Feature. . .
What to Expect from the 2001-2002 FAFSA
and FAFSA on the Web
By Kathleen Gibbons, Nellie Mae

Following a major redesign of the FAFSA in 1999-2000, the 2001-2002 form provides few significant changes outside of overall refinement. According to representatives from the Department of Education, the changes are based on feedback from students, parents and financial aid administrators, including seven rounds of testing with students and parents.

Layout and Design
One of the first changes noticeable on the 01-02 paper FAFSA is the masthead redesign. Borrowed directly from the web-based version of the form (FAFSA on the Web), the revised masthead sports a new typeface along with a row of small circles that frame the word, "FAFSA." Other design-related changes pertain to the layout on the first page, where numbers (in circles) have been added to the instructional paragraphs on the left-hand side to encourage sequential reading; and the state aid deadlines are now boxed off in a column on the right. The overall effect of these changes is a cleaner, more "peppy" look. The FAFSA colors for 01-02 are green for the student section and purple for the parent section.

Several minor changes have been made to the layout of the form itself. For example, on page 3, additional space is provided for the applicant's first name and street address, and preparer's information is now contained in a separate box on page 6.

One major layout change is the creation of an additional worksheet. For 01-02, Worksheet A collects information about selected untaxed income and benefits, including Earned Income Credit (EIC). Based on results of the Department's testing, EIC was moved to Worksheet A to create more space due to the low volume of respondents who complete the EIC question. Nonetheless, some schools that enroll large numbers of students from low-income families have expressed concern that families will miss the question, which was the reason for moving it previously to a more prominent position on the form.

Worksheet B on the 01-02 FAFSA collects information about remaining untaxed income and benefits; and Worksheet C collects income exclusions (including Hope and Lifetime Learning tax credits).

Content Clarification
Several other changes to the 01-02 FAFSA have been made to clarify wording on the form. For example, in Step Three, question 53 has been revised to read: "Will you be working on a master's or doctorate program (such as an MA, MBA, MD, JD or Ph.D.) during the school year 2001-2002?" This wording was changed because participants in the testing group were often confused by the terms, "graduate" and "professional" programs that were previously used. The revised wording yielded the greatest number of correct responses from testers.

Other content-related changes include questions 36 and 70 on tax filing status, which now ask respondents to identify whether they have "completed" (01-02) rather than have "filed" (00-01) an IRS income tax return.

Question 35 (formerly question 28 on the 00-01 FAFSA) about conviction for drug offenses also has been reworded. The question now collects a "yes" or "no" response and cautions students not to leave the question blank. A blank response will automatically trigger the FAFSA processor to send a worksheet to the student, with instructions to help the student accurately complete the question. (The worksheet is for the student's use and will not be returned to the processor.)

The 01-02 paper FAFSAs have been available for bulk ordering by schools since October 2000 at www.ifap.ed.gov.

FAFSA on the Web
In its ongoing effort to promote electronic filing, the Department has cited several processing advantages of FAFSA on the Web, including a less than 1 percent reject rate in 00-01 compared to 7.6 percent for paper FAFSAs. The Department has developed a promotional tool kit for schools to help spread the good word about FAFSA on the Web that includes brochures, posters, tip sheets and instructions for linking a banner ad from a school's web page.

In addition to current features such as instant submission, electronic signature options and a one-week processing time frame (compared to four weeks for the paper FAFSA), the 01-02 FAFSA on the Web includes several improvements. Most notably, the electronic form has been reduced from two versions to one form-based version, since testing revealed that most web applicants complete a paper FAFSA first before entering data electronically. A Spanish version of FAFSA on the Web also has been added for the upcoming year.

The new web application features a revised screen design with tabs for easier navigation and a progress bar illustrating how far along the applicant is in the process. Enhanced status checking allows applicants to view all applicant data and comments. And, if applicants provide an e-mail address, they'll automatically receive an electronic confirmation when their FAFSA record is processed.

Also new for 01-02, a "shopping cart" approach has been developed for processing electronic corrections. After entering a PIN, the student's FAFSA record will be displayed and the student will mark the fields for correction. The selected fields will then be presented, helping to streamline the corrections process by reducing the amount of click-throughs.

Finally, the start-up schedule for 01-02 electronic application processing has been accelerated, allowing students to complete FAFSA on the Web, Renewal FAFSA, and Corrections on the Web as of January 1, 2001. The Central Processing System will begin processing on January 2, 2001. FAFSA Express, another electronic filing option, will not be available after the 01-02 processing year due to low user volume.

Related 01-02 Processing Changes
Some related changes have been made to the SAR, ISIR and EDExpress for 01-02 as well. For example, page 1 of the SAR has been redesigned to more clearly identify where students are in the application process. This page also indicates steps taken by the Department and by the school in processing the student's application. In addition, several comments that are designed for school use only have been eliminated from the SAR, but are retained on the ISIR; and NSLDS history has been condensed.

The 01-02 ISIR contains a few new data elements (such as an additional unsubsidized loan flag for applicants whose parents have been denied a PLUS Loan and for health professions students) and matches (such as a prisoner match with the Social Security Administration). EDExpress software has several enhancements, including the ability to carry forward setups from the previous year (except fund amounts) and other features related to Pell Grant processing.

A series of Action Letters by the Department (some yet to be published at the time of this writing) provide further guidance for schools on all of the 01-02 application processing changes.

Kathleen Gibbons is an editor for Nellie Mae, a national student loan provider based in Braintree, MA. She worked previously as a financial aid officer at Harvard Medical School and as writer/editor for NASFAA.