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2006-07 FAFSA Completion
The 2006-07 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is comprised of seven sections that collect demographic and financial information about the student and his or her parents.  There have been no new questions added and the questions are in the same order as the previous year. The colors of the 2006-07 FAFSA are blue for the student information and purple for the parent information.

Important Dates and What's New (last updated October 26, 2006)

The important dates are listed in chronological order by month, with the current or most recent month listed first. As new information about the 2006-07 application processing cycle becomes available, it is added to the appropriate month in this section. Browse this page periodically to find out what's new.

March 2007

2006-2007 Federal Student Aid Handbook Errata and Updates

What's New in the 2006-2007 Federal Student Aid Handbook

October 2006

The 2006-07 edition of FSA Coach is now available at www.ed.gov/fsacoach. This self-paced online training course offers a comprehensive introduction to FSA management and has been updated to include HERA requirements.

July 2006

A revised version of the 2006-2007 EFC Formula Guide is available at IFAP and includes updated Expected Family Contribution (EFC) worksheets and tables for the 2006-2007 processing cycle resulting from changes made in the Higher Education Reconciliation Act of 2005 (HERA).

June 2006

DCL GEN 06-10 released: Contains implementation guidance on changes made to the Higher Education Act by the Higher Education Reconciliation Act of 2005. Changes relate to estimated financial assistance, cost of attendance, expected family contribution calculations, and student eligibility for the 2006-2007 award year.

Implementation guidance provided for:

  • The definition of estimated financial assistance (EFA);
  • The construction of a student's cost of attendance (COA);
  • The treatment of qualified education benefits, such as IRS 529 prepaid tuition and savings plans;
  • The items in and formulas used to calculate an applicant's expected family contribution (EFC);
  • The treatment of certain assets and resources;
  • Including active duty military members in the definition of an independent student; and
  • The student eligibility provision related to drug convictions. (A separate e-Announcement provides additional information on drug-related offenses and a revised worksheet.)
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    The Central Processing System (CPS) began to reprocess ISIRs/SARs meeting the new needs analysis criteria for FAFSAs filed prior to May 19, 2006. However, ED does not have data to reprocess all ISIRs/SARs impacted by need analysis changes. Student/families are encouraged to consult with the financial aid office for guidance on submitting a correction to CPS.

    ED created a separate section of IFAP with information specific to HERA (Higher Education Reconciliation Act of 2005 Information). Located in the top right-hand side of the IFAP home page, it contains all communication (DCLs’, e-Announcements and NSLDS Reference Materials) regarding HERA changes. Be sure to visit that area of IFAP regularly for the most up-to-date information about implementation of HERA changes.

    May 2006

    The Higher Education Reconciliation Act (HERA) of 2005 created the Academic Competitiveness Grants that includes the Academic Competitiveness Grant Program and the Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent (SMART) Grant Program. Information about these two new grant programs can be found on the Federal Information page in the e-Library section of College Zone and in DCL GEN 06-08.

    April 2006

    Several chapters of the 2006-07 FSA Handbook are posted at IFAP. This page will be updated when additional chapters are posted at IFAP.

    February 2006

    Note: Electronic applications and corrections that are missing signatures will be held for 14 days for 2006-07 before a rejected Student Aid Report (SAR) is sent to the applicant. One of the changes for the 2006-07 application process was a reduction to 7 days that applications without signatures were held in the Signature Hold File. The 14-day maximum was restored effective February 27, 2006.

    2006-07 Application and Verification Guide

    January 2, 2006

    CPS (Central Processing System - application processing) starts up

    January 1, 2006

    FOTW, Renewal FOTW, Corrections on the Web, FAA Access to CPS Online available

    December 2005

    The final version of the 2006-07 FOTW Worksheet is available at IFAP and includes the final 2005 tax form line references.

    2006-07 EFC Formula Guide

    November 2005

    One box of the paper 2006-07 FAFSA will be shipped and orders will begin to be accepted.

    Effective November 28, 2005, the 2006-07 FAFSA on the Web (FOTW) and FAA Access to CPS Online Demonstration sites will be available at http://fafsademo.test.ed.gov/.

    User Name: eddemo
    Password: fafsatest

    2006-07 Student Web Application Products Process Guide
    2006-07 Summary of Changes for the Application Processing System Guide (Updated November Edition)

    Note: The quantity of 2006-07 FOTW Worksheets you received in October contained only generic references to the tax forms because the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) had not finalized the line references on the 2005 tax form. The IRS line numbering issue is closed. A corrected FOTW Worksheet and a Tax Line Reference Guide containing the final 2005 IRS tax line numbers that match the FOTW Worksheet questions with missing tax references is available at IFAP to download.

    October 2005

    One box of 2006-07 FOTW Worksheets mailed to all high schools, postsecondary schools, libraries, and community agencies. DCL ID: GEN-05-10 describes this plan, as well as the paper FAFSA distribution plan. A new Web site, FSA PUBS is available for publication orders.

    September 2005

    Samples of the 2006-07 FAFSA on the Web (FOTW) Worksheet mailed to high schools, postsecondary schools, libraries and community agencies. There has been a major redesign of the FOTW Worksheet (formerly known as the Pre-Application Worksheet).

    2006-07 Renewal FAFSA Process Guide
    2006-07 Draft Student Aid Report (SAR) 

    What's New for 2006-07?

    Overview of Major 2006-07 Application Processing System Changes

    • Changed "Alien Registration Card" reference to "Permanent Resident Card".
    • Eliminated "Telefile" from the list of tax filing options since the IRS will no longer offer.
    • Questions 38-39 and 76-77: Added instructions for reporting combat pay. Added instructions on reporting combat pay as earned income and as untaxed income in Worksheet B.
    • Question 53: Divided into a two-part (a) and (b) question for clarification of independent status ("are parents deceased" and "ward of the court").
    • Questions 65-66 and 84-85: Clarified instructions for "Household Size" and "Number in College" questions.
    • Questions 55-83: Clarified that foster parents are not considered parents for completing the FAFSA.
    • No more paper Renewal FAFSAs in 2006-07. Students can use Renewal FAFSA on the Web (FOTW) to reapply for aid.
    • FOTW Pre-Application Worksheet has been renamed the FOTW Worksheet: Paper FAFSA Question "numbers" have been added and the worksheet has been reformatted for ease of use.
    • Personal Identification Process (PIN): Will shorten turnaround time for receiving PIN e-mails to every 4 hours (currently 12 hours) and will permanently disable PINs after 18 months of inactivity.
    • Applications that are missing an electronic signature will only be held 14 days for 2006-07 before a rejected Student Aid Report (SAR) is sent to the applicant.

    © 2003-2007 Illinois Student Assistance Commission