Application to Participate in Federal Student Financial Aid: Public Institutions

E-App Introduction

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Application for Approval to Participate in Federal Student Financial Aid Programs
U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid, Program Compliance, School Eligibility Service
Group, School Participation Management Division

Introduction
What is this document?
When must an institution submit this application?
How is this application organized?
Why is there a glossary?
Paperwork Reduction Statement
Privacy Act Disclosure Notice
How to complete this application
What is your status during our review period?
What if you have questions?

What is this document?
This is an application that a postsecondary educational institution must complete and submit to the U.S.
Department of Education:
z

z

z

z

z

to be approved for the first time (initial certification) to participate in federal student financial aid
programs,
to be approved following a change of ownership, a conversion to a nonprofit institution, or a
merger of two or more institutions (referred to as a "change in ownership or structure" for the
remainder of this application) to participate in federal student financial aid programs,
to be reapproved (recertification) to participate in federal student financial aid programs,
to be designated as an "eligible institution" under the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended
(HEA), so that its students may receive deferments under federal student loan programs, or so that
the institution may apply to participate in federal HEA programs other than student financial aid
programs, including the Hope and Lifetime Learning Tax Credits,
to be reinstated to participate in federal student financial aid programs.

When must an institution submit this application?
An institution (referred to as "you" for the remainder of this application) must submit this application to
the U.S. Department of Education (referred to as "we" for the remainder of this application) when:
z

z

You wish to be initially certified to participate in federal student financial aid programs.
You undergo a change of ownership or structure and you wish to participate in federal student
financial aid programs. You must notify us no later than 10 calendar days after the change

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becomes effective. If this due date falls on a weekend or a federal holiday, you may submit the
notification no later than the next business day. After you receive your state and accrediting
agency approvals, submit this application and mail copies of the approvals to us. We encourage
you to complete your application and submit it as soon as possible.
z

z

You wish to be recertified to continue to participate in federal student financial aid programs. You
should submit this fully completed application before the expiration date in your Program
Participation Agreement (PPA). If you submit your application to us no later than 90 calendar
days before your PPA expires, your eligibility to participate in federal student financial aid
programs continues until your application is either approved or denied. This is true even if we do
not complete our evaluation of your application before the PPA expiration date. (For example, if
your PPA expires on June 30 and you submit your application by March 31, you will remain
certified during our review period even if our review extends beyond June 30.) If the 90th day
before your PPA's expiration falls on a weekend or a federal holiday and you submit your
application no later than the next business day, we will consider the application to be submitted 90
calendar days before your PPA expires.
You wish to become eligible so that your students may receive deferments under federal student
loan programs, or so that you may participate in federal HEA programs other than student
financial aid programs, including the Hope and Lifetime Learning Tax Credits.

or
z

You wish to be reinstated to participate in federal student financial aid programs.

We will consider your date of submission to be the date you used the "Submit Application" page to
electronically submit the application to us.

How is this application organized?
This application is divided into 13 sections, plus a glossary at the end.
z
z
z

z

z
z

z

z
z
z

Section A through Section D contain general questions about your institution.
Section E and Section F contain questions about your educational programs and locations.
Section G contains questions about your correspondence (corr) courses, students enrolled under
ability-to-benefit provisions, and incarcerated students.
Section H is for institutions that are initial applicants, institutions with a change in ownership or
structure, and institutions seeking reinstatement.
Section I is for foreign institutions, including foreign graduate medical schools.
Section J contains questions about your third-party servicers including your ability to benefit
tester.
Section K contains questions about your administrative capability and your financial
responsibility.
Section L must be signed by your President/CEO/Chancellor and mailed to us.
Section M contains a list of documents you must send to us with the signature page (Section L).
Glossary

Note: To expand on any of your answers, you may use Question 69.
Why is there a glossary?

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We mean a specific definition for many of the words and phrases in this application, such as "regular
student," "award year," and "federal student financial aid programs." When filling out the application,
you must be sure that you know how terms are defined. The definitions contained in the glossary
generally are restatements of statutory or regulatory definitions.

Paperwork Reduction Statement
According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of
information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. Public reporting burden for
this collection of information is estimated to average 17 hours per response, including time for
reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and
completing and reviewing the collection of information. The obligation to respond to this collection is
required to obtain or retain benefit (Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA)). Send comments
regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions
for reducing this burden, to the U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave., SW, Washington,
DC 20210-4537 or email [email protected] and reference the OMB Control Number 1845-0012.

Privacy Act Disclosure Notice
Thank you for visiting our Web site. Postsecondary institutions use the E-APP to apply or designation as
an eligible institution, initial participation, recertification, reinstatement, change in ownership, or to
update a current approval. Updates include changes such as, but not limited to, name or address change,
new location or program, increased level of offering, change of officials, or mailing address for
publications. This includes information about the school’s name, address, locations, programs, officials,
authorizing agencies, owners and servicers. We only collect information that we need to determine if the
institution is eligible, and if applicable, certified to participate in the Title IV, HEA programs. The
information that is being requested is mandated by the Higher Education Act and Title 31 as amended
by Section 31001 of Public Law 104-134 of the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996. Section
498A(a)(3) of the HEA requires the Secretary to establish a central database of information on
institutional accreditation, eligibility, and certification that include all information available to the
Department. Section 498A(c) instructs the Secretary to make this information available to all institutions
of higher education, guaranty agencies, states, and other organizations participating in the programs
authorized under Title IV of the HEA. Please note: the Application requests the Social Security
numbers (SSNs) of the owners of the institutions. The SSNs are used to determine institutional
eligibility and to verify identities. The SSNs are collected under the authority of the Debt Collection
Improvement Act of 1996, Pub. L. 104-134. This act requires Federal agencies to secure the TIN (the
Social Security Number, for individuals) of persons "doing business with the agency," a term that
includes being "in a relationship with the agency that may give rise to a receivable due that agency." 31
U.S.C. §7701(c)(1), (2)(E). Due to security concerns, U.S. Department of Education is not collecting
SSNs on this website at this time. Instead, if applicable, you must submit your SSNs to U.S. Department
of Education by writing them on Section M of the application.
No cookies or other tracking technology are used on the website.
If you decide to send us an electronic mail message (e-mail), the message will usually contain our return
e-mail address. I you include personally identify information in your e-mail because you want us to
address issues specific to your situation, we may use that information in responding to your request.
This information is not maintained in a privacy act system of records. Also e-mail is not necessarily
secure against interception. Please send only information necessary to help us process your application.

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If you chose not to submit an Application for Approval to Participate in Federal Student Financial Aid
Programs, the institution cannot be determined to be eligible or continued to be eligible for the Title IV
FSA programs.
Please contact us at U. S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid, 830 First Street, NE,
Washington, DC 20002-5402, or call 1-800 872-5327, or email us at [email protected] to
ask any questions regarding our Privacy Policy and our Privacy Statement.

How to complete this application
Step You must have an OPE ID assigned by the U.S. Department of Education to use the Electronic
1: Application. Read each section that you are required to complete and identify the kinds of
information and documents you will need to collect. Note that you will not have to complete
every section of the application. Determine the information that you need from other offices and
request it. At the time of your request, also ask those offices to notify you if the information
changes.
Step Gather the information and fill out the application. Refer to the Help Page for additional
2: assistance in filling out the electronic application.
Step If you have any questions, please contact the appropriate School Participation Division (listed at
3: the end of this Introduction) by telephone, fax, or Internet.
Step After you have filled out your application, you must submit it electronically. For your electronic
4: application to be considered submitted to U.S. Department of Education, you must:
z

z

z

z
z

z

Click on the Submit the Application link from the Index page or Section M (there is also a
submit option available from the bottom of each application page).
If there are any edit errors on the application or if any required fields have not been entered,
messages will display to indicate what changes are required with hot links to follow to
access the appropriate section of the application directly.
If all required entries have been made on your application and all edit errors have been
corrected, a "Submit Application" button will display.
Click on this button to submit your application to U.S. Department of Education
A page will display with the message "Your application has been received by the U.S.
Department of Education." to verify that the application has been submitted.
If you need to make additional changes to your application after it is submitted the first
time, follow this same process to resubmit the application after completing the changes.

Step Have the President/CEO/Chancellor of your institution review the application and sign the
5: signature page (Section L).
Step Keep a copy of the application and the required supporting documentation for your records (see
6: Section M for a list of attachments required with your application).
Step Send the signature page (Section L) and copies of required supporting documents to us. Do not
7: mail the rest of the application to U.S. Department of Education.
Send the signature page and copies of required supporting documents to the following address

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(To assist in the processing of your application, please send all supporting documents via
commercial overnight delivery.):
U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid
Program Compliance
Integrated Partner Management Division
830 First Street, NE
Washington, DC 20202-5402
We recommend that you retain proof of when you submit the application.
Step Respond to any additional questions that we might have about your application during our review
8: period. You will receive any such requests generally within 90 days of our receiving your
application. We might ask for materials, such as your catalog or copies of contracts with thirdparty servicers. We also will use information from documents on file that you already submitted
to us.
Depending on the outcome of our review, either we will send you a Program Participation Agreement to
sign (and further instructions) or we will notify you that your application is denied.

What is your status during our review period?
During our review period, your status will be as follows:
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If you have never been certified, you will not be considered certified during our review period.

or
z

If you change ownership or structure, the Secretary may continue the institution's participation on
a provisional basis, provided that the institution under the new ownership submits a "materially
complete application" that is received by the Secretary no later than 10 business days after the
change occurs.

or
z

If you were certified, you will remain certified during our review period if you submit your
application during the correct time frame described earlier.

or
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If you never have been an eligible institution under the HEA, you will not be considered eligible
during our review period.

or
z

If you once participated in federal student financial aid programs but no longer do so, you will not
be considered certified during our review period.

What if you have questions?

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For additional help in filling out the Electronic Application, refer to the Help Document
If you have questions, please contact the appropriate School Participation Division by telephone, fax or
Internet.
If you are a foreign institution or foreign graduate medical school, contact the Foreign School
Participation Division at:
Telephone: (202) 377-3168
Fax: (202) 275-3486
Email: SPD
For all other schools contact the appropriate School Participation Division identified below.

Arkansas

Dallas Division

California

SanFrancisco/Seattle
Division

Colorado

Denver Division

Connecticut

Boston Division

Delaware

Philadelphia Division

District of Columbia

Philadelphia Division

Federated States of
Micronesia

SanFrancisco/Seattle
Division

Florida

Atlanta Division

Georgia

Atlanta Division

Guam

SanFrancisco/Seattle
Division

by
telephone...
(404)9749303
(206)6152594
(415)4865677
(415)4865677
(214)6619490
(415)4865677
(303)8443677
(617)2890133
(215)6566442
(215)6566442
(415)4865677
(404)9749303
(404)9749303
(415)4865677

Hawaii

SanFrancisco/Seattle

(415)486-

If you are located in...
Alabama
Alaska
American Samoa
Arizona

Contact the...
Atlanta Division
SanFrancisco/Seattle
Division
SanFrancisco/Seattle
Division
SanFrancisco/Seattle
Division

https://eligcert.ed.gov/ows-doc/intro.htm

by fax...
(404)9749322
(206)6152508
(415)4865676
(415)4865676
(214)6619662
(415)4865676
(303)8444695
(617)2890153
(215)6566499
(215)6566499
(415)4865676
(404)9749322
(404)9749322
(415)4865676
(415)486-

or by
Email...
SPD
SPD
SPD
SPD
SPD
SPD
SPD
SPD
SPD
SPD
SPD
SPD
SPD
SPD
SPD

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E-App Introduction

Idaho

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Division
SanFrancisco/Seattle
Division

Illinois

Chicago Division

Indiana

Chicago Division

Iowa

Kansas City Division

Kansas

Kansas City Division

Kentucky

Kansas City Division

Louisiana

Dallas Division

Maine

Boston Division

Maryland

Philadelphia Division

Massachusetts

Boston Division

Michigan

Denver Division

Minnesota

Chicago Division

Mississippi

Atlanta Division

Missouri

Kansas City Division

Montana

Denver Division

Nebraska

Kansas City Division

Nevada

SanFrancisco/Seattle
Division

New Hampshire

Boston Division

New Jersey

New York Division

New Mexico

Dallas Division

New York

New York Division

https://eligcert.ed.gov/ows-doc/intro.htm

5677
(206)6152594
(312)7301511
(312)7301511
(816)2680410
(816)2680410
(816)2680410
(214)6619490
(617)2890133
(215)6566442
(617)2890133
(303)8443677
(312)7301511
(404)9749303
(816)2680410
(303)8443677
(816)2680410
(415)4865677
(617)2890133
(646)4283750
(214)6619490
(646)4283750

5676
(206)6152508
(312)7301520
(312)7301520
(816)2680444
(816)2680444
(816)2680444
(214)6619662
(617)2890153
(215)6566499
(617)2890153
(303)8444695
(312)7301520
(404)9749322
(816)2680444
(303)8444695
(816)2680444
(415)4865676
(617)2890153
(646)4283742
(214)6619662
(646)4283742

SPD
SPD
SPD
SPD
SPD
SPD
SPD
SPD
SPD
SPD
SPD
SPD
SPD
SPD
SPD
SPD
SPD
SPD
SPD
SPD
SPD

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North Carolina

Atlanta Division

North Dakota

Denver Division

Northern Marianas

SanFrancisco/Seattle
Division

Ohio

Chicago Division

Oklahoma

Dallas Division

Oregon

SanFrancisco/Seattle
Division

Pennsylvania

Philadelphia Division

Puerto Rico

New York Division

Republic of the Marshall
Islands

SanFrancisco/Seattle
Division
SanFrancisco/Seattle
Division

Rhode Island

Boston Division

South Carolina

Atlanta Division

South Dakota

Denver Division

Tennessee

Kansas City Division

Texas

Dallas Division

U.S. Virgin Islands

New York Division

Utah

Denver Division

Vermont

Boston Division

Virginia

Philadelphia Division

Washington

SanFrancisco/Seattle
Division

West Virginia

Philadelphia Division

Wisconsin

Chicago Division

Republic of Palau

https://eligcert.ed.gov/ows-doc/intro.htm

(404)9749303
(303)8443677
(415)4865677
(312)7301511
(214)6619490
(206)6152594
(215)6566442
(646)4283750
(415)4865677
(415)4865677
(617)2890133
(404)9749303
(303)8443677
(816)2680410
(214)6619490
(646)4283750
(303)8443677
(617)2890133
(215)6566442
(206)6152594
(215)6566442

(404)9749322
(303)8444695
(415)4865676
(312)7301520
(214)6619662
(206)6152508
(215)6566499
(646)4283742
(415)4865676
(415)4865676
(617)2890153
(404)9749322
(303)8444695
(816)2680444
(214)6619662
(646)4283742
(303)8444695
(617)2890153
(215)6566499
(206)6152508
(215)6566499

(312)730-

(312)730-

SPD
SPD
SPD
SPD
SPD
SPD
SPD
SPD
SPD
SPD
SPD
SPD
SPD
SPD
SPD
SPD
SPD
SPD
SPD
SPD
SPD
SPD

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E-App Introduction

Wyoming

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Denver Division

https://eligcert.ed.gov/ows-doc/intro.htm

1511
(303)8443677

1520
(303)8444695

SPD

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