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

Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 209 / Friday, October 29, 2010 / Rules and Regulations66903WReier-Aviles on DSKGBLS3C1PROD with RULES2of the Federal Pell Grant Programregulations as they are defined in part668 because they apply to all of the titleIV, HEA programs. For this reason, wehave removed these definitions fromthis section.Changes: The terms andcorresponding definitions for FreeApplication for Federal Student Aid(FAFSA), Institutional StudentInformation Record (ISIR), and StudentAid Report (SAR) have been removedfrom § 668.52. Instead, we now defineFree Application for Federal StudentAid (FAFSA), Institutional StudentInformation Record (ISIR), and StudentAid Report (SAR) under Generaldefinitions in § 668.2(b). We have alsorevised the definitions for validInstitutional Student InformationRecord (valid ISIR) and valid StudentAid Report (valid SAR) in § 668.2(b). Wehave removed the definitions for theterms valid Student Aid Report (validSAR) and valid Institutional StudentInformation Record (valid ISIR) from 34CFR 690.2(b) and revised the definitionof these terms under § 668.2(b) to nolonger refer to the definitions in 34 CFR690.2(b) of the Federal Pell GrantProgram regulations.Comment: One commenter asked theDepartment to clarify the meaning of theterm ‘‘applicant’’ as used throughout theverification regulations. The commentersuggested that the regulations shoulduse the term ‘‘applicant’’ to refer to astudent who is accepted for admissionat an institution, rather than to a studentwho submits a FAFSA. The commenterargued that having ‘‘applicants’’ cover allstudents who submit a FAFSA would beadministratively burdensome forinstitutions because it would requirethem to verify CPS-selected transactionsfor students who do not enroll at theinstitution.Discussion: The term ‘‘applicant,’’ asused throughout the verificationregulations, refers to an individual whoapplies for assistance under the title IV,HEA program by completing andsubmitting a FAFSA.While the term ‘‘applicant,’’ as used insubpart E of part 668 covers individualswho may not enroll at the institution,we note that § 668.54 only requires aninstitution to verify the FAFSAinformation selected by the Secretaryunder § 668.56 and any FAFSAinformation the institution has reason tobelieve is inaccurate. Therefore, onlythose applicants who are enrolled at theinstitution and whose FAFSAinformation falls into one of thesecategories are subject to verification.Changes: None.Policies and Procedures—ProfessionalJudgment (§ 668.53(c))Comment: Many commentersexpressed support for § 668.53(c), whichrequires an institution to completeverification prior to exercising theprofessional judgment authority allowedunder section 479A of the HEA. Thesecommenters indicated that thisrequirement, which is consistent withtheir policy to complete verificationfirst, is important to ensure that the datareported on the FAFSA is accuratebefore making any adjustments to it.Discussion: We appreciate thecommenters’ support.Changes: None.Comment: Some commentersquestioned the process for completingverification prior to exercisingprofessional judgment in specialcircumstances that require adependency override in order to createa valid Student Aid Report (valid SAR)or valid Institutional StudentInformation Record (valid ISIR).Discussion: The authority given toFAAs to exercise professional judgmentunder section 479A of the HEA isseparate and apart from the authoritygiven FAAs to make a dependencyoverride decision under section480(d)(1)(I) of the HEA. Section 479A ofthe HEA authorizes an FAA to makeadjustments on a case-by-case basis tothe cost of attendance or to the valuesof the data items used to calculate theEFC to allow for treatment of anindividual eligible applicant withspecial circumstances as long as theadjustments are based on adequatedocumentation.In the definition of ‘‘independentstudent’’ in section 480(d)(1)(I) of theHEA, an applicant may be considered tobe an independent student if the FAAmakes a documented determination thatthe applicant is independent by reasonof other unusual circumstances.In practice, an FAA would firstdetermine whether an otherwisedependent applicant should beconsidered an independent studentusing the FAA’s authority under section480(d)(1) of the HEA, in order to obtaina valid SAR or valid ISIR, and thenwould subsequently make anycorrections or professional judgmentadjustments to the applicant’s FAFSAinformation.We will provide guidance in theFederal Student Aid Handbook toaddress operational details as needed.Changes: None.Comment: Several commentersexpressed concern that requiring aninstitution to complete verificationbefore exercising professional judgmentVerDate Mar2010 14:10 Oct 28, 2010 Jkt 223001 PO 00000 Frm 00073 Fmt 4701 Sfmt 4700 E:\FR\FM\29OCR2.SGM 29OCR2would make it difficult for institutionsto appropriately handle emergencysituations. The commenters noted thatdelays would occur as a result of havingto complete verification, submit anychanges to CPS, and wait for the newSAR or ISIR upon which theprofessional judgment decision wouldbe based. Some commenters suggestedmaking modifications to systemssoftware, i.e. FAA Access, to allowmultiple changes to be madesimultaneously to resolve this problem.Discussion: We appreciate thecommenters’ suggestion for improvingour operational process. We will takethis suggestion into consideration as welook for ways to improve our services toinstitutions.Currently, the CPS will processchanges to an applicant’s FAFSAinformation as a result of theverification process or a professionaljudgment determination and report theresults on a new ISIR sent to theinstitution usually the next day.However the two transactions cannot beprocessed on the same day. This isbecause after the institution receives theISIR that was created as a result ofverification, the institution would usethat ISIR transaction to makeadjustments to the applicant’s FAFSAinformation using the professionaljudgment process. While we understandthe commenters’ concerns about anydelay that may occur with having tosubmit transactions separately, webelieve that any delay will be slight. Inaddition, institutions have the option ofmaking interim disbursements, asallowed under § 668.58, until acorrected valid SAR or valid ISIR isreceived.Changes: None.Comment: One commenter askedwhether an applicant who is selected toverify the parent’s household size, butwho requests that the institution use itsprofessional judgment authority undersection 479A of the HEA to examine theparent’s income listed on the FAFSA,would be required to verify all fiveitems before the institution couldexercise its professional judgment.Another commenter argued that therequirement to complete verificationbefore exercising professional judgmentwould delay the financial aid processand would create an additional hurdlefor families in need. This commenterquestioned why institutions have to gothrough an extra step to evaluate anapplicant’s eligibility through theverification process if the institution isupdating those same fields whenexercising professional judgment torevise an applicant’s eligibility undersection 479A of the HEA.