form and who
                               qualify Automatic Zero
                               (Auto Zero) needs
                               analysis formula and the
                               applicant's State of
                               Legal Residence is one
                               that allows for the
                               skipping of questions
                               not used in the EFC
                               calculation.
FAA Access..................  Online tool that a         Submitted by an
                               financial aid              FAA on behalf
                               administrator (FAA)        of an
                               utilizes to submit a       applicant.
                               FAFSA form.
FAA Access--Renewal.........  Online tool that an FAA
                               can utilize to submit a
                               Renewal FAFSA form.
FAA Access--EZ..............  Online tool that an FAA
                               can utilize to submit a
                               FAFSA form for
                               applicants who qualify
                               for Auto Zero needs
                               analysis formula and the
                               applicant's State of
                               Legal Residence is one
                               that allows for the
                               skipping of questions
                               not used in the EFC
                               calculation.
FAA Access--EZ Renewal......  Online tool that an FAA
                               can utilize to submit a
                               FAFSA form for
                               applicants who have
                               previously completed the
                               FAFSA form and who
                               qualify Auto Zero needs
                               analysis formula and the
                               applicant's State of
                               Legal Residence is one
                               that allows for the
                               skipping of questions
                               not used in the EFC
                               calculation.

[[Page 10349]]

 
Electronic Other............  This is a submission done  The FAA may be
                               by an FAA, on behalf of    using their
                               the applicant, using the   mainframe
                               Electronic Data Exchange   computer or
                               (EDE).                     software to
                                                          facilitate the
                                                          EDE process.
Printed FAFSA...............  The printed version of     Mailed by the
                               the PDF FAFSA for          applicant.
                               applicants who are
                               unable to access the
                               Internet or complete the
                               form using fafsa.gov or
                               the myStudentAid mobile
                               app.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Correcting Submitted FAFSA Information and Reviewing FAFSA Information
------------------------------------------------------------------------
fafsa.gov--Corrections......  Any applicant who has a    Submitted by
                               Federal Student Aid ID     the applicant.
                               (FSA ID)--regardless of
                               how they originally
                               applied--may make
                               corrections.
Electronic Other--            With the applicant's       The FAA may be
 Corrections.                  permission, corrections    using their
                               can be made by an FAA      mainframe
                               using the EDE.             computer or
                                                          software to
                                                          facilitate the
                                                          EDE process.
Paper SAR--This is a SAR and  The full paper summary     Mailed by the
 an option for corrections.    that is mailed to paper    applicant.
                               applicants who did 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.
FAA Access--Corrections.....  An institution can use     Submitted by an
                               FAA Access to correct      FAA on behalf
                               the FAFSA form.            of an
                                                          applicant.
Internal Department           The Department will        These
 Corrections.                  submit an applicant's      corrections
                               record for system-         are system-
                               generated corrections to   generated.
                               the Central Processing
                               System. There is no
                               burden to the applicants
                               under this correction
                               type as these are system-
                               based corrections.
Federal Student Aid           Any applicant, with their  These changes
 Information Center (FSAIC)    Data Release Number        are made
 Corrections.                  (DRN), can change the      directly in
                               postsecondary              the CPS by an
                               institutions listed on     FSAIC
                               their FAFSA form or        representative
                               change their address by    .
                               calling FSAIC.
SAR Electronic (eSAR).......  The eSAR is an online      Cannot be
                               version of the SAR that    submitted for
                               is available on            processing.
                               fafsa.gov to all
                               applicants with an FSA
                               ID. Notification for the
                               eSAR is sent to students
                               who applied
                               electronically or by
                               paper and provided a
                               valid e-mail address.
                               These notifications are
                               sent by e-mail and
                               include a secure
                               hyperlink that takes the
                               user to the fafsa.gov
                               site.
SAR Acknowledgement.........  The SAR Acknowledgement    Cannot be
                               is a condensed paper SAR   submitted for
                               that is mailed to          processing.
                               applicants who applied
                               electronically but did
                               not provide a valid e-
                               mail address.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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 
form (e.g., by paper or electronically);
     How the applicant chooses to submit any corrections and/or 
updates (e.g., the paper SAR or electronically);
     The type of SAR document the applicant receives (eSAR, SAR 
acknowledgment, or paper SAR);
     The formula applied 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 2023-2024 
is based on the projected total enrollment into post-secondary 
education for Fall 2023. The ABM is also based on the application 
options available to students and parents. ED accounts for each 
application component based on analytical tools, survey information and 
other ED data sources.
    For 2023-2024, ED is reporting a net burden decrease of 3,466,325 
hours.

    Dated: February 17, 2022.
Kate Mullan,
PRA Coordinator, Strategic Collections and Clearance, Governance and 
Strategy Division, Office of Chief Data Officer, Office of Planning, 
Evaluation and Policy Development.
[FR Doc. 2022-03868 Filed 2-23-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P
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