Application for Approval to Participate in Federal Student Financial Aid
Programs
U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid
Introduction
What
is this document?
When must an
institution submit this application?
How is this
application organized?
Why is there a
glossary?
Paperwork
Reduction Statement
Privacy Act Statement
How to complete
this application
What is your status
during our review period?
What if you have
questions?
What is this document?
This is an application that a postsecondary educational institution must
complete and submit to the U.S. Department of Education:
- to be approved for the first
time (initial certification) to participate in federal student financial
aid programs,
- to be approved following a
change of ownership, a conversion to a nonprofit institution, or a merger
of two or more institutions (referred to as a "change in ownership or
structure" for the remainder of this application) to participate in
federal student financial aid programs,
- to be reapproved
(recertification) to participate in federal student financial aid
programs,
- to be designated as an
"eligible institution" under the Higher Education Act of 1965,
as amended (HEA), so that its students may receive deferments under
federal student loan programs, so that the institution may apply to
participate in federal HEA programs including the student financial aid
programs, or so that its students may claim an education tax credit such as
the American Opportunity Tax Credit or Lifetime Learning Credit,
- to be reinstated to
participate in federal student financial aid programs.
An institution (referred to as "you" for the remainder of this
application) must submit this application to the U.S. Department of Education
(referred to as "we" for the remainder of this application) when:
- You wish to be initially
certified to participate in federal student financial aid programs.
- You undergo a change of ownership
or structure and you wish to continue to participate in federal student financial aid
programs. You must notify us no later than 10 calendar days after the
change becomes effective. If this due date falls on a weekend or a federal
holiday, you may submit the notification no later than the next business
day. After you receive your state and accrediting agency approvals, submit
this application and electronic copies of the approvals to us. We encourage you
to complete your application and submit it as soon as possible.
- You wish to be recertified
to continue to participate in federal student financial aid programs. You
should submit this fully completed application before the expiration date
in your Program Participation Agreement (PPA). If you submit your
application to us no later than 90 calendar days before your PPA
expires, your eligibility to participate in federal student financial aid
programs continues until your application is either approved or denied.
This is true even if we do not complete our evaluation of your application
before the PPA expiration date. (For example, if your PPA expires on June
30 and you submit your application by March 31, you will remain certified
during our review period even if our review extends beyond June 30.) If
the 90th day before your PPA's expiration falls on a weekend or a federal
holiday and you submit your application no later than the next business
day, we will consider the application to be submitted 90 calendar days
before your PPA expires.
- You wish to become eligible so
that your students may receive deferments under federal student loan
programs, so that you may participate in federal HEA programs including the
student financial aid programs, or so that your students may claim an
education tax credit such as the American Opportunity Tax Credit or Lifetime
Learning Credit.
or
- You wish to be reinstated
to participate in federal student financial aid programs.
We will consider your date of submission to be the date you used the
"Submit Application" page to electronically submit the application to
us.
This application is divided into 13 sections, plus a glossary at the end.
- Section A through Section D
contain general questions about your institution.
- Section E and Section F
contain questions about your educational programs and locations.
- Section G contains questions
about your distance education and correspondence courses,
students enrolled under ability-to-benefit provisions, and incarcerated
students.
- Section H is for
institutions that are initial applicants, institutions with a change in
ownership or structure, and institutions seeking reinstatement.
- Section I is for foreign
institutions, including foreign graduate medical schools.
- Section J contains questions
about your third-party servicers including your ability to benefit tester.
- Section K contains questions
about your administrative capability and your financial responsibility.
- Section L must be signed by
your President/CEO/Chancellor and submitted to us.
- Section M contains a list of
documents you must submit to us with the signature page (Section L).
- Glossary
Note: To expand on any of your answers, you may use Question 69.
Why
is there a glossary?
We mean a specific definition for many of the words and phrases in this
application, such as "regular student," "award year," and
"federal student financial aid programs." When filling out the
application, you must be sure that you know how terms are defined. The
definitions contained in the glossary generally are restatements of statutory
or regulatory definitions.
According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required
to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. Public reporting burden
for this collection of information is estimated to average 17 hours per response, including time for reviewing instructions,
searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information.
The obligation to respond to this collection is required to obtain or retain benefit (Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA)).
Send comments regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden,
to the U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20210-4537 or email ICDocketMgr@ed.gov
and reference the OMB Control Number 1845-0012.
Authorities: The following authorities authorize the collection of this information: Higher Education Act and Title 31
as amended by Section 31001 of Public Law 104-134 of the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996. Section 498A(a)(3) of the HEA requires the
Secretary to establish a central database of information on institutional accreditation, eligibility, and certification that includes all
information available to the Department. Section 498A(c) instructs the Secretary to make this information available to all institutions of
higher education, guaranty agencies, states, and other organizations participating in the programs authorized under Title IV of the HEA.
Please note: the Application requests the Social Security numbers (SSNs) of the owners of the institution. The
SSNs are used to determine institutional eligibility and to verify identities. The SSNs are collected under the authority of the Debt Collection Improvement
Act of 1996, Pub. L. 104-134. This act requires Federal agencies to secure the TIN (the Social Security Number, for individuals) of persons
"doing business with the agency," a term that includes being "in a relationship with the agency that may give rise to a receivable due that agency." 31 U.S.C. §7701(c)(1), (2)(E).
Due to security concerns, U.S. Department of Education is not collecting SSNs on this website at this time. Instead, if applicable, you must submit your SSNs to
U.S. Department of Education by writing them on Section M of the application and including it with your supporting documents.
Information Collected: We only collect information that we need to determine if the institution is eligible,
and if applicable, certified to participate in the Title IV, HEA programs. Information collected includes, but is not limited to, name, work title/role school name,
owner (name), tax ID number (TIN), Dun and Bradstreet (D&B) Number (DUN), address, programs available, officers (e.g., financial officer, board members),
and contact information (such as name, email address, phone number).
Purpose: Postsecondary institutions use the E-APP to apply for designation as an eligible institution, initial participation,
recertification, reinstatement, or continued approval after a change in ownership, or to update a current approval. Updates include changes such as, but not limited to,
name or address change, new location or program, increased level of offering, change of officials, or mailing address for publications. This includes information about
the school’s name, address, locations, programs, officials, authorizing agencies, owners and servicers.
Disclosures: Information is validated through the Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) website. The provided TIN is checked against the
school’s D&B account to identify if the school has been barred from doing business with the Federal Government.
Consequences of Failure to Provide information: If you chose not to submit an Application for Approval to Participate in
Federal Student Financial Aid Programs, the institution cannot be determined to be eligible or continued to be eligible for the Title IV FSA programs.
No cookies or other tracking technology are used on the website. If you decide to send us an electronic mail message (email),
the message will usually contain our return email address. If you include personally identifiable information in your email because you want us to address issues specific
to your situation, we may use that information in responding to your request. Please send only information necessary to help us process your application.
Please contact us at U. S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid, 830 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002-5402,
or call 1-800 872-5327, or email us at customerservice@inet.ed.gov
to ask any questions regarding our Privacy Policy and our Privacy Act Statement.
How to complete this application
Step 1:
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You must have an OPE ID assigned by the U.S. Department of
Education to use the Electronic Application. Read each section that you are
required to complete and identify the kinds of information and documents you
will need to collect. Note that you will not have to complete every section
of the application. Determine the information that you need from other
offices and request it. At the time of your request, also ask those offices
to notify you if the information changes.
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Step 2:
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Gather the information and fill out the application. Refer to the Help Page for additional
assistance in filling out the electronic application.
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Step 3:
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If you have any questions, please contact the appropriate School
Participation Division (listed at the end
of this Introduction) by telephone, fax, or Internet.
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Step 4:
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After you have filled out your application, you must submit it
electronically. For your electronic application to be considered submitted to
U.S. Department of Education, you must:
- Click on the Submit
the Application link from the Index page or Section M (there is also a
submit option available from the bottom of each application page).
- If there are any
edit errors on the application or if any required fields have not been
entered, messages will display to indicate what changes are required
with hot links to follow to access the appropriate section of the
application directly.
- If all required
entries have been made on your application and all edit errors have been
corrected, a "Submit Application" button will display.
- Click on this button
to submit your application to U.S. Department of Education
- A page will display
with the message "Your application has been received by the
U.S. Department of Education." to verify that the application has
been submitted.
- If you need to make
additional changes to your application after it is submitted the first
time, follow this same process to resubmit the application after
completing the changes.
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Step 5:
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Have the President/CEO/Chancellor of your institution review the application
and sign the signature page (Section L). You have several options for signing
Section L: (1) Print, sign, and scan, or (2) Sign with your manually drawn
signature by placing a photo of your signature on the signature line or using
a mouse or finger to sign the document. The signature must be manually drawn,
even if digitally. Font-based typed signatures, and certificate-based signatures
without a manually drawn signature, are not authorized for use.
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Step 6:
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Save a copy of the application and the required supporting documentation for
your records (see Section M for a list of documents required to be submitted to
complete your application).
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Step 7:
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Submit the signature page (Section L) and copies of required supporting documents
to us.
Upload the signed signature page and copies of required supporting documents via
the Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) Document Center.
If you do not have the capability to upload your documents, please contact your
School Participation Division (SPD) for further directions on documentation submission.
If you experience technical problems with the COD Document Center, contact CODSupport@ed.gov.
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We recommend that you retain proof of when you submit the
application.
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Step 8:
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Respond to any additional questions that we might have about your application
during our review period. You will receive any such requests generally within
90 days of our receiving your application. We might ask for materials, such
as your catalog or copies of contracts with third-party servicers. We also
will use information from documents on file that you already submitted to us.
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Depending on the outcome of our review, either we will send you a Program
Participation Agreement to sign (and further instructions) or we will
notify you that your application is denied.
During our review period, your status will
be as follows:
- If you have never been certified, you will not be considered
certified during our review period.
or
- If you change ownership or structure, the Secretary may continue
the institution's participation on a provisional basis, provided that the
institution under the new ownership submits a "materially complete
application" that is received by the Secretary no later than 10
business days after the change occurs.
or
- If you were certified, you will remain certified during our review
period if you submit your application during the correct time frame
described earlier.
or
- If you never have been an eligible institution under the HEA, you
will not be considered eligible during our review period.
or
- If you once participated in federal student financial aid programs
but no longer do so, you will not be considered certified during our
review period.
For additional help in filling out the
Electronic Application, refer to the Help
Document
If you have questions, please contact the
appropriate School Participation Division by telephone, fax, or
email.
HELP FROM YOUR SCHOOL PARTICIPATION DIVISION
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For help with the Web site, your user ID or password, or in filling out the E-App, please contact the School Participation Division for your state.
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FEDERAL STUDENT AID SCHOOL PARTICIPATION DIVISIONS |
New York/Boston (CT, ME, MA, NH, NJ, NY, PR, RI, VT, Virgin Islands) 646-428-3750 NYBostonSPD@ed.gov |
Dallas (AR, LA, NM, OK, TX) 214-661-9490 DallasSPD@ed.gov |
Philadelphia (DC, DE, MD, PA, VA, WV, MI) 215-656-6442 PhiladelphiaSPD@ed.gov |
Kansas City (IA, KS, KY, MO, NE, TN) 816-268-0410 KansasCitySPD@ed.gov |
Atlanta (AL, FL, GA, MS, NC, SC) 404-974-9303 AtlantaSPD@ed.gov |
San Francisco/Seattle (AZ, CA, HI, NV, Pacific Islands, AK, ID, OR, WA) 415-486-5677 SanFrancisco.Seattle.SPD@ed.gov |
Chicago/Denver (IL, IN, MN, OH, WI, CO, MT, ND, SD, UT, WY) 312-730-1511 Chicago.Denver.SPD@ed.gov |
Multi-Regional and Foreign School Participation Division 202-377-3168 Multi-RegionalSPD@ed.gov and FSA.Foreign.Schools.Team@ed.gov
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