The comment period for the Department of Education’s request of collecting individual student Federal Work-Study annual earnings data from institutions is open through July 12, 2023.
NASFAA had previously criticized the Department’s estimates of the hours required for the reporting as “woefully inadequate.” The national association has requested that the Department of Education give institutions more time due to the fact the 2024-25 FAFSA is not being released until sometime in December.
Institutions are encouraged to comment at https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain.
The full notice from the Department of Education is posted below and available here.
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
[Docket No.: ED–2023–SCC–0046]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Federal Work Study (FWS) Wages for Student Aid Index
AGENCY: Federal Student Aid (FSA), Department of Education (ED).
ACTION: Notice.
SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, the Department is proposing a new information collection request (ICR).
DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before July 12, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for proposed information collection requests should be submitted within 30 days of publication of this notice. Click on this link www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain to access the site. Find this information collection request (ICR) by selecting ‘‘Department of Education’’ under ‘‘Currently Under Review,’’ then check the ‘‘Only Show ICR for Public Comment’’ checkbox. Reginfo.gov provides two links to view documents related to this information collection request. Information collection forms and instructions may be found by clicking on the ‘‘View Information Collection (IC) List’’ link. Supporting statements and other supporting documentation may be found by clicking on the ‘‘View Supporting Statement and Other Documents’’ link.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For specific questions related to collection activities, please contact Beth Grebeldinger, (202) 377–4018.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department is especially interested in public comment addressing the following issues:
(1) is this collection necessary to the proper functions of the Department;
(2) will this information be processed and used in a timely manner;
(3) is the estimate of burden accurate;
(4) how might the Department enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and
(5) how might the Department minimize the burden of this collection on the respondents, including through the use of information technology.
Please note that written comments received in response to this notice will be considered public records.
Title of Collection: Federal Work Study (FWS) Wages for Student Aid Index.
OMB Control Number: 1845–NEW.
Type of Review: New ICR.
Respondents/Affected Public: State, Local, and Tribal Governments; Private Sector.
Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 3,043.
Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 673,465.
Abstract:
This new collection will be used to gather information available to participating institutions of higher education (IHE) which is required to fully calculate eligibility for title IV student financial aid for applicants under the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA).
The FAFSA Simplification Act (Pub. L. 116–260) introduced a change to the manner in which the Department of Education (ED) may obtain the amount of income an applicant has earned from work under the Federal Work Study (FWS) Program, for the purposes of calculating the applicant’s student aid index (SAI) and determine their eligibility for certain title IV aid. Pursuant to section 483(a)(2)(F) of the FAFSA Simplification Act, ED is required to collect an applicant’s income earned under the FWS program from the IHE participating in the FWS program and can no longer add additional questions to the FAFSA to obtain this information from the FAFSA applicant.
Dated: June 7, 2023.
Kun Mullan
PRA Coordinator, Strategic Collections and Clearance, Governance and Strategy Division, Office of Chief Data Officer, Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development.
[FR Doc. 2023–12508 Filed 6–9–23; 8:45 am]
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