Office of Postsecondary Education - U.S. Department of Education

Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 209 / Friday, October 29, 2010 / Rules and Regulations66955WReier-Aviles on DSKGBLS3C1PROD with RULES2§ 668.52 Definitions.The following definitions apply tothis subpart:Specified year: (1) The calendar yearpreceding the first calendar year of anaward year, i.e., the base year; or(2) The year preceding the yeardescribed in paragraph (1) of thisdefinition.Subsidized student financialassistance programs: Title IV, HEAprograms for which eligibility isdetermined on the basis of anapplicant’s EFC. These programsinclude the Federal Pell Grant, FederalSupplemental Educational OpportunityGrant (FSEOG), Federal Work-Study(FWS), Federal Perkins Loan, and DirectSubsidized Loan programs.Unsubsidized student financialassistance programs: Title IV, HEAprograms for which eligibility is notbased on an applicant’s EFC. Theseprograms include the Teacher EducationAssistance for College and HigherEducation (TEACH) Grant, DirectUnsubsidized Loan, and Direct PLUSLoan programs.(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1094)§ 668.53 Policies and procedures.(a) An institution must establish anduse written policies and procedures forverifying an applicant’s FAFSAinformation in accordance with theprovisions of this subpart. Thesepolicies and procedures must include—(1) The time period within which anapplicant must provide anydocumentation requested by theinstitution in accordance with § 668.57;(2) The consequences of anapplicant’s failure to provide therequested documentation within thespecified time period;(3) The method by which theinstitution notifies an applicant of theresults of its verification if, as a resultof verification, the applicant’s EFCchanges and results in a change in theamount of the applicant’s assistanceunder the title IV, HEA programs;(4) The procedures the institution willfollow itself or the procedures theinstitution will require an applicant tofollow to correct FAFSA informationdetermined to be in error; and(5) The procedures for makingreferrals under § 668.16(g).(b) An institution’s procedures mustprovide that it will furnish, in a timelymanner, to each applicant whoseFAFSA information is selected forverification a clear explanation of—(1) The documentation needed tosatisfy the verification requirements;and(2) The applicant’s responsibilitieswith respect to the verification ofFAFSA information, including thedeadlines for completing any actionsrequired under this subpart and theconsequences of failing to complete anyrequired action.(c) An institution’s procedures mustprovide that an applicant whose FAFSAinformation is selected for verification isrequired to complete verification beforethe institution exercises any authorityunder section 479A(a) of the HEA tomake changes to the applicant’s cost ofattendance or to the values of the dataitems required to calculate the EFC.(Approved by the Office of Management andBudget under control number 1845–0041)(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1094)§ 668.54 Selection of an applicant’s FAFSAinformation for verification.(a) General requirements. (1) Exceptas provided in paragraph (b) of thissection, an institution must require anapplicant whose FAFSA information isselected for verification by theSecretary, to verify the informationspecified by the Secretary pursuant to§ 668.56.(2) If an institution has reason tobelieve that an applicant’s FAFSAinformation is inaccurate, it must verifythe accuracy of that information.(3) An institution may require anapplicant to verify any FAFSAinformation that it specifies.(4) If an applicant is selected to verifyFAFSA information under paragraph(a)(1) of this section, the institutionmust require the applicant to verify theinformation as specified in § 668.56 ifthe applicant is selected for asubsequent verification of FAFSAinformation, except that the applicant isnot required to provide documentationfor the FAFSA information previouslyverified for the applicable award year tothe extent that the FAFSA informationpreviously verified remains unchanged.(b) Exclusions from verification. (1)An institution need not verify anapplicant’s FAFSA information if—(i) The applicant dies;(ii) The applicant does not receiveassistance under the title IV, HEAprograms for reasons other than failureto verify FAFSA information;(iii) The applicant is eligible toreceive only unsubsidized studentfinancial assistance; or(iv) The applicant who transfers to theinstitution, had previously completedverification at the institution fromwhich he or she transferred, and appliesfor assistance based on the same FAFSAinformation used at the previousinstitution, if the current institutionobtains a letter from the previousinstitution—VerDate Mar2010 14:10 Oct 28, 2010 Jkt 223001 PO 00000 Frm 00125 Fmt 4701 Sfmt 4700 E:\FR\FM\29OCR2.SGM 29OCR2(A) Stating that it has verified theapplicant’s information; and(B) Providing the transaction numberof the applicable valid ISIR.(2) Unless the institution has reasonto believe that the information reportedby a dependent student is incorrect, itneed not verify the applicant’s parents’FAFSA information if—(i) The parents are residing in acountry other than the United Statesand cannot be contacted by normalmeans of communication;(ii) The parents cannot be locatedbecause their contact information isunknown and cannot be obtained by theapplicant; or(iii) Both of the applicant’s parents arementally incapacitated.(3) Unless the institution has reasonto believe that the information reportedby an independent student is incorrect,it need not verify the applicant’sspouse’s information if—(i) The spouse is deceased;(ii) The spouse is mentallyincapacitated;(iii) The spouse is residing in acountry other than the United Statesand cannot be contacted by normalmeans of communication; or(iv) The spouse cannot be locatedbecause his or her contact informationis unknown and cannot be obtained bythe applicant.(Approved by the Office of Management andBudget under control number 1845–0041)(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1091, 1094)§ 668.55 Updating information.(a) If an applicant’s dependency statuschanges at any time during the awardyear, the applicant must update FAFSAinformation, except when the update isdue to a change in his or her maritalstatus.(b)(1) An applicant who is selected forverification of the number of persons inhis or her household (household size) orthe number of those in the householdwho are attending postsecondaryinstitutions (number in college) mustupdate those items to be correct as ofthe date of verification, except when theupdate is due to a change in his or hermarital status.(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (b)(1)of this section, an applicant is notrequired to provide documentation ofhousehold size or number in collegeduring a subsequent verification ofeither item if the information has notchanged.(c) An institution may require anapplicant to update FAFSA informationunder paragraph (a) or (b) of this sectionfor a change in the applicant’s maritalstatus if the institution determines the