FR Doc 04-16963
[Federal Register: July 26, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 142)]
[Notices]
[Page 44521-44524]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr26jy04-44]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records
AGENCY: Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice of a new system of records.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended
(Privacy Act), the Department of Education (Department) publishes this
notice of a new system of records for the Return of Title IV Funds on
the Web (R2T4OTW). R2T4OTW is a web-based product the Department
provides for institutions to calculate the earned and unearned portions
of student aid distributed under Title IV of the Higher Education Act
of 1965, as amended (HEA), when a student withdraws from a
postsecondary institution without completing the period for which funds
were awarded.
DATES: The Department seeks comments on the new system of records
described in this notice, in accordance with the requirements of the
Privacy Act. We must receive your comments on or before August 25,
2004.
The Department filed a report describing the new system of records
covered by this notice with the Chair of the Senate Committee on
Governmental Affairs, the Chair of the House Committee on Government
Reform, and the Administrator of the Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), on July 21,
2004. This new system of records will become effective on the later of
the two following dates--(1) The expiration of the 40-day period for
OMB review on August 30, 2004, or the expiration of a 30-day OMB review
period on August 23, 2004 if OMB grants the Department's request for a
10-day waiver of the review period; or (2) August 25, 2004, unless the
system of records requires changes as a result of public comment or OMB
review. The Department will publish any changes resulting from public
comment or OMB review.
ADDRESSES: Address all comments about this new system of records to
Marya Dennis, Management and Program Analyst, Application Processing
Division, Students Channel, Federal Student Aid, U.S. Department of
Education, 830 First Street, NE., UCP room 31I1, Washington, DC 20202-
5454. If you prefer to send your comments through the Internet, use the
following address: comments@ed.gov.
You must include the term ``Return of Title IV Funds on the Web''
in the subject line of your electronic message.
During and after the comment period, you may inspect all public
comments about this notice in room 31F2, Union Center Plaza, 830 First
Street, NE., Washington, DC, 20202-5454 between the hours of 8 a.m. and
4:30 p.m., Eastern time, Monday through Friday of each week except
Federal holidays.
Assistance to Individuals With Disabilities in Reviewing the Rulemaking
Record
On request, we will supply an appropriate aid, such as a reader or
print magnifier, to an individual with a disability who needs
assistance to review the comments or other documents in the public
rulemaking record for this notice. If you want to schedule an
appointment for this type of aid, please contact the person listed
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marya Dennis. Telephone: (202) 377-
3385. If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you
may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-
8339.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) on request to the contact person listed in the preceding
paragraph.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Introduction
The Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a) requires the Department to publish
in the Federal Register this notice of a new system of records. The
Department's regulations implementing the Privacy Act are contained in
part 5b of title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).
The Privacy Act applies to information about an individual that is
maintained in a system of records from which information is retrieved
by a unique identifier associated with the individual, such as a name
or social security number (SSN). The information about the individual
is called a ``record'' and the system, whether manual or computer-
based, is called a ``system of records.'' The Privacy Act requires
agencies to publish a notice of a new system of records in the Federal
Register and to prepare a report to OMB whenever the agency publishes a
new system of records or makes a significant change to an established
system of records. Each agency is also required to send copies to the
Chair of the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs and the Chair of
the House Committee on Government Reform. These reports are intended to
permit an evaluation of the probable or potential effect of the
proposal on the privacy rights of individuals.
The records for the system described in this notice are created by
a web-based product the Department provides for institutions to
calculate the earned and unearned portions of student aid distributed
under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA),
when a student withdraws from a postsecondary institution before
completing the period for which the funds were awarded. The institution
collects and enters the required data into the web-based product, and
the product calculates the earned and unearned amounts of Title IV aid,
and the amounts that must be returned to the Title IV programs by the
student and the school. When applicable, the product also determines
the amount of additional funds the student must be offered as a post-
withdrawal disbursement. The institution may also use this information
to provide required notifications to the Title IV recipient and to
track the recipient's responses as provided under section 484B of the
HEA (20 U.S.C. 1091b) and the implementing regulations in 34 CFR
668.22. In addition to the calculation, the institution may choose to
generate a variety of useful reports. These reports include a listing
of all students who have withdrawn from the institution; a report of
students to be notified by the institution on the results of the Return
of Title IV Funds (R2T4) calculation; a report of the students who owe
a Title IV grant overpayment and whether the student has taken positive
action to establish repayment; a report of the students for which the
institution has responsibility to repay Title IV funds to the programs;
a report on post-withdrawal disbursements that the institution must
offer to the Title IV recipient; and a report on students who owe a
Title IV grant overpayment that the institution must refer to the
Department. These reports are only available to the institutional users
that input the data and that access the reports using their unique log-
in codes and passwords. The information described in this system of
records is not linked to any other Department, Federal, State, lender
or guarantee agency systems.
This system includes records on students for whom Title IV funds
were
[[Page 44522]]
disbursed or were eligible to be disbursed for the period of time the
student was in attendance during a payment period or period of
enrollment. The records contain personally identifiable information
about each withdrawn student. These records may include, but are not
limited to, student name, permanent and local addresses, social
security number, and date of birth. This system may also contain
information about the institution, and the educational program in which
the student had been enrolled before withdrawing, including but not
limited to: The school's Federal school code, the award year, the total
institutional charges, the program calendar type (credit hour or clock
hour), the starting and ending dates of the payment period or period of
enrollment, the withdrawal date, the withdrawal reason, the date the
institution provided notice to the student of the overpayment, the date
on which the recipient responded to the required notification, and the
types and amounts of Title IV funds that must be returned by the
student or institution, or a post-withdrawal disbursement (a
disbursement for which the student is eligible after his or her
withdrawal), as applicable, as well as the recipient's response, the
amount that the recipient and the institution may retain, as well as
any contemporaneous notes regarding the R2T4 process for each student's
record.
This new system of records, R2T4OTW, can maintain information
provided by the institution to track required institutional
notifications to Title IV recipients and their responses to those
notifications, as well as to provide reports to the institution that
indicate the number of days remaining to take statutorily required
actions.
Electronic Access To This Document
You may view this document, as well as all other Department of
Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe
Portable Document Format (PDF) on the Internet at the following site:
http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister.
To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available
free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF, call the U.S.
Government Printing Office (GPO), toll-free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in
the Washington, DC, area at (202) 512-1530.
Note: The official version of this document is the document
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal
Regulations is available on GPO Access at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html/
.
Dated: July 21, 2004.
Theresa S. Shaw,
Chief Operating Officer, Federal Student Aid.
For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Chief Operating
Officer of Federal Student Aid of the U.S. Department of Education
publishes a notice of a new system of records to read as follows:
18-11-15
SYSTEM NAME:
Return of Title IV Funds on the Web.
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
None.
SYSTEM LOCATION:
Application Processing Division, Students Channel, Federal Student
Aid, U.S. Department of Education, 830 First St. NE., Washington, DC
20202-5454.
Virtual Data Center (VDC), Meriden Data Center, 71 Deerfield Lane,
Meriden, Connecticut 06450.
CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
The system includes records on individuals who were enrolled at a
postsecondary institution, have received or are eligible to receive
assistance under a Title IV, HEA program for a payment period or period
of enrollment, and have withdrawn prior to the planned completion date
of school during that period.
CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
This system of records contains personally identifiable information
provided by the school from which a student has withdrawn that may
include, but is not limited to, a student's name, permanent and local
addresses, social security number, date of birth, driver's license
number and state, permanent and local phone numbers, and student
identification (ID). This system also contains information provided by
the institution from which the student has withdrawn that is necessary
to compute the earned and unearned amounts of Title IV funds. This
information may include, but is not limited to, the student's: Federal
school code, award year, grade level, program type (i.e. credit hour or
clock hour), school calendar (that maintains the term start and end
dates and institutionally scheduled breaks of five or more consecutive
days), a description and amount of each institutional charge (a charge
for tuition and fees, a charge for room, a charge for board, and
charges for other educationally-related costs), and the total
institutional charges for a program, program title, or program type,
whether the R2T4 calculation is based upon a payment period or period
of enrollment, the total clock hours or number of days in the payment
period or period of enrollment, the withdrawal date, the net number of
days in the payment period or period of enrollment, the date the
institution determined the student withdrew (as reported by the
institution), a description of the type of withdrawal, the number of
days of an approved leave of absence, whether an outside entity
requires the school to take attendance, the clock hours scheduled, the
clock hours completed, the date the student provided the institution
with written authorization to credit Title IV aid to the student's
account, the date the institution notified the student of the amounts
and types of Title IV funds that must be returned, the date and
response of the student, the types and amounts of Title IV aid
disbursed and that could have been disbursed, the types and amounts of
Title IV aid that must be returned to each program by the student and
the institution, the types and amounts of aid that the student and the
institution may retain, post-withdrawal disbursement information (i.e.,
the amount of outstanding charges, the dates notices were sent
informing the student that a credit was applied and/or that a
disbursement was available and the dates and responses of the student,
the amount and the date the student accepted a post-withdrawal
disbursement, and the date the post-withdrawal disbursement was
completed), the date the R2T4 procedure was completed, the user defined
field data provided by the institution such as grade point average,
major in college, overpayment status, withdrawal reason, leave of
absence reason, and contemporaneous notes regarding the student's
return process.
AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
The information maintained in the R2T4OTW system is authorized
under section 484B of the HEA. Under section 484B of the HEA (20 U.S.C.
1091b), if a recipient of Title IV grant or loan assistance withdraws
from an institution during a payment period or period of enrollment in
which the student began attendance, a participating institution must
determine the amount of grant and loan assistance to be returned to the
Title IV programs.
PURPOSE(S):
Information contained in this system is maintained for the purposes
of: (1) Allowing postsecondary institutions to calculate the treatment
of Title IV funds when a student withdraws from a postsecondary
institution, (2) allowing institutions to track students' statuses
[[Page 44523]]
and responses to institutional notifications, and (3) generating
listings and reports, allowing institutions to establish compliance
with the applicable statutory and regulatory requirements in the HEA
for the treatment of Title IV funds when a student ceases his or her
enrollment before the planned end date. (Note: The use of this software
is not required.)
Routine Uses of Records Maintained in the System, Including Categories
of Users and Purposes of Such Users:
The Department may disclose information contained in a record in
this system of records under the routine uses listed in this system of
records without the consent of the individual if the disclosure is
compatible with the purposes for which the record was collected. These
disclosures may be made on a case-by-case basis or, if the Department
has complied with the computer matching requirements of the Act, under
a computer matching agreement.
(1) Program Disclosures. The Department may disclose records to the
postsecondary institution that input the information into the R2T4OTW
system, in order to simplify the current process, provide institutions
and their agents with consolidated information about the Federal loans
and grants they administer for students, and enable them to provide
students with accurate required information when a student withdraws.
(2) Disclosure for Use by Other Law Enforcement Agencies. The
Department may disclose information to any Federal, State, or local
agency responsible for enforcing, investigating, or prosecuting
violations of administrative, civil, or criminal law if that
information is relevant to any authorized enforcement, investigative,
or prosecutorial effort.
(3) Enforcement Disclosure. If information in the system of records
either alone or in connection with other information indicates a
violation or potential violation of any applicable statutory,
regulatory, or legally binding requirement, the Department may disclose
records to an entity charged with investigating or prosecuting those
violations or potential violations.
(4) Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
Disclosures.
(a) Introduction. In the event that one of the following parties is
involved in litigation or ADR, or has an interest in litigation or ADR,
the Department may disclose certain records to the parties described in
paragraphs (b), (c), and (d) of this routine use under the conditions
specified in those paragraphs:
(i) The Department, or any of its components; or
(ii) Any Department employee in his or her official capacity; or
(iii) Any Department employee in his or her individual capacity
where the Department of Justice (DOJ) agrees to or has been requested
to provide or arrange for representation of the employee; or
(iv) Any Department employee in his or her individual capacity
where the Department has agreed to represent the employee; or
(v) The United States where the Department determines that the
litigation is likely to affect the Department or any of its components.
(b) Disclosure to DOJ. If the Department determines that disclosure
of certain records to the DOJ is relevant and necessary to litigation
or ADR, and is compatible with the purpose for which the records were
collected, the Department may disclose those records as a routine use
to the DOJ.
(b) Adjudicative disclosures. If the Department determines that
disclosure of certain records to an adjudicative body before which the
Department is authorized to appear or to an individual or entity
designated by the Department or otherwise empowered to resolve or
mediate disputes, is relevant and necessary to the litigation or ADR,
the Department may disclose those records as a routine use to the
adjudicative body, individual, or entity.
(c) Parties, counsel, representatives and witnesses. If the
Department determines that disclosure of certain records to a party,
counsel, representative or witness is relevant and necessary to the
litigation or ADR, the Department may disclose those records as a
routine use to the party, counsel, representative or witness.
(5) Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Advice Disclosure. The
Department may disclose records to the DOJ or the OMB if the Department
determines that disclosure would help in determining whether records
are required to be disclosed under the FOIA or the Act.
(6) Contract Disclosure. If the Department contracts with an entity
to perform any function that requires disclosing records to the
contractor's employees, the Department may disclose the records to
those employees. Before entering into such a contract, the Department
shall require the contractor to establish and maintain the safeguards
required under the Act (5 U.S.C. 552a(m)) with respect to the records.
(7) Congressional Member Disclosure. The Department may disclose
records to a Member of Congress in response to an inquiry from the
Member made at the written request of the individual whose records are
being disclosed. The Member's right to the information is no greater
than the right of the individual who requested it.
(8) Employment, Benefit, and Contracting Disclosure.
(a) For Decisions by the Department. The Department may disclose a
record to a Federal, State, or local agency maintaining civil,
criminal, or other relevant enforcement or other pertinent records, or
to another public authority or professional organization, if necessary
to obtain information relevant to a Department decision concerning the
hiring or retention of an employee or other personnel action, the
issuance of a security clearance, the letting of a contract, or the
issuance of a license, grant, or other benefit.
(b) For Decisions by Other Public Agencies and Professional
Organizations. The Department may disclose a record to a Federal,
State, local, or other public authority or professional organization,
in connection with the hiring or retention of an employee or other
personnel action, the issuance of a security clearance, the reporting
of an investigation of an employee, the letting of a contract, or the
issuance of a license, grant, or other benefit, to the extent that the
record is relevant and necessary to the receiving entity's decision on
the matter.
(9) Employee Grievance, Complaint or Conduct Disclosure. The
Department may disclose a record in this system of records to another
agency of the Federal government if the record is relevant to one of
the following proceedings regarding a present or former employee of the
Department: a complaint, grievance, discipline or competence
determination proceeding. The disclosure may only be made during the
course of the proceeding.
(10) Labor Organization Disclosure. The Department may disclose
records from this system of records to an arbitrator to resolve
disputes under a negotiated grievance procedure or to officials of
labor organizations recognized under 5 U.S.C. chapter 71 when relevant
and necessary to their duties of exclusive representation.
(11) Disclosure to DOJ. The Department may disclose records to the
DOJ to the extent necessary for obtaining DOJ advice on any matter
relevant to an audit, inspection, or other inquiry related to any
program covered by this system.
(12) Research Disclosure. The Department may disclose records to a
researcher if the Department determines that the individual or
organization to which the disclosure would be made is
[[Page 44524]]
qualified to carry out specific research related to functions or
purposes of this system of records. Further, the Department may
disclose records from this system of records to that researcher solely
for the purpose of carrying out that research related to the functions
or purposes of this system of records. The researcher shall be required
to maintain safeguards with respect to the disclosed records as
required by the Act.
DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES:
Disclosures pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(12): The Department may
disclose the following information to a consumer reporting agency
regarding a valid overdue claim of the Department: (1) The name,
address, taxpayer identification number and other information necessary
to establish the identity of the individual responsible for the claim;
(2) the amount, status, and history of the claim; and (3) the program
under which the claim arose. The Department may disclose the
information specified in this paragraph under 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(12) and
the procedures contained in 31 U.S.C. 3711(e). A consumer reporting
agency to which these disclosures may be made is defined in 31 U.S.C.
3701(a)(3).
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING,
AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM: STORAGE:
R2T4OTW records are backed up and maintained on magnetic tape at
the Department's Virtual Data Center (VDC), located at 71 Deerfield
Lane, Meriden, CT 06450, and locked storage rooms within the VDC.
RETRIEVABILITY:
Records for R2T4OTW are indexed and can be retrieved by only the
institution that created the record at the VDC and the Department. The
institution accesses its own student R2T4OTW records through a secure
log-in process and subsequently entering the institution's unique
Federal school code and the student's Social Security Number.
SAFEGUARDS:
Physical access to the data systems housed within the VDC facility
is controlled by a computerized badge reading system, and the entire
complex is patrolled by security personnel during non-business hours.
This computer system offers a high degree of resistance to tampering
and circumvention. Multiple levels of security are maintained within
the computer system control program. This security system limits data
access to Department staff, participating institutions, and contract
staff on a ``need-to-know'' basis, and controls individual users'
ability to access and alter records within the system. All users of
this system of records are given a unique user ID with personal
identifiers. Users are only able to access and alter records created
with their unique identifiers. All interactions by individual users
with the system are recorded. The systems manager annually updates and
sends the Department the Central Processing System Security Plan,
documenting the VDC's detailed security systems, including the physical
location of the data stored at the VDC. This system does not use
persistent cookies (data that a web server causes to be placed on a
user's hard drive) to implement personalization. It is the policy of
the Department to prohibit the use of persistent cookies on U.S.
Department of Education web sites except where: there is a compelling
need; there are appropriate safeguards in place; the use is personally
approved by the Secretary of Education; and there is clear and
conspicuous notice to the public.
RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:
The Department will retain all identifiable records received from
schools with identifying information for a period not to exceed three
years after the repayment or cancellation of the loan in accordance
with the Education Comprehensive Schedule, ED-RDS--Part 10, Item 16(d)
for applicants with federally insured loans. For applicants without
federal insured loans, the Department will retain all identifiable
records received with identifying information for a period not to
exceed fifteen years after the final Pell Grant payment or audit,
whichever is first in accordance with the Education Comprehensive
Schedule, ED-RDS--Part 10, Item 17(a) and (b). At the conclusion of the
mandatory retention period, these records will be destroyed. This
procedure is consistent with legal retention requirements established
by the Department in conjunction with the National Archives and Records
Administration.
SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:
Deputy Director, Application Processing Division, Students Channel,
Federal Student Aid, U.S. Department of Education, 830 First St., NE.,
UCP room 32E2, Washington, DC 20202-5454.
NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:
If you wish to determine whether a record exists regarding you in
this system of records, contact the system manager and provide the name
of the system (R2T4OTW), your name, date of birth, and Social Security
Number or call 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243) and provide the
identifiers indicated above when requesting information contained in
this system of records. Requests for notification about whether this
system of records contains information about an individual must meet
the requirements of the regulations in 34 CFR 5b.5, including proof of
identity.
RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
If you wish to gain access to a record in this system, contact the
system manager and provide the information described in the
Notification Procedure. Requests by an individual for access to a
record must meet the requirements of the regulations in 34 CFR 5b.5,
including proof of identity.
CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
If you wish to change the content of a record in the system of
records for the current processing year R2T4OTW, contact the system
manager with the information described in the Notification Procedure,
identify the specific items to be changed, the institution and period
of time the student was enrolled, and provide a justification for the
change. The Department will contact the institution, which will make
the change to the student's record, as applicable. Requests to amend a
record must meet the requirements of the regulations in 34 CFR 5b.7.
RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
The institution from which a student receiving Title IV aid for the
payment period or period of enrollment has withdrawn provides the
information used in this system by manually entering it in the web
product on the Department's web site. For institutions that have access
to the Internet, R2T4OTW is available on the Department of Education
web site located at: http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/FOTWWebApp/faa/faa.jsp.
SYSTEMS EXEMPTED FROM CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THE ACT:
None.
[FR Doc. 04-16963 Filed 7-23-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P