29420 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 104 / Wednesday, May 30, 2001 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Privacy Act of 1974; System of

Records

AGENCY: Student Financial Assistance,

Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of a new system of

records.

SUMMARY: In accordance with the

Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, the

Department of Education (ED) publishes

this notice of a new system of records

entitled ‘‘Student Authentication

Network Audit File (18–11–10).’’ The

system will contain information on

individuals who have had, or attempted

to have, their identity authenticated for

the purpose of electronically completing

and signing promissory notes and other

documents under the Student Financial

Assistance Programs authorized by Title

IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965,

as amended. The information

maintained by the system includes the

individual’s name, Social Security

Number, date of birth, and systemgenerated identifiers. The Department

seeks comment on this new system of

records described in this notice, in

accordance with the requirements of the

Privacy Act.

DATES: We must receive your comments

on the proposed routine uses for this

system of records included in this

notice on or before June 29, 2001. The

Department filed a report describing the

new system of records covered by this

notice with the Chair of the Committee

on Governmental Affairs of the Senate,

the Chair of the Committee on

Government Reform and Oversight of

the House, and the Administrator of the

Office of Information and Regulatory

Affairs, Office of Management and

Budget (OMB) on May 24, 2001. This

new system of records will become

effective at the later date of: (1) The

expiration of the 30-day period for OMB

review on June 23, 2001, unless OMB

gives specific notice within the 30 days

that the system is not approved for

implementation or requests an

additional 10 days for its review; or (2)

June 29, 2001, unless the routine uses in

the system of records need to be

changed as a result of public comment

or OMB review.

ADDRESSES: Address all comments about

the routine uses in this system of

records to Neil Sattler, Office of Chief

Information Officer, Student Financial

Assistance, U.S. Department of

Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW.,

Portals Building, room 604, Washington,

DC 20202–5132. Telephone: (202) 205–

4348. If you prefer to send comments

through the Internet, use the following

address: ElID@ed.gov.

You must include the term ‘‘Student

Authentication System of Records’’ in

the subject line of the electronic

message.

During and after the comment period,

you may inspect all comments about

this notice in room 604, Portals

Building, 1250 Maryland Avenue, SW.,

Washington, DC, between the hours of

8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Eastern time,

Monday through Friday of each week

except Federal holidays.

Assistance to Individuals With

Disabilities in Reviewing the Comments

on the Routine Uses in the System of

Records

On request, we supply an appropriate

aid, such as a reader or print magnifier,

to an individual with a disability who

needs assistance to review the

comments or other documents in the

public rulemaking record for this notice.

If you want to schedule an appointment

for this type of aid, you may call (202)

205–8113 or (202) 260–9895. If you use

a TDD, you may call the Federal

Information Relay Service at 1–800–

877–8339.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Neil

Sattler, Office of the Chief Information

Officer, U.S. Department of Education,

Student Financial Assistance, 400

Maryland Avenue, SW., Portals

Building, room 604, Washington, DC

20202–5132. Telephone: (202) 205–

4348. If you use a telecommunications

device for the deaf (TDD), you may call

the Federal Information Relay Service

(FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339.

Individuals with disabilities may

obtain this document in an alternative

format (e.g., Braille, large print,

audiotape, or computer diskette) on

request to the contact person listed in

the preceding paragraph.

Introduction

The Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a)

requires the Department to publish in

the Federal Register this notice of a new

system of records managed by the

Department. The Department’s

regulations implementing the Act are

contained in the Code of Federal

Regulations (CFR) in 34 CFR part 5b.

The Privacy Act applies to

information about individuals that

contain individually identifiable

information and that may be retrieved

by a unique identifier associated with

each individual, such as a name or

Social Security Number. The

information about each individual is

called a ‘‘record’’ and the system,

whether manual or computer-based, is

called a ‘‘system of records.’’ The

Privacy Act requires each agency to

publish notices of systems of records in

the Federal Register and to prepare

reports to the Office of Management and

Budget (OMB) whenever the agency

publishes a new system of records.

Electronic Access to This Document

You may view this document, as well

as all other Department of Education

documents published in the Federal

Register, in text or Adobe Portable

Document Format (PDF) on the Internet

at the following site: http://

www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister.

To use PDF you must have Adobe

Acrobat Reader, which is available free

at this site. If you have questions about

using PDF, call the U.S. Government

Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 1–

888–293–6498; or in the Washington,

DC area at (202) 512–1530.

Note: The official version of this document

is the document published in the Federal

Register. Free Internet access to the official

edition of the Federal Register and the Code

of Federal Regulations is available on GPO

Access at: http:// www.access.gpo.gov/nara/

index.html.

Dated: May 24, 2001.

Greg Woods,

Chief Operating Officer, Student Financial

Assistance.

For the reasons discussed in the

preamble, the Chief Operating Officer,

Student Financial Assistance, U.S.

Department of Education publishes

notice of a new system of records to

read as follows:

18–11–10

SYSTEM NAME:

Student Authentication Network

Audit File.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:

None.

SYSTEM LOCATION:

The Student Authentication Network

Audit File is located at NCS Pearson,

2510 North Dodge Street, Iowa City,

Iowa 52245.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE

SYSTEM:

This system contains records (i.e., an

audit file) on individuals who have had,

or attempted to have, their identity

verified for the purpose of electronically

completing and signing promissory

notes and other documents in

connection with applying for or

obtaining aid, or carrying out other

activities under the Student Financial

Assistance Programs authorized by Title

IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965,

as amended.

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 104 / Wednesday, May 30, 2001 / Notices 29421

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

This system contains records

including an individual’s Social

Security Number; date of birth; first and

last names; user code (i.e., the

Department, lenders, schools, guarantee

agencies and holders of Federal student

loans) identifying the entity seeking to

verify the individual’s identity; data

provided by the user that may

subsequently be used for auditing or

other internal purposes of the user); an

action code documenting the ‘‘affirmed’’

or ‘‘denied’’ verification response the

system receives from the Department’s

Personal Identification Number (PIN)

database; a unique identifier comprising

a system-generated sequence number;

and, the date and time the individual’s

identity is authenticated against the

Department’s PIN database.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:

The Higher Education Act of 1965, as

amended, (20 U.S.C. 1092b).

PURPOSE(S):

The information contained in the

records maintained in this system is

used for the purposes of verifying the

identity of the individual, enforcing the

conditions and terms of the loan,

permitting the servicing and collecting

of the loan, investigating possible fraud

and verifying compliance with program

regulations, initiating legal action

against an individual involved in

program fraud, abuse, or

noncompliance, and enforcing Title IV

requirements against schools, lenders,

and guaranty agencies.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE

SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS AND

THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:

The Department of Education

(Department) may disclose information

contained in a record in this system of

records under the routine uses listed in

this system of records without the

consent of the individual if the

disclosure is compatible with the

purposes for which the record was

collected. These disclosures may be

made on a case-by-case basis or, if the

Department has complied with the

computer matching requirements of the

Act, under a computer matching

agreement.

(1) Program Disclosures. The

Department may disclose information

from this system to Federal, State, or

local agencies, private parties such as

relatives, present and former employers

and creditors, business and personal

associates, guaranty agencies,

educational and financial agencies or

institutions, contractors and hearing

officials for the following purposes:

(a) To verify the identity of the

individual;

(b) To enforce the conditions or terms

of the loan;

(c) To permit servicing, collecting, or

accepting the loan;

(d) To investigate possible fraud and

verify compliance with program

regulations;

(e) To prepare for litigation or to

litigate collection service and audit;

(f) To initiate a limitation, suspension,

and termination (LS&T) or debarment or

suspension action;

(g) To ensure Title IV requirements

are met by schools, lenders, and

guaranty agencies; and

(h) To investigate complaints, update

files, and correct errors.

(2) Disclosure for Use by Other Law

Enforcement Agencies. The Department

may disclose information to any

Federal, State, local, or foreign agency

or other public authority responsible for

enforcing, investigating, or prosecuting

violations of administrative, civil, or

criminal law or regulation if that

information is relevant to any

enforcement, regulatory, investigative,

or prosecutive responsibility within the

receiving entity’s jurisdiction.

(3) Enforcement Disclosure. In the

event that information in this system of

records indicates, either on its face or in

connection with other information, a

violation or potential violation of any

applicable statute, regulation, or order

of a competent authority, the

Department may disclose the relevant

records to the appropriate agency,

whether foreign, Federal, State, Tribal,

or local, charged with the responsibility

of investigating or prosecuting that

violation or charged with enforcing or

implementing the statute, Executive

order, rule, regulation, or order issued

pursuant thereto.

(4) Litigation and Alternative Dispute

Resolution (ADR) Disclosures.

(a) Introduction. In the event that one

of the parties listed below is involved in

litigation or ADR, or has an interest in

litigation ADR, the Department may

disclose certain records to the parties

described in paragraphs (b), (c), and (d)

of this routine use under the conditions

specified in those paragraphs:

(i) The Department of Education, or

any component of the Department; or

(ii) Any Department employee in his

or her official capacity; or

(iii) Any Department employee in his

or her individual capacity if the

Department of Justice (DOJ) has agreed

to provide or arrange for representation

for the employee;

(iv) Any Department employee in his

or her individual capacity where the

agency has agreed to represent the

employee; or

(v) The United States where the

Department determines that the

litigation is likely to affect the

Department or any of its components.

(b) Disclosure to the DOJ. If the

Department determines that disclosure

of certain records to the DOJ is relevant

and necessary to litigation or ADR, the

Department may disclose those records

as a routine use to the DOJ.

(c) Administrative Disclosures. If the

Department determines that disclosure

of certain records to an adjudicative

body before which the Department is

authorized to appear, an individual or

entity designated by the Department or

otherwise empowered to resolve or

mediate disputes is relevant and

necessary to the administrative

litigation, the Department may disclose

those records as a routine use to the

adjudicative body, individual, or entity.

(d) Parties, counsels, representatives

and witnesses. If the Department

determines that disclosure of certain

records to a party, counsel,

representative or witness in an

administrative proceeding is relevant

and necessary to the litigation, the

Department may disclose those records

as a routine use to the party, counsel,

representative or witness.

(5) Employment, Benefit, and

Contracting Disclosure.

(a) For Decisions by the Department.

The Department may disclose a record

to a Federal, State, or local agency

maintaining civil, criminal, or other

relevant enforcement or other pertinent

records, or to another public authority

or professional organization, if

necessary to obtain information relevant

to a Department decision concerning the

hiring or retention of an employee or

other personnel action, the issuance of

a security clearance, the letting of a

contract, or the issuance of a license,

grant, or other benefit.

(b) For Decisions by Other Public

Agencies and Professional

Organizations. The Department may

disclose a record to a Federal, State,

local, or foreign agency or other public

authority or professional organization,

in connection with the hiring or

retention of an employee or other

personnel action, the issuance of a

security clearance, the reporting of an

investigation of an employee, the letting

of a contract, or the issuance of a

license, grant, or other benefit, to the

extent that the record is relevant and

necessary to the receiving entity’s

decision on the matter.

(6) Employee Grievance, Complaint or

Conduct Disclosure. The Department

may disclose a record in this system of

29422 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 104 / Wednesday, May 30, 2001 / Notices

records to another agency of the Federal

Government if the record is relevant to

one of the following proceedings

regarding a present or former employee

of the Department: Complaint,

grievance, discipline or competence

determination proceedings. The

disclosure may only be made during the

course of the proceeding.

(7) Labor Organization Disclosure. A

component of the Department may

disclose records to a labor organization

if a contract between the component

and a labor organization recognized

under Title V of the United States Code,

Chapter 71, provides that the

Department will disclose personal

records relevant to the organization’s

mission. The disclosures will be made

only as authorized by law.

(8) Freedom of Information Act

(FOIA) Advice Disclosure. The

Department may disclose records to the

Department of Justice and the Office of

Management and Budget if the

Department concludes that disclosure is

desirable or necessary in determining

whether particular records are required

to be disclosed under the FOIA.

(9) Disclosure to the Department of

Justice (DOJ). The Department may

disclose records to the DOJ to the extent

necessary for obtaining DOJ advice on

any matter relevant to an audit,

inspection, or other inquiry related to

the programs covered by this system.

(10) Contract Disclosure. If the

Department contracts with an entity for

the purposes of performing any function

that requires disclosure of records in

this system to employees of the

contractor, the Department may disclose

the records to those employees. Before

entering into such a contract, the

Department shall require the contractor

to maintain Privacy Act safeguards as

required under 5 U.S.C. 552a(m) with

respect to the records in the system.

(11) Research Disclosure. The

Department may disclose records to a

researcher if an appropriate official of

the Department determines that the

individual or organization to which the

disclosure would be made is qualified to

carry out specific research related to

functions or purposes of this system of

records. The official may disclose

records from this system of records to

that researcher solely for the purpose of

carrying out that research related to the

functions or purposes of this system of

records. The researcher shall be

required to maintain Privacy Act

safeguards with respect to the disclosed

records.

(12) Congressional Member

Disclosure. The Department may

disclose records to a member of

Congress from the record of an

individual in response to an inquiry

from the member made at the written

request of that individual. The

Member’s right to the information is no

greater than the right of the individual

who requested it.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING,

RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, AND

DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

STORAGE:

The records are maintained on

magnetic tape or other electronic media.

RETRIEVABILITY:

Records are retrievable by Social

Security Number and all or part of an

individual’s last name.

SAFEGUARDS:

Physical access to the data systems

housed within the facility is controlled

by a computerized badge reading

system, and the entire complex is

patrolled by security personnel during

non-business hours. The computer

systems offer a high degree of resistance

to tampering and circumvention.

Multiple levels of security are

maintained within the computer system

control program. This security system

limits data access to Department and

contract staff on a ‘‘need-to-know’’

basis, and controls individual users’

ability to access and alter records within

the system. All users of this system of

records are given a unique user

identification (ID) with personal

identifiers. All interactions by

individual users with the system are

recorded.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:

The Department will retain and

dispose of these records in accordance

with National Archives and Records

Administration General Records

Schedule 20, Item 1.c. This schedule

provides disposal authorization for

electronic files and hard-copy printouts

created to monitor system usage,

including, but not limited to log-in files,

audit trail files, system usage files, and

cost-back files used to assess charges for

system use. Records will be deleted or

destroyed when the Department

determines they are no longer needed

for administrative, legal, audit, or other

program purposes.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:

General Manager, Students Channel,

Student Financial Assistance,

Department of Education, 7th and D

Streets, SW., Washington, DC, 20202.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:

If you wish to determine whether a

record exists regarding you in the

system of records, provide the system

manager with your name, date of birth

and Social Security Number. Requests

must meet the requirements of the

regulations at 34 CFR 5b.5.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:

If you wish to gain access to a record

in this system, contact the system

manager and provide information as

described in the notification procedure.

Requests by an individual for access to

a record must meet the requirements of

the regulations at 34 CFR 5b.5.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:

If you wish to contest a record in the

system of records, contact the system

manager with the information described

in the notification procedure, identify

the specific items you are contesting,

and provide a written justification for

each item. Requests to amend a record

must meet the requirements of the

regulations at 34 CFR 5b.7.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:

Information is obtained from

individuals who have had or seek to

have their identity authenticated, except

that user codes and user-provided data

are obtained specifically from the entity

(the Department, lenders, schools,

guarantee agencies and holders of

Federal student loans) that seeks to

verify the individual’s identity.

SYSTEM EXEMPTED FROM CERTAIN PROVISIONS

OF THE ACT:

None.

[FR Doc. 01–13552 Filed 5–29–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4000–01–U