FAFSA on the Web 1

Disclaimers 2 This is a preview of the FAFSA on the Web (FOTW) site. The web site is subject to change pending OMB approval prior to system implementation on January 1, Some slides in this presentation have additional notes, which can be accessed through the notes view. Slides with notes will be denoted with the image shown here.

Simplification Objectives Federal Student Aid (FSA) made a number of enhancements to the FOTW site for the application processing cycle with the following goals in mind. Provide a more intuitive searching options for the Federal School Code Search and High School Code Search Continue to provide access to IRS tax information 3

Federal School Code (FSC) and High School Search Smarter Search Capabilities:  Search criteria are easier to use with improved results  Aliases and abbreviations will be recognized  Field length increased to 40 characters 4

Aliases and Abbreviations 5 To provide students with more accurate and relevant search results, new rules for keyword searches are enhanced to include:  U.S. Postal Service standards  Top ranked schools on FAFSA on the Web (i.e. WVA will return “West Virginia University;” Virginia Tech will return“Virginia Polytech Inst & State Univ.”  Common abbreviations found in the current databases  Common aliases provided by surveyed FAAs and/or FSA  Commonly misspelled words  Words and Punctuation Ignored (i.e. “of,” “and,” and “the”)  Certain special characters accepted

Modified Keyword Search Rules 6 Keyword search criteria include:  State (required)  City (optional)  Name (High School or Postsecondary School) (optional)  School Year (requested and required on FSC search tool on FAFSA on the Web homepage)  FSC – (Optional for FSC searches; not requested for High School searches)

FSC Search Design Enhancement 7

8  An Alerts and Message text provides the status of the search  Search results display name, city, state, and school code for each matching school  Scrollable results display as many as 100 schools per page  For results that exceed 100 schools, the student may link to additional pages of school results found below the displayed results  The encircled “i” links the student to More School Information.

9  Students select schools from those that display and then select the “ADD” button between the two tables.  The student can also select the Remove hyperlink to remove any school from the listing.

Housing Plan Selection 10

Housing Plan Error Messaging 11

High School Question 12 High school question (Question 27) will display using the following logic:  High school completion status = 1 (high school diploma) and  Grade level = 0 or 1 OR  High school name, high school city, high school state, or high school code were carried forward into a renewal application

High School Question for Renewal Applicants 13 Any student who was presented the high school question in will be presented the question again in as a renewal student. The student will have the opportunity to search the database with the “best match” search functionality to verify the response that was provided in

14  Results for this high school search include any school name in the database which contains “Bishop”, may be located in Baltimore or in the state of Maryland.  This is an example of relevance as those names containing Bishop appear before those containing city or state.  Students may narrow their search by changing the search criteria.

Gender Question Changes 15 ● Although the gender question does not require a response, it is used to determine which applicants need to be matched with the Selective Service. ● If the question is not answered, the Alerts and Messages text informs the student that the question was left blank. 15

IRS DATA Retrieval Tool (IRS DRT) 16 ● The IRS DRT will be available on February 1, ● The IRS DRT process will be enhanced to more effectively encourage users to link to and transfer data from the IRS. ● More applications will have more accurate data, which will contribute to increased accuracy in awarding aid. 16

IRS DRT Criteria 17 The IRS DRT process can be used by dependent and independent students and the parents of dependent students who meet the following criteria:  Must have a valid SSN  Must have filed a 2011 IRS tax return, and  Must have an unchanged marital status since December 31, 2011.

IRS Data Retrieval Tool (IRS DRT) Enhancements 18 ● FAFSA on the WEB applies new logic to filtering questions to determine messaging on use of the IRS DRT. ● Only displays if applicant/parent selects a tax filing status of “Already completed”. 18

IRS DRT Filtering Questions 19 The student and parents, when applicable, are required to respond to the following filtering question. Check all that apply or check None of the Above.  My tax filing status is Married Filing Separately  My tax filing status is Head of Household  I filed an amended tax return  I filed a Puerto Rican or foreign tax return  I recently filed my taxes  None of the above

2012 – 2013 IRS DRT Logic 20 The “My tax filing status is Married Filing Separately” and “My tax filing status is Head of Household” options are displayed only when the students or parents, when applicable, are married.

IRS Data Retrieval Tool enhancements 21 ● Dynamically displayed messaging. Based on the student’s response to the filtering questions, messages encourage or discourage use of the IRS DRT. ● Enhanced IRS Data Tracking. CPS retains tax information from the IRS. Providing the applicant remains eligible to use the Tool, the data is available for use in the current and subsequent transactions of the FOTW ● Notification to Applicants. SAR Comments and /letter notifications inform applicants about the Tool. Also, new notifications will be sent to those who estimated tax information or did not use the Tool to update tax information using the Tool. 21

Dynamically Displayed IRS DRT Messaging 22 Applicants may receive one of the following messages dynamically based on the response to the filtering question. If an applicant selects recently filed my taxes, he or she will still have the option to use the IRS DRT, although it is discouraged if it has been fewer than two weeks. The applicant receives this message, “If you filed your taxes electronically within the last 2 weeks or if you filed your taxes by mail within the last 8 weeks, your tax information may not be available yet from the IRS. You can determine if you should attempt to access your tax information from the IRS at this time.” 22

Dynamically Displayed IRS DRT Messaging 23 However for some of the other responses, the applicant will not be presented with that option.  The applicant will receive the message, “Based on your response, you are not eligible to transfer your information from the IRS into this FAFSA.” Those who select “None of the Above”, would be encouraged to use the tool.  They will receive the message, “Based on your response, we recommend that you transfer your information from the IRS into this FAFSA. “

Dynamic Messaging Example 24  Applicant checks tax filing status of “Already completed”  IRS DRT filtering question displays.  Applicant checks “Married Filing Separately”  Receives message of ineligibility to use IRS DRT

Confirmation Page Notifications – IRS DRT 25 ● Upon submission, text on the confirmation page reminds students that the IRS DRT option is the preferred method of providing tax information and they can return when their application has been processed to use the Tool. ● Customized messaging displays when the student and/or parent was eligible to use the IRS DRT and didn’t, or the student and/or parent indicated “Will file taxes”. 25

Enhanced IRS Data Tracking 26 Enhanced IRS data tracking will display appropriate tax information when applicants and FAAs modify responses to FAFSA questions. Data transferred from IRS is retained by CPS. The retained data will be available with certain changes, such as loss of Auto Zero eligibility, to prefill IRS tax fields. “Transferred from the IRS” label will display. 26

Two New IRS Data Flags Added for

New IRS DRT Notifications 28 Two types of IRS DRT notifications to encourage certain applicants, and their parents, to use the Tool.  Estimated Tax Filer – Sent to an applicant/parent who responded that he/she “Will File” taxes. Encourages use of the Tool after filing taxes.  Actual Tax Filer – Sent to applicant/parent who indicated that the tax return was “Completed” and the individual was eligible to use the IRS DRT but (1) chose not to use it or (2) used it but chose not to transfer data. 28

NEW IRS DRT Notification Schedule 29 ● Applicant/Parent must have a valid address ● CPS will be queried in mid-March, 2012 for first notification ● CPS will be queried a second time in early April, 2012 for the second notification

Excerpt of Notification Text 30 Updated information can be provided once your student accesses their FAFSA at You should change your answer on the FAFSA (question 79) to reflect that you have “Already completed” your tax return. Once you’ve made this change, you will need to update the information you initially reported on the FAFSA to reflect the actual information from the 2011 tax return you filed. If you filed a federal tax return with the IRS, when you update the information online, you may be eligible to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool, which is the best and easiest way to provide accurate tax information. With just a few simple steps, you can view information from your IRS tax return and transfer that information directly into your student’s FAFSA.

Marital Status Changes 31 A recent regulatory change allows an institution, at its discretion, to require an applicant to update his/her marital status, even if it results in a change in the applicant's dependency status, if the institution determines the update is necessary to address an inequity or to reflect more accurately the applicant's ability to pay. 31

Marital Status Changes 32 ● An Expected Family Contribution (EFC) will not be calculated if the applicant attempts to update marital status. ● Reject 21 will be set when student changes his or her marital status date to a date that is after the date the original application was completed and before the transaction receipt date. It is set in the correction process. ● SAR comment Code 119 will be set. ● Only an FAA can override the reject (Reject Override 21).

Marital Status Changes 33 The confirmation page will also provide messaging to a student who updates marital status. It states -  You reported a marital status date that is after the date you submitted your original FAFSA. Therefore, we cannot calculate an estimated Expected Family Contribution (EFC). You must contact your Financial Aid Administrator (FAA).

Marital Status Changes 34 ● Students can use FAFSA on the Web to update their marital status after submission of their FAFSA in Student Correction Entry. ● Students may also change marital status questions by modifying the paper SAR and submitting the SAR by mail for processing.

Homeless Youth Determination 35 ● A student is eligible for homeless youth status if he/she meets the homeless definition and was determined to be homeless by his/her high school or school district homeless liaison, the director of a runaway or homeless youth center, or HUD. ● Students who meet this criteria are independent.

Homeless Youth Determination 36 ● A student is also eligible for homeless youth status if he/she meets the homeless definition, but was determined to be homeless by the financial aid office. ● Students who meet this criteria can use FAFSA on the Web. The Special Circumstances Flag will be set to ‘3’.

Homeless Youth Determination 37 ● For the award cycle, FAAs set the Dependency Override Flag to ‘1’ for these students. ● FAAs cannot easily distinguish between dependency overrides done to update a student’s dependency status, and those done to confirm a student’s homeless youth status.

Homeless Youth Determination 38 New Dependency Override Flag value of ‘4’ added for

Asset Threshold Question 39 Added to FAFSA on the Web in Independent students and parents of dependent students that meet certain criteria are presented with the asset threshold question to determine if asset net worth must be reported and used in the EFC calculation. Question displays if the student:  Is not eligible for an automatic zero EFC or simplified needs calculation, and  Reports a state of legal residence that allows students to skip income and asset questions

Asset Threshold Question SAR comment codes are used to notify schools when the asset threshold question was displayed to the applicant and the response is “No” Eliminates SAR comments and adds the two questions as data elements.

Web Demonstration Site FAFSA on the Web and FAA Access demonstration sites available late December 2011  To access sites, go to  Enter:  User Name: eddemo  Password: fafsatest Click on FOTW or FAA Access to CPS Online Demo System button Available through December

42 The previous screens represent a sample of the pages which will be found within the FAFSA on the Web website. FAFSA on the Web will be available for applicants to use on January 1, You may use the Web Demo site to preview the application and correction processes beginning mid-December Summary

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