Post on 02-Oct-2020
800.242.0977
djainfo@gotodja.com
3000 W Kellogg Drive
Wichita, KS 67213
OCTOBER 2020 NEWSLETTER
all of us at DJA, we send our warmest wishes for an especially bright and beautiful holiday season to all of our friends, clients and their families.
Celebrate, Be Merry and Have Fun!
Deborah John, President
FY 2017 OFFICIAL COHORT DEFAULT RATES RELEASED SEPTEMBER 28th
On Monday, September 28, 2020, USDE distributed the FY 2017 official
cohort default rate (CDR) notification packages and accompanying
documentation via the Student Aid Internet Gateway (SAIG) to all eligible
schools.
Each eCDR package contained the following information:
IMPORTANT DATES:
October 1
October 7
DJA Webinar
Enrollment Reporting/NSLDS
11:00 a.m. CDT
October 12
Columbus Day – DJA Open,
Federal Offices Closed
October 21
Happy National Financial Aid
Day!
October 27-29
AACS Virtual Annual
Convention
October 31 Happy Halloween!
November 2nd FISAP Submission Deadline
IN THIS ISSUE:
FY 2017 Cohort Default
Rates
Department Issues Email on
CARES Act Update
CARES Act Institutional
Reporting
Comments Requested: New
HEERF Data Collection
Direct Loan Fee Change
Phase Two of COD System
Implementation to Support
CARES Act
Reminder: FISAP Due
Compliance Corner
DJA Calendar
It’s October! Anybody else feel like taking a deep breath now that a lot of the
major deadlines due in the month of September have passed?! Unfortunately,
the Financial Aid Industry rarely offers down time and October 1st marks the
date students can begin completing the 2021/2022 FAFSA. Now it is time to
start focusing on preparing for another award year. Additionally, in this
newsletter, we will cover all the new updates regarding the CARES Act and the
HEERF reporting requirements.
We also discuss the newly published Cohort Default Rates you should have
received last month. October 1st has also brought about a new Direct Loan fee.
Typically in October, we are finalizing FISAP submission, but the COVID
pandemic the deadline was extended to November 2nd. Be sure to read our
reminder in this newsletter and be sure you comply with the deadline.
Lastly, be sure to review our Compliance Corner regarding how to utilize a
joint tax return to figure individual AGI and taxes paid in the event the filer of
a joint return has become widowed, divorced or separated. This step can be
crucial to the verification process.
Thank you and until next time, stay safe and take care!
Deborah John, President
October 2020 2
Cover Letter (message class SHDRLROP)
Reader-Friendly Loan Record Detail Report (message class SHCDRROP)
Extract-Type Loan Record Detail Report (message class SHCDREOP)
Comma Delimited-Type Loan Record Detail Report (message class CDRCSVOP)
The official cohort default rate is found on the first page of a school’s official notification letter and the
last page of the Loan Record Detail Report (LRDR).
eCDR notification packages were not sent to any school not enrolled in eCDR. These schools may download
their cohort default rate and accompanying Loan Record Detail Reports from the National Student Loan Data
System (NSLDS) via the NSLDS Professional Access Web site.
Any school that did not have a borrower in repayment, during the current cohort default rate period will not
receive an Official Cohort Default Rate notification package. These schools are considered to have no cohort
default rate data and no default rate.
Important Note: Some schools have a small number of borrowers entering repayment. At other schools, only a
small portion of the student body takes out student loans. In such cases, the cohort default rate should be
interpreted with caution.
After the release of the 2017 Official rates, the Department of Education (the Department) publicly posted the
2017 Official Cohort Default Rates to the Default Management Website FSA Data Center on Wednesday,
September 30, 2020.
LRDR File review: The LRDR Import Tool can be used to easily load data generated from the LRDR into the
Microsoft Excel spreadsheet application, which is designed to assist schools with reviewing and analyzing their
LRDR extract files.
To download the LRDR Import Tool, go to the Default Management website at https://ifap.ed.gov/dm, and
choose “CDR Guide” from the left-hand navigation bar. The LRDR Import Tool can be found in the
"Templates/Spreadsheets" section. If you have questions about using the LRDR Import Tool or NSLDS, contact
the NSLDS Customer Support Center at 800-999-8219. You can also contact Customer Support by email at
nslds@ed.gov.
Note: Any school that did not have a borrower in repayment, during the current or any of the past cohort default
rate periods, will not receive a FY 2017 official CDR notification package. These schools are considered to
have no cohort default rate data and no cohort default rate.
Guaranty agency and lender rates can be obtained through the NSLDS website.
Begin Date for Appealing FY 2017 Official Cohort Default Rates
The time period for appealing the FY 2017 Official Cohort Default Rates begins on Tuesday, October 6, 2020
for all schools.
October 2020 3
All Uncorrected Data Adjustments (UDA) and New Data Adjustments (NDA) must be made through the eCDR
Appeals application. Additionally, the Loan Servicing (LS) Appeal process is now available electronically
through the eCDR Appeals application. All other adjustments/appeals will continue to be submitted via hard
copy. As a reminder, eCDR Appeals is a web-based application that allows schools to electronically submit
certain adjustments/appeals requests during the specified timeframes. The application allows data managers
(guaranty agency or federal loan servicer) and Federal Student Aid personnel to electronically view and respond
to these adjustments/appeals. The application tracks the entire life cycle of each request from the time the case
is submitted until the time a decision is made and the case is closed.
If a technical problem caused by the Department results in an inability to access the data, schools have five
business days from the receipt of the eCDR notification package to notify the Operations Performance
Division at the email address given below. As stated above, the time period for challenging the FY 2017
Official Cohort Default Rates begins on Tuesday, October 6, 2020 for all schools.
To complete an adjustment or appeal, you may need the data manager’s contact information. Click on the “Data
Manager Information” link from the home page of the Cohort Default Rate Guide at
https://ifap.ed.gov/dm/finalcdrg.
If the Department revises a school’s cohort default rate based on its adjustment or appeal submission, the
revised cohort default rate will be available on Operations Performance Division’s website at
https://ifap.ed.gov/dm.
For specific information regarding eCDR Appeals, visit the eCDR Appeals website, where you will find user
guides for each of the challenge and adjustment processes, as well as a user guide for the registration process.
Additionally, you will find links to recordings of eCDR Appeals demonstration sessions to assist first-time
users.
Contact Information For additional information regarding the school cohort default rate calculation or the challenge processes, please
refer to the Cohort Default Rate Guide at https://ifap.ed.gov/dm/finalcdrg.
You may also email fsa.schools.default.management@ed.gov or call the Operations Performance Division’s
hotline at 202-377-4259.
DJA Clients: This information was sent to the SAIG mailbox for the destination point designated by the
school. If your school had designated DJA’s SAIG mailbox for receipt of these files, they were sent to clients
upon receipt in our SAIG mailbox on September 28th. However, if you are enrolled in the eCDR system
under your own SAIG mailbox, you will need to look for your file there. Any school not enrolled in the
eCDR process may download their cohort default rate and accompanying documentation from the National
Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) via the NSLDS Professional Access Web site.
https://ifap.ed.gov/electronic-announcements/092820FY2017OfficialCDRDistributedSept282020
October 2020 4
DEPARTMENT ISSUES CARES ACT EMAIL ON HEERF UPDATE The Department recently issued an email to grantees of the CARES Act Higher Education Emergency Relief
Fund regarding additional reporting requirements. The purpose of the email was to inform institutions of several
recent updates to the HEERF programs. The email clarified the following:
1) Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is an allowable expenditure under HEERF Just to clarify, purchases to ensure the physical safety of students on campus is an allowable use of a
grantee’s Institutional Portion of its allocation under section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act, when these
costs are new or added and needed to implement “significant changes to the delivery of instruction due
to the coronavirus.”
This may include the reasonable costs of PPE, cleaning supplies, facility cleaning, or the purchase of
items to help detect or prevent the spread of COVID-19 (e.g., thermometers, plastic barriers, or face
masks). Grantees may also use these funds to make non-permanent changes to existing instructional
facilities to ensure social distancing.
The purchase of PPE, cleaning supplies, facility cleaning, or the purchase of items to help detect or
prevent the spread of COVID-19 items is also an allowable use of funds for grants received under
sections 18004(a)(2) and 18004(a)(3) of the CARES Act.
(2) Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (FFATA) reporting not
required for HEERF Following the Department’s July 9 statement (published as an Electronic Announcement (EA) to
institutions of higher education on July 10, 2020) regarding the use of the FFATA Subaward Reporting
System (FSRS) for purposes of reporting the use of HEERF funds, the Department received a number of
questions and concerns raised about reporting for HEERF grantees. It has since been concluded that
institutions receiving HEERF formula funding will not likely have subawards and will not be able to use
FSRS for reporting their use of HEERF funds.
Therefore, the Department will be using the authority provided by Section 18004(e) of the CARES Act
to specify how institutions will publish certain information on a quarterly basis on their websites. To this
end, they have released a draft information form to accomplish this and also publish the form in the
Federal Register for public comment for a first report due October 30, 2020, covering the period from
the date of the first HEERF grant award through September 30, 2020. The draft form published in the
FR is covered in the article below.
More information is available at our HEERF Reporting webpage
https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/heerfreporting.html.
(3) Changes to the section 18004(a)(1) Student Aid allocation public reporting requirement The Department recently revised the May 6th Electronic Announcement (EA) on institutional reporting
for the emergency financial aid grants to students made with institutions’ allocations under section
October 2020 5
18004(a)(1), Student Aid Portion, of the CARES Act. This EA has been superseded by the August 31st
EA found here in the Federal Register. It can also be found on the CARES Act HEERF homepage.
This revised EA, in conjunction with approved information collection under OMB control number 1801-
0005, requires grantees receiving awards under section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act to publicly post
certain grant information on the institution’s primary website as part of the reporting requirements under
section 18004(e) of the CARES Act. This revised EA maintains the same seven reporting elements, but
it adds a clarifying footnote for reporting item four and decreases the frequency of reporting after the
initial 30-day period from every 45 days thereafter to every calendar quarter.
Grantees posting a 45-day report on or after August 31, 2020 should instead post a report every calendar
quarter, with the next calendar quarter report due by October 10, 2020 and covering the period from
after their last 45-day or 30-day report through the end of the calendar quarter on September 30, 2020.
If you have any questions regarding this revised notice, please send them to Jack Cox at
Jack.Cox@ed.gov. Please also remember to check the HEERF Reporting webpage
(https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/heerfreporting.html) regularly for future CARES Act
reporting requirements and updates.
(4) HEERF Annual Reporting Form 60-day public comment period closing soon
The HEERF Annual Information Collection Form was posted for a 60-Day public comment period.
Please see the Federal Register Notice and Form and Instructions and Supporting Statement. Public
comments for this notice were accepted through September 28, 2020, via Regulations.gov.
For additional information about HEERF programs, please visit THE HEERF website. If you have any
questions regarding these announcements, please contact the Department of Education’s HEERF Call Center at
(202) 377-3711 or HEERF@ed.gov.
CARES ACT INSTITUTIONAL QUARTERLY REPORTING
On Monday September 28, 2020, a new quarterly budget and expenditure reporting form was released by the
Department of Education. The new form is to report CARES Act institutional funding. First reports are to be
posted on the school’s website by October 30, 2020, covering the period from the date of the first HEERF grant
award through September 30, 2020. This form must be conspicuously posted on the institution’s primary
website on the same page the reports of the school’s activities as to the emergency financial aid grants to
students made with funds from the CARES Act.
On each form, fill out the institution name, the date of the report, the appropriate quarter the report covers
(September 30, December 31, March 31, June 30), the original total amount of funds awarded by the
Department, and check the box if the report is a “final report”, if applicable. In the chart, IHE’s must specify the
October 2020 6
amount of expended CARES Act funds for each funding category: Sections 18004(a)(1) Institutional Portion,
18004(a)(2), and 18004(a)(3), if applicable. Provide explanatory notes for how funds were expended, including
the title and brief description of each project or activity allotted funds. Explanatory footnotes help clarify certain
reporting categories. Calculate the amount of the Section 18004(a)(1) Institutional Portion (referred to as
“(a)(1)” in the chart), Section 18004(a)(2) (referred to as “(a)(2)” in the chart), and Section 18004(a)(3)
(referred to as “(a)(3)” in the chart) funds in the “Quarterly Expenditures for each Program” row, and the grand
total of all three in the “Total of Quarterly Expenditures” row. Blank responses are considered $0 for that
category or column.
To access the form, click here: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/heerf-quarterly-reporting.pdf
FEDERAL REGISTER RELEASED SOLICITING COMMENTS FOR A NEW CARES ACT HEERF DATA COLLECTION
Additionally, on Monday the Department of Education released a Federal Register soliciting comments for a
new CARES Act HEERF data collection. They are seeking emergency processing approval by September 3030.
This new HEERF data collection is to be called Quarterly Budget and Expenditure Reporting (QBER) and
differs from the 30-day Fund Report and from the annual reporting previously proposed. This data collection
would presumably satisfy the CARES ACT Section 15011 quarterly reporting requirements applying to
recipients of more than $150,000 of any type of CARES Act funding.
The QBER would apply to recipients of CARES Act funds under Sections 18004(a)(1), (2), & (3) and section
18004(c). Reports would be posted to institutions’ primary websites, on the same page as they post their 30-day
Fund Reports, either as text or as a link to a .pdf of the report. Reports would be due no later than 10 days
following the end of the calendar quarter, with the exception that the first report would be due on Oct. 30, 2020
as opposed to Oct. 10. The initial report would include cumulative expenditures through Sept. 30, 2020.
Subsequent reports would include data only for the quarter being reported, and each quarterly report would need
to be separately maintained on the institution’s website.
Quarterly submission of the QBER would be required until Sept. 30, 2022.
To view the Federal Register, click here: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/09/28/2020-
21355/agency-information-collection-activities-comment-request-quarterly-budget-and-expenditure-reporting
REMINDER - DIRECT LOAN ORIGINATION FEES CHANGE OCTOBER 1, 2020
The origination fees for Direct Subsidized Loans, Direct Unsubsidized Loans, and Direct PLUS Loans (for both
parent and graduate student borrowers) change as of October 1, 2020. Additional operational guidance is
provided in a June 23, 2020 Electronic Announcement at https://ifap.ed.gov/electronic-
announcements/062320FY21SequesterRequiredChangesTitleIVStudentAidPrograms
October 2020 7
Loan Type First Disbursed Loan Fee Percent
Fee Example
Direct Subsidized Loans and Direct
Unsubsidized Loans
FY 20 On or after October 1, 2019 and before October 1, 2020
1.059 $58.24 on a $5,500 loan.
FY 21 On or after October 1, 2020 and before October 1, 2021
1.057 $58.13 on a $5,500 loan.
Direct PLUS Loans (Parent and Grad/Prof
Student)
FY 20 On or after October 1, 2019 and before October 1, 2020
4.236 $423.60 on a $10,000 loan
FY 21 On or after October 1, 2020 and before October 1, 2021
4.228 $422.80 on a $10,000 loan
Loan fee calculations that result in more than two decimal places must be truncated (not rounded) to two digits after the decimal point (cents).
COD SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION INFORMATION FOR ADDITIONAL COD SYSTEM CHANGES TO SUPPORT THE CARES ACT- PHASE TWO
The second phase of the Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) System implementation occurred on
September 27, 2002 and made additional changes to the COD System to support the reporting requirements for
withdrawn students who qualify for a Title IV waiver under the CARES Act. These changes supplement the
work completed on Aug. 2, 2020 and are explained in a July 30, 2020 Electronic Announcement. The
Department released a second announcement, July 23, 2020 Electronic Announcement providing the following
important information about this next round of changes:
High-Level Schedule and Summary of COD System Changes for the CARES Act (Phase Two)
COD System Outage Information
Technical Information and Document Availability
Contact Information
October 2020 8
High-Level Schedule and Summary of COD System Changes for the CARES Act (Phase Two) As noted in the July 30th announcement, the first phase of COD System functionality was implemented on Aug.
2, 2020. Phase two was completed on Sept. 27, 2020. This phase included:
New and modified reports
Modifications to the Return of Title IV (R2T4) calculator on COD website
Technical Information and Document Availability An updated version of the 2020–21 COD Technical Reference was posted in a September 30, 2020 Electronic
Announcement. As noted in previous announcements, there are no changes to the COD Common Record XML
Schema.
COD System Changes
The following changes will impact COD System processing for the Federal Pell Grant (Pell Grant), Iraq and
Afghanistan Service Grant, Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant,
and William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) programs.
Changes to the Payment Period Start Date for the Coronavirus Indicator In the July 30, 2020 Electronic
Announcement, it was noted that one of the requirements for the Coronavirus Indicator was that the
disbursement’s payment period start date is a date inclusive of or between Jan. 1, 2020 and Dec. 31, 2020.
Beginning Sept. 27, 2020, payment period start date window has been expanded, and the Coronavirus Indicator
will be accepted when the payment period start date is a date inclusive of or between July 1, 2019 and Dec. 31,
2020.
Note: While the payment period start date window has been expanded, all other requirements related to the
Coronavirus Indicator must be met.
Subsidized Usage Calculator Updates
Beginning Sept. 27, 2020, the Subsidized Usage Limit Applies (SULA) calculator was updated to include a
Coronavirus Indicator field. Once selected, the disbursements flagged with the Coronavirus Indicator will be
excluded from the subsidized usage calculation. As a result, users can view the effect of the added Coronavirus
Indicator on the following types of calculations:
• Subsidized Usage Period
• Sum Actual Subsidized Usage Periods
• Maximum Subsidized Eligibility Period
• Remaining Subsidized Eligibility Period
COD School Report – Weekly Coronavirus Report
The Weekly Coronavirus Report will provide cumulative data for students who have received Coronavirus
Disaster relief (have disbursements flagged with the Coronavirus Indicator) by program (Direct Loan, TEACH
October 2020 9
Grant, and Pell/Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant) and award year. The reports will be generated on a weekly
basis and in comma delimited (.csv) format.
Schools will retrieve the reports from the COD Reporting website; the report will not be sent via the Student
Aid Internet Gateway (SAIG).
The file layout for the Weekly Coronavirus Report will be available in the COD Technical Reference.
Direct Loan Rebuild
While the Direct Loan Rebuild was not be updated with the Coronavirus Indicator, changes were made to the
content provided in the report. Specifically, to minimize the impact to schools and vendors that have internal
system edits on loan period dates, Direct Subsidized Loans that have a disbursement marked with the
Coronavirus Indicator will be excluded. This is because of the potential systematic updates to the award begin
and end dates for flagged disbursements.
For schools that may need a Direct Loan Rebuild and have excluded Direct Subsidized Loan records (due to the
Coronavirus Indicator), they can work with the COD School Relations Center for assistance with those specific
records.
National Student Loan Data System Interface
Following this system release, information about disbursements flagged with the Coronavirus Indicator will be
passed to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS®). Note: Following additional system work and a
separate NSLDS implementation planned for Nov. 22, 2020, NSLDS will use the Coronavirus Indicator
information for SULA processing on NSLDS, such as calculating the Remaining Eligibility Period (REP) for
the interest subsidy. In addition, NSLDS will label loan discharges due to COVID-19 as “Coronavirus”
(currently these discharges are only marked with the discharge type code of “HC02”.
Return of Title IV (R2T4) Changes
With this release, changes were made to the Return of Title IV (R2T4) calculator to allow schools to perform an
RT24 calculation specifically for aid recipients who withdrew due to COVID-19-related circumstances. The
updated tool provides schools with a mechanism for reporting the amount of Title IV grant or loan assistance
not returned due to the CARES Act provisions.
In response to feedback from the community, additional options are being examined (besides the R2T4
calculator) for reporting Title IV grant or loan assistance not returned due to the CARES Act provisions, but
those options will likely not be available until early 2021. In the meantime, schools may use the R2T4
calculator for any aid recipients who withdrew due to COVID-19, but there is no requirement to do so, and
some schools may opt to wait until other options are available. As noted previously, calculations for COVID-19
withdrawals will be used for reporting purposes only.
As of Sept. 27, 2020, the following updates were put in place—
October 2020 10
• The COD R2T4 calculator was updated to incorporate a new R2T4 Coronavirus Indicator checkbox.
The checkbox will be available for the 2018–19 Award Year and forward. o Once the indicator is selected, the user will be required to select a “Calendar Profile” that has a
payment period or period of enrollment state date within the valid date range.
• The R2T4 Review Calculation page and Student Record Management page was updated to include an
R2T4 Coronavirus Indicator field (on student records that were previously marked as such). It is an
informational field only; users are not able to update the field on these pages.
• The R2T4 Reports page were updated to allow users to search for calculations with disbursements
marked with the new R2T4 Coronavirus Indicator and allow users to run reports to show the amount of
aid by program that would have been returned for disbursements marked with the new Coronavirus
Indicator. The search dropdown box includes an R2T4 Coronavirus Indicator option. Users are able to
select “Yes” to view a report with only R2T4 calculations where the R2T4 Coronavirus Indicator was
flagged. Users select “No” to view a report with only R2T4 calculations where the R2T4 Coronavirus
Indicator was not flagged.
The R2T4 Report will be expanded to include the following columns: Calendar Period Start Date,
Calendar Period End Date, and R2T4 Coronavirus Indicator.
In addition, the Department is in the process of developing training material specifically about the changes to
the R2T4 calculator. Once it is ready, it will be made available on the FSA Training website.
Contact Information If you have questions about this announcement, contact the COD School Relations Center at 1-800-848-0978.
You may also email CODSupport@ed.gov.
REMINDER: FISAP DUE NOVEMBER 2, 2020
The upcoming deadline for submitting the Fiscal Operations Report for 2019–20 and the Application to
Participate for 2021–22 (FISAP) for the Campus-Based Programs has been extended to Monday, Nov. 2, 2020.
All schools requesting Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) and Federal Work-Study
(FWS) program funds for the 2021–22 Award Year and/or that had either FSEOG and FWS expenditures or
Federal Perkins Loan (Perkins Loan) activity for the 2019–20 Award Year are required to electronically submit
a FISAP via the Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) website. Schools that closed during the 2019–
20 Award Year are required to complete and submit a final FISAP to report 2019–20 Campus-Based
expenditures.
The COD website allows a school to complete and submit its FISAP online, receive real-time validation edits,
and access prior-year data to assist in completing the FISAP. Schools should review all validation edits and
ensure accuracy of the information reported. For information about accessing the FISAP on the COD
October 2020 11
website and to review important reporting reminders, refer to the August 3, 2020 Electronic Announcement
announcing that the 2021–22 FISAP is available.
The deadline for electronic submission of the FISAP is 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on Nov. 2, 2020.
Transmissions must be completed prior to midnight. Additionally, the signature page must be printed, signed,
and mailed by the Nov. 2, 2020 deadline. Signature requirements and instructions can be found in the 2021–22
FISAP Instructions, page 14.
FISAP Reminders
Click “Submit” – Remember that saving data into the FISAP online is not the same as submitting the
FISAP. Data can be entered and saved as a school user works through the form, but it is not actually
submitted until the school user clicks on “Submit.”
Consequences for Not Filing the FISAP – 2019–20 Campus-Based funding levels will be reduced to
zero ($0) for a school that received 2019–20 Campus-Based funds but fails to file the FISAP by the
deadline. This includes schools that closed during the 2019–20 year and drew Campus-Based funds for
that year from G5. Any 2019–20 program funds that have been drawn down in G5 will be required to be
returned to the Department of Education (the Department). Campus-Based funds for the 2021–22 Award
Year will not be awarded to schools that fail to file the FISAP.
Schools must provide true and accurate data and must not roll forward data previously reported on last year’s
FISAP just to meet the deadline.
Note: Failing to accurately and timely file the FISAP may result in referral to FSA’s Program Compliance
office for further review and action. These actions may include fines, and a limitation, suspension, or
termination of your institution’s eligibility to participate in the Campus-Based Programs. In addition, through
the signature process, the President/CEO has certified that information in the FISAP is true and accurate and in
compliance with legislation and regulations. Providing false and misleading information can result in fines,
prison, or both.
Updated Financial Aid Administrator (FAA) Contact Information Required – All Campus-Based
notifications are sent via email to the FAA. For timely receipt of these notifications, it is important that a
school ensures the accuracy of its FAA contact information, including the FAA email address. A school
can update its contact information when submitting the FISAP or by selecting “School Information”
then “Demographics” on the Campus-Based section of the COD website. All changes or corrections to
contact information must also be updated in the Program Participation Agreement using the E-App
website.
Automatic Underuse Penalty Waiver– As announced in the August 3, 2020 Electronic
Announcement, schools that return more than 10 percent of their 2019–20 FSEOG or FWS allocation do
not need to request a waiver for the underuse of funds penalty in Part II, Section C, Line 6 of the
FISAP. Underuse penalties will not be applied on any 2021–22 FWS or FSEOG awards for all schools
due to the impact of the COVID-19 emergency.
Accuracy Helps Avoid Negative Balances – Make sure the information reported for expenditures of
2019–20 award amounts are accurate and consistent with the amounts drawn in G5. For example, if a
October 2020 12
school's FWS authorized amount was $50,000 and the school reported an expended amount of $40,000
on the FISAP (Part V, Section E, Field 18), the school's award will be closed out at the expended
amount of $40,000 (i.e. the $10,000 difference will be deobligated from G5). If the amount the school
has drawn from G5 is different from the expended amount reported on the FISAP, we will assume that
the correct expenditures are the amounts reported on the FISAP and certified by the Chief Executive
Officer in Part I, Section B. In some cases this results in a negative balance which is required to be
returned by the school to the Department. Using the above example, if the school drew down its entire
$50,000 FWS authorization from G5, it would need to return $10,000.
Edit Corrections through Dec. 15, 2020 – Once a FISAP is submitted, the school can submit
corrections until 11:59 p.m. ET on Dec. 15, 2020. Data can be entered and saved as a school makes
corrections. If corrections are made, remember to submit them. Transmissions must be completed prior
to midnight. Note: After the Dec. 15, 2020 deadline for submitting corrections, approval of FISAP
change requests is reserved for exceptional issues only.
Perkins Loan Reporting Reminders
Report the correct data for all cumulative and annual reporting for Perkins Loans.
Schools that had cash in their Perkins Loan Revolving Fund (Perkins Fund) were notified of the required
distribution of assets process and the required amount of the federal share to remove and return to the
Department; the required amount of the institutional share to remove and return to the school; and if
eligible the amount to remove and reimburse the school for service cancellations.
o If your school returned the federal share, report the cumulative federal share repaid to the federal
government from the Perkins Fund in Part III, Section A, line 28.1 “Repayments of fund capital
to federal government.” (Line 28.1 should be the sum of the cumulative amount reported in line
28 on last year’s FISAP plus the amount the school repaid in 2019–20.)
o If your school returned the institutional share to the school, report the cumulative institution
share repaid from the Perkins Fund in Part III, Section A, line 30.2 “Repayments of
excess/liquidated fund capital to Institution.”
o If your school was eligible for reimbursement of Perkins loan service cancellations and was
notified of the amount to reimburse the school from the Perkins Fund, report the amount that the
school was reimbursed from the Fund for cancellations in Part III, Section A, line 28.2 “Service
cancelation reimbursement received on or after 07/01/2019.”
Online Help is Available 24/7 – If additional help is needed, the COD website has several documents that can
be accessed online as well as a series of frequently asked questions and answers (Q&As).
DJA Clients: If you are a DJA Client and contract with DJA for your SEOG Processing, then we are already
working diligently on your FISAP and will have it submitted ahead of the required deadline. Are you
overwhelmed with the annual FISAP and Financial Aid Processing in general? DJA would love the opportunity
to chat with you about our services. Contact Kristi Cole, Director of Sales at DJA, at 1-800-242-0977 or via
email at kcole@gotodja.com for more information on how we can assist.
https://ifap.ed.gov/electronic-announcements/092420ReminderFISAPdueNov22020
October 2020 13
COMPLIANCE CORNER
USING A JOINT RETURN TO FIGURE INDIVIDUAL AGI AND TAXES PAID
Excerpt from the 20/21 Application and Verification Guide, page 93:
If the filer of a joint return has become widowed, divorced, or separated since filing the return, it may be
necessary to determine the individual’s income and taxes paid using the joint return and W-2 forms. If a W-2 is
not available (the filer is self-employed for example) or if a duplicate copy from the employer who issued the
original W-2 is not available in a timely manner, the school may permit the filer to provide a signed statement
that certifies the base year AGI and U.S. taxes paid. If he has divorced and married someone new (see “Parent
remarriage after applying” on page 104 if this occurred after completion of the application), then the new
spouse’s income and assets would also need to be included.
Add the income amounts from the individual’s W-2 forms to any other income that can be extracted from the
joint return. Any interest or business income earned on joint accounts or investments should be assessed at 50%.
The same procedure should be used to divide business or farm losses. Also, if the AGI listed on the joint return
was adjusted, you should reduce the individual’s AGI by the portion of the adjustment that applies solely to him
or her. An AGI figure can be calculated for the individual filer. A signed statement from the filer certifying that
the data from the joint return were accurately assessed is sufficient documentation for this method.
Use one of the following methods to figure the individual’s taxes paid:
• Tax table (preferred method). Using the IRS Tax Table or Tax Rate Schedule for the appropriate year,
calculate the amount of tax that would have been paid if a separate return had been filed. Use the deductions the
individual could have claimed if he or she had filed a separate return. (If itemized deductions were taken, count
only the portion of those deductions that could have been claimed on a separate tax return.)
• Proportional distribution. Determine what percentage of the joint AGI was attributable to the individual, and
then assess the joint taxes paid by that same percentage.
Example
Calculating the individual AGI from a joint return
Eddy’s application is selected for verification. He and his wife filed a joint return for 2018 and have since
divorced. The AGI on Eddy’s FAFSA matches the AGI of $56,500 on the 2018 tax return, which means it’s
wrong because it includes his wife’s income.
Eddy’s W-2 shows that his income for 2018 was $25,900, and the tax return shows $400 in interest. Because it
was interest on a joint savings account, the aid administrator adds $200 of it to Eddy’s income and submits
$26,100 as the corrected income via FAA Access.
October 2020 14
Calculating the individual tax from a joint return
The aid administrator determines that Eddy’s part of the $56,500 AGI he and his wife reported is $26,100. If he
had filed his tax return as single, his standard deduction would have been $12,000 (instead of $24,000 for
married filers). Eddy’s income of $26,100 minus $12,000 for the standard deduction results in $14,100 in
taxable income.
The aid administrator uses the tax table to determine how much tax Eddy would have paid on this amount,
taking into account any applicable credits reported on the original return. With a taxable income of $14,100, the
tax amount from the tax schedule is $1,505.
To use the proportional distribution method instead, the aid administrator figures out what percentage of the
joint AGI Eddy’s income represents. The percentage is 46% (26,100 ÷ 56,500 is .4619). The aid administrator
then multiplies the income tax paid as reported on the tax return ($3,522 for this example) by this percentage.
Eddy’s income tax by using this method is $1,620 (.46 X $3,522).
https://ifap.ed.gov/sites/default/files/attachments/2020-05/2021FSAHbkAVG.pdf
DJA CALENDAR 2020 DJA MONTHLY WEBINAR SCHEDULE
Monthly DJA Webinar: Enrollment Reporting - Wednesday, October 7 - 11 a.m. CDT
NOTE: There may be a difference between DJA local time and your time zone. To determine your time zone
equivalent, click on this link to view a time zone map: http://www.worldtimezone.com/time-usa12.php
Webinars are free to clients. There is a $45 fee for all others who may be interested in joining us for these
presentations. Invitations are automatically sent to all clients, however if you do not receive an invitation, email
Renee Ford at rford@gotodja.com. After registering, you will receive the log-in information. Questions can be
directed to Renee by email or by calling toll free at 1-800-242-0977.
2020 DJA MONTHLY WEBINAR SCHEDULE
OCT 7 Enrollment Reporting Using NSLDS
NOV 4 Program Integrity (Audits, Program Review)
DEC 2 1098-T Reporting
October 2020 15
2020 ANNUAL AMERICAN ACADEMY OF COSMETOLOGY SCHOOLS CONFERENCE- VIRTUAL EDITION
COVID and social distancing can’t stop members of AACS from coming together as an industry and knowledge
sharing for their annual conference. While the meeting has gone virtual this year, attendees will still have the
opportunity to learn from the best in the sector and attend informative training sessions. The 2020 AACS
Convention and Expo will be held virtually October 27-29th. For more information on registration, visit
https://www.beautyschools.org/events/2020-aacs-convention-expo/.
To learn more on Cybersecurity Compliance and how to prepare the most effective Information Security
Program, our very own Renee Ford, Vice President of DJA, will be hosting a webinar on the topic during this
virtual convention.
2020 FEDERAL STUDENT AID (FSA) TRAINING CONFERENCE GOING VIRTUAL Don’t miss the first-ever virtual Federal Student Aid training conference!
Federal Student Aid is committed to providing a meaningful training experience for you amid the uncertainty
caused by the COVID-19 emergency. The 2020 FSA Training Conference for Financial Aid Professionals will
be delivered virtually Dec. 1-4, 2020, and will feature dynamic keynote addresses, engaging general forums,
and informative breakout sessions.
Later this summer, additional information will be released on the IFAP website about the virtual conference and
how you can participate.
Disclaimer: The information presented in this Newsletter is provided as a service and represents our best efforts to assist institutions with federal student aid
regulations. We have collected information we believe to be important in finding and obtaining the resources for administering federal student aid; however, we assume
no liability for the use of this information. The information in this newsletter does not constitute, and should not be construed as, legal advice.