Publication Date: July 2, 2008
Summary: CCRAA Operational Implementation Guidance (CPS, COD System,
and EDESuite) - CCRAA-Compliant Version of Return of Title IV Funds (R2T4)
on the Web Now Scheduled for July 27, 2008 Release; Additional Release
Planned for September 2008
In a June
19, 2008 Electronic Announcement posted to the Information for Financial
Aid Professionals (IFAP) Web site, we announced that the Return of
Title IV Funds (R2T4) on the Web site would be updated on September 28,
2008 to implement provisions related to the College Cost Reduction and
Access Act (the CCRAA), Pub. L. 110-84. To address what schools should
do in the interim period from July 1, 2008 to September 28, 2008 for students
with a withdrawal date on or after July 1, 2008, we advised you in a June
23, 2008 follow-up Electronic Announcement to use the CCRAA-compliant
paper versions of the R2T4 and Post-Withdrawal Disbursement worksheets.
As a result of concerns you have expressed to us regarding the September
28, 2008 implementation date, we have accelerated the implementation schedule
and will now be able to offer a CCRAA-compliant R2T4 on the Web site on
July 27, 2008. We will implement additional, non-CCRAA-specific
updates to R2T4 on the Web on September 28, 2008.
In the interim period from July 1, 2008 to July 27, 2008, schools that
normally use R2T4 on the Web should use the CCRAA-compliant paper versions
of the R2T4 and Post-Withdrawal Disbursement worksheets to perform calculations
for students with a withdrawal date on or after July 1, 2008. The
CCRAA-compliant versions of the R2T4 and Post-Withdrawal worksheets are
available in PDF format on the IFAP
Web site at http://ifap.ed.gov/aidworksheets/currentoptions.htm.
You can also locate the PDF files by clicking on the "Return of Title
IV Funds Worksheets" link on the IFAP
home page.
Note: You can continue to use R2T4 on the Web after July 1, 2008
to perform calculations for students with a withdrawal date prior to
July 1, 2008.
To ensure correct usage of R2T4 on the Web during this interim period,
the R2T4 on the Web site has been updated to prevent entry of student
records with a withdrawal date on or after July 1, 2008. This block will
be removed as part of the July 27, 2008 update to the site.
Note: Federal Student Aid strongly recommends that schools use
the paper worksheets (and not R2T4 on the Web) to perform calculations
for students who have a Withdrawal Date prior to July 1, 2008 but have
a Date of School's Determination that the Student Withdrew on or after
July 1, 2008. The Web site will not correctly calculate certain countdown
statistics for records falling under this scenario.
In the subsequent sections of this message, we discuss the enhancements
being incorporated into the July and September 2008 versions of R2T4 on
the Web, respectively.
July 27, 2008 Update to R2T4 on the Web
As part of the July 27, 2008 update to R2T4 on the Web, Federal Student
Aid will add new CCRAA-compliant credit-hour and clock-hour R2T4 worksheets
and a new Post-Withdrawal Disbursement worksheet for use with students
who have a withdrawal date on or after July 1, 2008. The CCRAA-compliant
worksheets will be designed to capture the same information as the modified
paper R2T4 and Post-Withdrawal Disbursement worksheets available on the
IFAP Web site.
Based on the withdrawal date you enter when adding a new student record,
the Web site will display the appropriate worksheet and associated entry
fields and will perform calculations according to the rules and regulations
applicable to the specific worksheet.
The following additional changes, related to the CCRAA, will be implemented
in the July 27, 2008 update to R2T4 on the Web:
- TEACH Grant Added to R2T4, Post-Withdrawal Disbursement Worksheets
- The CCRAA authorized the Teacher Education Assistance for College
and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Program for implementation beginning
with the 2008-2009 Award Year. The TEACH Grant Program provides up to
$4,000 a year in grant assistance to a student who agrees to serve for
at least four years as a full-time teacher in a high-need field in a
public or private elementary or secondary school that serves students
from low-income families. A TEACH Grant recipient who does not complete
the required teaching within a specified timeframe, or fails to meet
certain other requirements of the TEACH Grant Program, will be required
to repay the TEACH Grant as a Direct Unsubsidized Loan under the William
D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program. Final
regulations for the TEACH Grant Program were published in the Federal
Register on June 23, 2008 (73 FR 35472) and are effective July
1, 2008.
We added the TEACH Grant to the modified credit-hour and clock-hour R2T4
worksheets (in Step 1, Step 6, and Step 10) and the Post-Withdrawal Disbursement
worksheet (in Step IV) for students with a withdrawal date on or after
July 1, 2008.
Note: The TEACH Grant is treated as a grant (not a loan) for R2T4
and Post-Withdrawal Disbursement calculation purposes.
The TEACH Grant does not appear on the R2T4 on the Web worksheets for
students with a withdrawal date prior to July 1, 2008.
-
Post-Withdrawal Disbursement Tracking Status Page and Report
Redesigned to Separate Grant and Loan Calculations - The CCRAA
modified the amount of time a school has to make a post-withdrawal
disbursement of loan or grant funds to a student. Under pre-CCRAA
regulations, a school had 120 days from the date of the school's determination
that the student withdrew to make a post-withdrawal disbursement of
loan or grant funds to the student. The CCRAA revised the time period
to make a direct disbursement of the grant portion of a post-withdrawal
disbursement not credited to the student's account to a maximum of
45 days from the date of determination. When any portion of a post-withdrawal
disbursement is comprised of Title IV loan proceeds, the institution
has 30 days from the date of determination to notify the borrower
to request confirmation of the borrower's need for the loan. The institution
has up to a maximum of 180 days from the date of determination to
complete the post-withdrawal disbursement of the loan portion of the
disbursement. Institutions may no longer request a waiver for periods
longer than 180 days from the date of determination.
As a result of the CCRAA and the new contrast between the time period
for post-withdrawal disbursements of loan funds (180 days) and post-withdrawal
direct disbursements of grant funds (45 days), we redesigned the Students
with a Post-Withdrawal Disbursement Notification Tracking Status page
and its associated report to provide unique countdown information for
pre-CCRAA and CCRAA records.
Prior to displaying post-withdrawal disbursement records on the Students
with a Post-Withdrawal Disbursement Notification Tracking Status page
or its associated report, R2T4 on the Web now prompts you to select one
of the following options for viewing records:
1) Withdrawal Date Prior to July 1, 2008: This option will display
both loan and grant post-withdrawal disbursement status information for
students with a withdrawal date prior to July 1, 2008. The Web site calculates
the difference between the R2T4 system date and date of the school's determination
that the student withdrew, and then subtracts the result from 120. The
result appears in the # Days Left From 120 field. The countdown for this
field stops after the field "Post-Withdrawal Disbursement completed?"
(on the Post-Withdrawal tab) is set to Yes.
2) Withdrawal Date on or after July 1, 2008 - Loans: This option
displays loan post-withdrawal disbursement status information for students
with a withdrawal date on or after July 1, 2008. The Web site calculates
the difference between the R2T4 system date and date of the school's determination
that the student withdrew, and then subtracts the result from 180. The
result appears in the # Days Left From 180 field. The countdown for this
field stops after the new "Post-Withdrawal Disbursement completed
- Loans?" field (on the Post-Withdrawal tab) is set to Yes.
3) Withdrawal Date on or after July 1, 2008 - Grants: This option
displays grant post-withdrawal disbursement status information for students
with a withdrawal date on or after July 1, 2008. The Web site calculates
the difference between the R2T4 system date and date of the school's determination
that the student withdrew, and then subtracts the result from 45. The
result appears in the # Days Left From 45 field. The countdown for this
field stops after the new "Post-Withdrawal Disbursement completed
- Grants?" field (on the Post-Withdrawal tab) is set to Yes.
September 28, 2008 Update to R2T4 on the Web
On September 28, 2008, we will implement two additional enhancements
to R2T4 on the Web. These enhancements, listed below, are not related
to the CCRAA:
Award Year Valid Value Range Expanded - We
will expand the valid value range for the Award Year field from 2000-2010
to 2000-2020 to accommodate cycles following the upcoming 2009-2010 award
year. This field appears in Institutional Charges setup, School Calendar
Profile setup, and on the Add and Update R2T4 Record pages.
New Repayment Arrangement Type for Loan-Only Students
- We will add a new Repayment Arrangement Type for students who only have
Title IV loan repayment obligations. This new value will be available
on the Student Repayment Arrangements - Completed and Student Repayment
Arrangements - Not Completed Notification Tracking Status pages and will
display on the Student Repayment Arrangements report.
If You Have Questions
If you have any questions regarding R2T4 on the Web, contact CPS/SAIG
Technical Support at 800/330-5947 (TDD/TTY 800/511-5806) or by e-mail
at CPSSAIG@ed.gov.
Posted 07/03/08 to www.NASFAA.org. Please submit Web Site questions or comments to Web@NASFAA.org
