Department of Education March 11, 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Secretary announces deadline dates for the receipt of documents and other information from applicants and institutions participating in certain Federal student aid programs authorized under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), for the 2015-2016 award year. The Federal student aid programs covered by this deadline date notice are the Pell Grant, Direct Loan, TEACH Grant, and Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant programs. These programs, administered by the U.S. Department of Education (Department), provide financial assistance to students attending eligible postsecondary educational institutions to help them pay their educational costs. Deadline and Submission Dates: See Tables A and B at the end of this notice. Table ADeadline Dates by Which a Student Must Submit the FAFSA, by Which the Institution Must Receive the Student's Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR) or Student Aid Report (SAR), and by Which the Institution Must Submit Verification Outcomes for Certain Students for the 2015-2016 Award Year. Table A provides information and deadline dates for receipt of the FAFSA, corrections to and signatures for the FAFSA, ISIRs, and SARs, and verification documents. The deadline date for the receipt of a FAFSA by the Department's Central Processing System is June 30, 2016, regardless of the method that the applicant uses to submit the FAFSA. The deadline date for the receipt of a signature page for the FAFSA (if required), correction, notice of change of address or school, or request for a duplicate SAR is September 17, 2016. For all Federal student aid programs, an ISIR or SAR for the student must be received by the institution no later than the student's last date of enrollment for the 2015-2016 award year or September 26, 2016, whichever is earlier. As a reminder, a FAFSA must be submitted for the dependent student for whom a parent is applying for a Direct PLUS Loan. Verification documents must be received by the institution no later than 120 days after the student's last date of enrollment for the 2015- 2016 award year or September 26, 2016, whichever is earlier. For all Federal student aid programs except for (1) Direct PLUS Loans that will be made to parent borrowers, and (2) Direct Unsubsidized Loans that will be made to dependent students who have been determined by the institution, pursuant to section 479A(a) of the HEA, to be eligible for such a loan without providing parental information on the FAFSA, the ISIR or SAR must have an official expected family contribution (EFC) and must be received by the institution no later than the earlier of the student's last date of enrollment for the 2015-2016 award year or September 26, 2016. For a student who is requesting aid through the Pell Grant, FSEOG, FWS, and Federal Perkins Loan programs or for a student requesting Direct Subsidized Loans, who does not meet the conditions for a late disbursement under 34 CFR 668.164(g), a valid ISIR or valid SAR must be received no later than the student's last date of enrollment for the 2015-2016 award year or September 26, 2016, whichever is earlier. In accordance with 34 CFR 668.164(g)(4)(i), an institution may not make a late disbursement of title IV student assistance funds later than 180 days after the date of the institution's determination that the student was no longer enrolled. Table A provides that, to make a late disbursement of title IV student assistance funds, an institution must receive a valid ISIR or valid SAR no later than 180 days after its determination that the student was no longer enrolled, but not later than September 26, 2016. Table BPell Grant, Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant, Direct Loan, and TEACH Grant Programs' Deadline Dates for Disbursement Information by Institutions for the 2015-2016 Award Year or Processing Year. Table B provides the earliest dates for institutions to submit Pell Grant, Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant, Direct Loan, and TEACH Grant disbursement records to the Department's Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) System and deadline dates for an institution's request for administrative relief if it cannot meet the established deadline for specified reasons. An institution must submit Pell Grant, Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant, Direct Loan, and TEACH Grant disbursement records, as applicable, no later than 15 days after making the disbursement or becoming aware of the need to adjust a student's previously reported disbursement. In accordance with 34 CFR 668.164(a), title IV funds are disbursed on the date that the institution: (a) Credits those funds to a student's account in the institution's general ledger or any subledger of the general ledger; or (b) pays those funds to a student directly. Title IV funds are disbursed even if an institution uses its own funds in advance of receiving program funds from the Secretary. An institution's failure to submit disbursement records within the required timeframe may result in the Secretary rejecting all or part of the reported disbursement. Such failure may also result in an audit or program review finding or the initiation of an adverse action, such as a fine or other penalty for such failure, in accordance with subpart G of the General Provisions regulations in 34 CFR part 668.