December15,2016
TheHonorableJohnB.King
TheHonorableTedMitchell
U.S.SecretaryofEducation
U.S.UnderSecretaryofEducation
DepartmentofEducation
DepartmentofEducation
400MarylandAve,SW
400MarylandAve,SW
Washington,DC20202
Washington,DC20202
DearSecretaryKingandUnderSecretaryMitchell,
OnbehalfoftheNationalAssociationofStudentFinancialAidAdministrators(NASFAA)andthe
undersignedorganizations,Iamwritingtorequestchangestotherequiredverification
documentationforthe2017-18awardyear,andspecifically,therequirementthatallnon-tax
filersmustsubmitaVerificationofNon-TaxFiling(VONF)LetterfromtheInternalRevenue
Service(IRS).
Theoverwhelmingamountoffeedbackfromthefinancialaidcommunityisthesenew,onerous
verificationrequirementsarehavingsignificantnegativeeffectsonthemostvulnerablestudent
populationsandarecreatingasignificantburdenforthemtocompletetheirfinancialaid
applications.
WhentheDepartmentofEducation(ED)announcedthe2017-18verificationdocumentation
requirementsonApril1,weimmediatelyinquiredabouttherationalefortheVONF.Atthat
time,theIRSGetTranscriptOnlinefunctionalityhadbeendisabledforseveralmonthsdueto
securityconcerns,leavingthemanualpaperrequestprocessastheonlymethodtoobtaina
VONF.Indefenseoftherequirement,EDstaffciteddatafromthe2014-15FAFSAyearshowing
that14.46%ofparentsand16.51%ofstudentswhoreportedontheirFAFSAsthattheydidnot
andwillnotfileataxreturnactuallydidfileataxreturn.
Whatthesedatadonotreveal,though,aretheresultsintermsofaiddollarsawardedforthe
applicantswhoerroneouslyself-reportedasnon-filers.Thismisreportingoftaxfilingstatus,
whetherintentionalornot,maynothavehadanysignificantimpactontheaidawardedto
theseapplicants.Forexample,alow-incomeapplicantmayhaveindicatednon-filerstatuson
theFAFSAandlatercompletedafederaltaxreturninordertoreceivearefundabletaxcredit.
Whetherataxfilerornot,wequestionwhetherthistaxfiler’sinformationresultedinany
change.IfEDhasthisdata,ithasnotshareditwiththecommunity.
TheIRSGetTranscriptOnlinefunctionalitywasrestoredonJune7th,withamuchstricter
authenticationprocessthatrequirestheusertohave(1)accesstoavalidemailaddress,(2)a
NASFAA
December15,2016
text-enabledmobilephone(pay-as-you-goplanscannotbeused)intheuser’sname,and(3)
specificfinancialaccountnumbers(suchasacreditcardnumberoranaccountnumberfora
homemortgageorautoloan).Forthoseindividualswhoarenotabletosuccessfullyregisterto
usetheGetTranscriptOnlinetool,includingmanydependentstudentsandlow-income
studentsandparents,theyneedtorequestaVONFletterusingIRSForm4506-T.AVONFletter
isnotavailablethroughtheonlineGetTranscriptbyMailorthroughtheautomatedphone
requestprocess.
TherequirementsoftheIRSauthenticationprocessprecludemanynon-taxfilersfromusingthe
GetTranscriptOnlinefunctionality,forcingthemtousethemanual4506-Tprocess.Theburden
ofthisprocessonmanyofourneediestaidapplicants,combinedwiththeuncertaintyabout
thevalueofthenewVONFrequirement,makesthisverificationrequirementuntenable.
WhilemanyFAFSAshavealreadybeenprocessedthisyearinthankstotheearlieravailabilityof
theapplication,mostapplicationshaveyettobesubmitted.Itisnottoolatetoprovidereliefto
thesestudentsandfamilies.WerequestthatEDwaivetheVONFrequirementfornon-taxfilers
whoareselectedforverificationiftheapplicantdoesnotmeettheregistrationrequirements
fortheIRSGetTranscriptOnlinefunctionality.Fortheseapplicants,aself-certifiedstatementof
theirineligibilityforIRSGetTranscriptOnlineregistrationandtheirnon-taxfilingstatusshould
sufficeforverificationpurposes.
Thankyouforyourattentiontothismatter.Welookforwardtoyourassistanceinalleviating
verificationburdenwhilestillprotectingprogramintegrity.
Sincerely,
JustinDraeger,President&CEO
Alsoonbehalfof:
TheNationalAssociationforCollegeAdmissionCounseling(NACAC)
TheNationalCollegeAccessNetwork(NCAN)
TheInstituteforCollegeAccessandSuccess(TICAS)
cc:
JamesRuncie,ChiefOperatingOffice,FederalStudentAid
LynnMahaffie,DeputyAssistantSecretaryforPolicy,PlanningandInnovation,Officeof
PostsecondaryEducation
JeffBaker,PolicyLiaisonandImplementationDirector,FederalStudentAid
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