Review of Recent Announcements

As a service to its participating schools and lenders, Utah Higher Education Assistance Authority offers the following review of recent announcements and releases from the U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid, and related sources.  These reminders cover topics of general interest and importance that relate to the administration of federal student aid.

FSA Handbook

Date: February 06, 2008
Summary: Volume 1 of the 2008-2009 Federal Student Aid Handbook, “Student Eligibility,” has been posted to the IFAP website.  Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.0 or greater is needed to read the PDF file.
http://ifap.ed.gov/sfahandbooks/0809FSAHbkVolume1.html

Date: February 22, 2008
Summary: FSA posted to the IFAP website Volume 5 of the 2008-2009 Federal Student Aid Handbook, “Overawards, Overpayments, & Withdrawal Calculations.” The document requires version 4.0 or greater of the free Adobe Acrobat Reader software.
http://ifap.ed.gov/sfahandbooks/0809FSAHBKVol5.html

Counselors and Mentors Handbook

Date: February 09, 2008
Summary: Federal Student Aid announces the addition to the “Information for Financial Aid Professionals” (IFAP) website of the 2008-2009 Counselors and Mentors Handbook.
http://ifap.ed.gov/chandbooks/0809CounselorsHandbook.html

Dear Partner/Colleague Letter

Date: February 06, 2008
GEN-08-02
Summary: FSA explains the process by which institutions of higher education can request that additional majors be included on the list of eligible majors for the National SMART Grant Program for the 2008-2009 award year.
 http://ifap.ed.gov/dpcletters/GEN0802.html

Electronic Announcements

Date: February 04, 2008
Summary: FSA issues an alert that 2008-2009 Institutional Student Information Records (ISIRs) are currently being sent with zeroes in new fields specific to the ACG and National SMART Grant. The Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) System will complete the zero-filled fields after the 2008-2009 COD System implementation scheduled for March 15, 2008.
http://ifap.ed.gov/eannouncements/0204ZeroesinACGandSMARTISIRNSLDSFields.html

Date: February 05, 2008
Summary: FSA provides more information regarding operational implementation of the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Program. Beginning in mid-February, student records for all applicants who answered “Yes” to the new TEACH Grant question were being reprocessed. Also beginning mid-February, student records for applicants that were not given the opportunity to answer the TEACH Grant question were also being reprocessed. Additional information is included in the announcement.
http://ifap.ed.gov/eannouncements/02052008CCRAAGrantSARComment.html

Date: February 11, 2008
Summary: On Monday, February 11, the Department distributed to schools the FY 2006 Draft Cohort Default Rate notification packages. Links to the revised Cohort Default Rate Guide and the new CDR Guide Quick Reference are noted in the announcement. UHEAA reminds schools that the 45-day timeline to submit CDR data began February 20, 2008, and ends April 4, 2008.  Appeals of draft cohort default rates cannot be accepted after April 4, 2008
http://ifap.ed.gov/eannouncements/020808IFAPPosteCDRreleaseMessage2.html

Date: February 19, 2008
Summary: FSA reminds institutions of the requirement that graduate and professional students who apply for a PLUS loan must also complete a FAFSA so the Department can perform matches with other federal databases that help determine eligibility for Title IV federal student assistance.
http://ifap.ed.gov/eannouncements/021908GradPlusandFAFSA.html

Date: February 19, 2008
Summary: FSA informs lenders and servicers in the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program of a change in address for the submission of lender and servicer compliance audits.
http://ifap.ed.gov/eannouncements/021908AuditMailingAddressNotice.html

Date: February 21, 2008
Summary: On February 20, 2008, FSA sent a warning message to schools that have a G5 Pell Grant authorization, known in COD as Current Funding Level (CFL), for the 2005-2006 Award Year that is greater than their Net Drawdown amount reflected in the COD System and in G5.  On March 19, 2008, affected schools will have their Pell Grant authorization reduced to the G5 Net Drawdown if the CFL is still greater than the G5 Net Drawdown.
http://ifap.ed.gov/eannouncements/0221PellGrantCFLReduction0506.html

Date: February 25, 2008
Summary: FSA announces reports providing a count by source of Free Applications for Federal Student Aid (FAFSAs) received by the Central Processing System (CPS) from each school for the 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 award years.
http://ifap.ed.gov/eannouncements/0225AppBySchoolSource.html

Date: February 26, 2008
Summary: Reports are posted by FSA providing a count by source of FAFSAs received by the CPS from each state for the 2006-2007 award years.
http://ifap.ed.gov/eannouncements/0226AppByState.html

Common Origination and Disbursement

Date: February 28, 2008
Summary: FSA posted the 2008-2009 COD Technical Reference February 2008 Updates.
http://ifap.ed.gov/cod/0809CODTechRef.html

Federal Register

Date: February 26, 2008
FR Page Numbers 10233-10235
Summary: The Secretary of Education invites institutions of higher education that may wish to participate in the Quality Assurance Program to submit a letter of application.  Letters of application may be submitted any time after February 26, 2008.
http://ifap.ed.gov/fregisters/FR022620081.html

NSLDS Reference Materials

Date: February 29, 2008
Section: PK-2007-02: Changes to Loan Data Submittal
Summary: The purpose of this Technical Update is to inform Perkins Loan data providers of a new NSLDS reporting requirement that Perkins Loan data must be submitted as separate and distinct loans beginning with loans made for the 2008-2009 award year.
http://ifap.ed.gov/nsldsmaterials/PK200702.html

Any questions related to this Bulletin should be directed to UHEAA Policy and Training at 801.321.7166, or by e-mail to mjohnson@utahsbr.edu.

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All rights reserved.