Session FF-06 The ISIR - What It Is And How To Use It Thomas Threlkeld U.S. Department of Education

2 Eligibility Overview Student completes FAFSA FAFSA processed by Central Processing System (CPS) Estimated Family Contribution (EFC) is determined School determines eligibility of student using ISIR School awards student based on COA - EFC = NEED

3 ISIR Institutional Student Information Record An electronic output document containing all information reported on the FAFSA and the resulting EFC Sent from CPS to school’s SAIG mailbox Used by school to determine student’s Title IV aid eligibility School must maintain in electronic format received for record retention period

4 Output Documents From CPS Student receives either  Paper Student Aid Report (SAR) Filed paper FAFSA without address  notification of SAR Filed paper FAFSA, FOTW, or FAA Access with valid address and successful SSN match  Paper SAR Acknowledgement Filed FOTW or FAA Access without valid address

5 Student Identifier RA 01 Found on each page of ISIR  Student’s SSN  First two letters of last name  ISIR transaction number Changing SSN in question 8 will not change the student identifier

6 C-Flag “C” will show next to EFC: 1866 C Comment on ISIR related to  Database match issue  Drug conviction question comment codes that generate C-Flag listed on page B-56 of ISIR Guide School must resolve issue before awarding aid

7 * Shows Verification Selection * will show next to EFC: 1866* School must complete verification unless exercising the 30% option or school is part of Quality Assurance program Comment codes 170 & 171 indicate verification selection. Text may/may not appear on first page of ISIR.

8 Assumptions EFC is calculated CPS makes a determination of appropriate answer  * to left of ISIR field  SAR/ISIR will include comment code 117

9 Rejects No EFC calculated “Rejects Met” field in FAA Information section Alpha reject reason codes  Verifiable Numeric reject reason codes  Non-verifiable Responsibility of student to resolve  Comments explain action necessary for resolution

10 Non-verifiable Or Verifiable Reject? a)Student’s SSN matches, but name does not b)Student has an SSN match with Date of Death c)Income earned meets IRS minimums and reported not filing income tax return d)Mother’s SSN contains all zeroes and reported as a tax filer

11 Assumption Or Reject? a)Student reports that she is married and provides spouse’s income, but reports only one person in household b)Student reports not married, but provides financial information for spouse c)Independent student’s household and number in college are reported as 3 or more

12 Processed Date Found in “Office Information” Section Department considers school to have received ISIR on ISIR processed date  ISIR will be in school’s SAIG mailbox within 24 hours of processing

13 Source Of Correction Flag Found in “Office Information” section Identifies source of correction transaction  “A” – applicant  “D” – CPS  “S” – school Federal school code indicator is in field below to identify originating school

14 Verification Flags Found in “FAA Information” section Verification Flag  Indicates if student selected on any transaction  Y, N, * Verification Tracking Flag  Identifies priority for selection based upon likelihood of error  Range is 0001 to 0999 Higher number is higher priority

15 Professional Judgment Flag Found in “FAA Information” section  1 – EFC adjustment processed on this transaction  2 – EFC adjustment requested but failed on this transaction Resulting transaction will only go to school processing PJ adjustment

16 Dependency Override Flag Found in “FAA Information” section  1 - transaction resulting from a dependency override  2 - FAA cancelled dependency override  3 - dependency override failed  Blank – no override  Not required to use another school’s override

17 EFC’s Primary EFC must be used for Title IV eligibility  Result of full formula unless student met criteria for simplified needs test Secondary EFC  Result of full formula when student met criteria for simplified needs test  May be used for institutional aid

18 EFC’s Found in “FAA Information” section Provides EFC’s for months 1 through 12, both primary and secondary 9 month EFC always used for Pell Grant EFC for number of months in period of enrollment used for determination of need

19 EFC Flags Found in “FAA Information” section Auto Zero EFC Flag  “Y” - criteria met  Blank – criteria not met EFC Change Flag  1 – EFC increased  2 – EFC decreased  Blank – no change in EFC SNT Flag  “Y” - criteria met  “N” - criteria not met

20 Intermediate Values Found in “FAA Information” section Represent the values calculated in the EFC calculation Helpful in understanding the resulting EFC Useful in making professional judgment adjustments to data elements

21 Match Flags Alpha or numeric values that show results of database matches  Appendix B of ISIR Guide explains required action and corresponding comment code. Found in “FAA Information” section

22 SSN Match Flags Match flag code is “SSN” Matches SSN with Social Security Administration database  Number  Name  Date of birth SSA also checks number against date of death file

23 U.S. Citizenship Match Flag Match flag code is “SSA” Verifies U.S. citizenship with Social Security Administration using place of birth Citizenship documentation includes  Birth certificate  U.S. passport  Naturalization certificate

24 DHS Match Flag Match flag code is “DHS” Matches immigration status with Department of Homeland Security to document eligible non-citizen  “Y” – match conducted and status confirmed  “N” – match conducted; secondary confirmation by DHS in progress  “blank” – match not conducted

25 DHS Secondary Confirmation Flag Will indicate if school should submit paper G-845  Requires DHS Verification # found below Match Flags G-845 in FSA Handbook, Volume 1, pages 1-31 & 1-32

26 Selective Service Match Flag Match flag code is “SS”  Registration required for males, ages Student not yet 26 may provide proof of registration or request CPS process registration (FAFSA question 22) Student over age 26 must prove that failure to register was not knowing and willful

27 NSLDS Match Flag Match flag code is “NSLDS” Matches student against financial aid history data in the National Student Loan Data System  Looks for defaults, discharged loans, borrowing in excess of loan limits, overpayments

28 Veterans Affairs Match Flag Match flag code is “VA” Confirms veteran status for independence Title IV definition of veteran  At least one day of active duty AND  Character of discharge is other than dishonorable  National Guard and Reserve members must have been on active duty for other than training purpose

29 Parent SSN Match Match flag code is “Father SSN” and “Mother SSN” Matches SSN with Social Security Administration database  Number  Name  Date of birth At least one parent’s SSN must match or FAFSA will reject

30 Parent SSN Parent without SSN must report all zeroes in SSN field on FAFSA  Parent without SSN may file tax return with TIN – report zeroes for SSN on FAFSA

31 Remember You must review all ISIR transactions received You must resolve all “C codes” You must resolve all conflicting information Separate process from verification Involves any information of which the school has knowledge

32 Resources ISIR Guide FSA Handbook  Application & Verification Guide (AVG)  Volume 1 – Student Eligibility FSA Coach (CBT) FAA Access Demo Site  fafsademo.test.ed.gov  User name: eddemo  Password: fafsatest

33 Contact Information Your feedback and comments are appreciated. Thomas Threlkeld Training Officer