The following enhancements were made in the 2007-2008 processing cycle.

Enhancements

• Enhanced "Look and Feel". We updated the "common look and feel" of the FAA Access to CPS Online Web site to enhance user navigation and to more clearly indicate to users that they are viewing an official Federal Student Aid site. These changes, which include modifications to the color scheme, toolbar options, and labels, will eventually be applied to all Federal Student Aid Web sites.

Application (FAFSA/Renewal/Correction) Entry

For the 2007-2008 processing cycle, several enhancements were made to Application, Renewal, and Correction Entry through FAA Access to CPS Online:

• Enhanced Criteria for Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG) Self-Identification Process. As in the 2006-2007 version of FAA Access to CPS Online, schools can submit ACG self-identification data as part of the Application Entry process. The option to provide responses to the ACG self-identification questions, which prompt the user to indicate the qualifying rigorous secondary school program the student completed, is presented if the student is:
  • a U.S. Citizen
  • eligible for a Federal Pell Grant
  • a first or second year undergraduate student
  • 21 years of age or younger

Note: The last two criteria (first or second year undergraduate student and 21 years of age or younger) are new for 2007-2008. These additional criteria were added to improve the self-identification process for 2007-2008 by narrowing the criteria for allowing a student to respond to the ACG questions. This will increase the likelihood that we will provide ACG data to schools for students who meet the basic ACG eligibility requirements.

Enhancements Related to Paper FAFSA Changes. FAA Access to CPS Online was updated to address modifications to the 2007-2008 paper FAFSA. The Web changes are listed below.

• New Active-Duty Military Status Dependency Question. We added a new dependency question to identify applicants serving on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces for purposes other than training. Applicants meeting this criteria are considered to be independent for purposes of receiving federal student aid. This change went into effect during the 2006-2007 award year, but the new question was not added to the 2006-2007 FAFSA. Instead, financial aid offices were instructed to perform a dependency override on the student’s record in 2006-2007 if the student met the new criteria to be considered independent. For 2007-2008, you should not perform a dependency override; instead, the student should answer this question appropriately. The new Web question reads "Is Student on Active Duty in U.S. Armed Forces?"

• Student Loan and Work-Study Questions Combined. To reduce the number of questions on the paper FAFSA, we combined the "Interested in Student Loans?" and "Interested in Work-Study?" questions. The new combined question reads "Interested in Work-Study or Student Loans?" You will be able to select 1-Work-Study, 2-Student Loans, 3-Both, 4-None, or 5-Don’t Know. Because the two questions are now combined into one, the answer to this question will not be pre-filled on the 2007-2008 renewal application.

• Enrollment Status Question Relocated. Based on comments and feedback from the financial aid professional community, we moved the enrollment status question to immediately follow the grade level question on the 2007-2008 application entry screens.
• Means-tested Federal Benefit Program Questions for Students and Parents. As a result of the HERA, ten new means-tested federal benefit program questions for base year 2006 were added to the 2007-2008 FAFSA. The new questions (for the parent and for the independent student) ask whether anyone in the household (as defined on the FAFSA) received benefits from any of five means-tested federal benefit programs in 2006. A parent/student who received such a benefit and has an income at a certain level may qualify for a simplified EFC calculation, also known as the simplified needs test (SNT) or an automatic zero EFC. You must select the checkbox next to each question for which the student responds with a "Yes." The questions are:
  • Student/Parents Received Supplemental Security Income?
  • Student/Parents Received Food Stamps?
  • Student/Parents Received Free/Reduced Price Lunch?
  • Student/Parents Received TANF?
  • Student/Parents Received WIC?

In correction entry, to change a "No" answer to "Yes," select the checkbox for the field in question. To change a "Yes" answer to "No," select Correct to blank in the far right column. If the responses to these questions should remain unchanged, no action is required.

• Modified the Question Numbering for the School and Housing Codes. The Web application still accommodates six Federal School Codes and six Housing Plan codes on a single transaction even though the paper application only has space for four school and housing codes. As a result of this difference, we modified the question numbering for these fields. The six school and housing codes fall under question 97 as sub-questions 97a through 97l. Questions 97i through 97l can only be answered online.
• Schools Blocked from Adding New School Codes or Accessing Transactions Resulting from an FAA Adjustment (Professional Judgment). To prevent schools from accessing transactions that contain a professional judgment (PJ) by another school, we have blocked a school’s ability to view or correct a transaction that contains an FAA Adjustment flag set by another school. In addition, although you can still access a transaction that contains an FAA Adjustment flag set by your school, you will receive a message indicating that you may not add Federal School Codes to that transaction.

New or Enhanced Warning Edits for 2007-2008 - Listed below are the changes to the Web warning edits for the 2007-2008 cycle. Warning edits on the Web are classified as either verifiable edits or "soft" edits. A verifiable edit can be bypassed if the information is verified by the user, and the resulting transaction will not display the corresponding comment code or highlight flag(s). A "soft" edit allows the user to bypass the edit if the information is verified as correct, but the resulting transaction will display the comment code and highlight flag(s).

• Verifiable Warning Edits - We added new verifiable warning edits to the FAA Access to CPS Online forms when the record meets the following conditions:

  • Dependent Parents’ AGI Equal to the Student’s AGI - The student’s Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) is equal to the parents’ AGI. This warning edit already existed on the CPS for 2006-2007, and transactions that met these conditions displayed a comment directing the student to double check these fields. However, this edit is now verifiable online, so Web filers can suppress the comment code by verifying that the data entered is correct.
  • Dependent Student’s Value for Worksheet A is Equal to the Parents’ Value for Worksheet A - The dependent student’s total from Worksheet A is equal to the total from the parents’ Worksheet A.
  • Dependent Student’s AGI is Equal to the Value for Worksheet A - The dependent student’s AGI is equal to the total from Worksheet A and the values are both positive.

• Soft Warning Edits - When a record meets the following conditions, a soft warning edit is flagged and the applicant is returned to the questions to verify the data entered:

  • The number of family members for an independent student is equal to two, the student’s marital status is married, and the student answered Yes to one of the following questions:
    • Do you have children who receive more than half of their support from you?
    • Do you have dependents (other than your children or spouse) who live with you and who receive more than half of their support from you, now and through June 30, 2007?
    
    This warning edit already existed at the CPS for 2006-2007, however this edit is now a soft warning edit on the Web. In 2006-2007, a comment code was added to the student’s SAR directing the student to double check these fields.

  • The number of family members for an independent student is greater then two, the student’s marital status is married, and the student answered No to both of the following questions:
    • Do you have children who receive more than half of their support from you?
    • Do you have dependents (other than your children or spouse) who live with you and who receive more than half of their support from you, now and through June 30, 2007?

    This warning edit already existed at the CPS for 2006-2007, however this edit is now a soft warning edit on the Web. In 2006-2007, a comment code was added to the student’s SAR directing the student to double check these fields.

  • The student’s response to the federal SSI benefits question equals Yes, the total from Worksheet A is zero or blank, and the automatic zero EFC conditions are not met. The edit also occurs if the parents’ response to the federal SSI benefits question equals Yes, the total from the parents’ Worksheet A is zero or blank, and the automatic zero EFC conditions are not met.

• The student’s response to the federal TANF benefits question equals Yes, the total from Worksheet A is zero or blank, and the automatic zero EFC conditions are not met. The edit also occurs if the parents’ response to the federal TANF benefits question equals Yes, the total from the parents’ Worksheet A is zero or blank, and the automatic zero EFC conditions are not met.
• The student’s tax return status is will not file, and the income and spouse’s income (depending on the marital status) is over the minimum amount required for filing a tax return. The minimum amount required for filing a tax return is different depending on the student’s marital status and the number of family members in the student’s household.
• The parents’ tax return status is will not file, and the father’s income and/or mother’s income (depending on the marital status) is over the minimum amount required for filing a tax return. The minimum amount required for filing a tax return is different depending on whether the parents are married, single, divorced, or widowed.

Student Inquiry Enhancements

Starting with the 2007-2008 cycle, the FAA Access to CPS Online Web site offers the following additional changes:

• Preparer’s Social Security Number (SSN) Masked on Student Inquiry and the eSAR. For security purposes, when a Preparer’s SSN is present on an application, Student Inquiry and the eSAR display "REPORTED" for the value. In addition, the Echo Document masks the first five digits of a preparer’s SSN instead of displaying the entire number.
• Expanded Text for Required Fields Left Blank. "(BLANK) DATA IS REQUIRED" displays in Student Inquiry and on the eSAR when a required field on a processed transaction is blank. If the field is blank and not required, no text displays.

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