In the event of a closure of the federal government (more commonly referred to as a shutdown or furlough), there will be minimal impact on schools, lenders, and guaranty agencies and their ability to administer the Title IV Programs. While FSA federal offices would be closed during a federal government closure, the majority of Title IV processors, contact centers, and Web sites will remain operational. An electronic announcement posted to the IFAP Web site on September 28, 201 provides operational guidance about Federal Student Aid’s communications, customer service contact centers, processing systems, and training events should a federal government shutdown occur.
The following list highlights only a few of the ways schools will be affected if a federal government shutdown occurs. Please access the entire electronic announcement for full details.
http://www.ifap.ed.gov/eannouncements/092713PotentialGovernmentShutdown.html
- The Campus-Based Call Center will be closed. However, the eCampus-Based(eCB) Web site will remain operational in the event of a shutdown and institutions will be able to submit the Fiscal Operations Report for 2012-2013 and the Application to Participate for 2014-2015 (FISAP). In the event of a shutdown, however, the October 1, 2013 filing deadline for the FISAP will be extended due to the closure of the Campus-Based Call Center.
- The COD System will continue to process Direct Loan promissory notes and will accept and process data from schools and send back responses/acknowledgments. Schools will be able to receive federal funds (see G5 information below). The COD Web site, StudentLoans.gov Web site, and the TEACH Grant Web site will remain operational.
- The Department currently anticipates that G-5 will be available if there is a lapse of appropriations on October 1, 2013 for all routine automated grants-related transactions, including the drawdown of funds. Any drawdown requests that require action by Department employees, such as grantees on route payment flags, would not be completed during a shutdown. All requirements that normally apply to grantees, such as minimizing the time between grantee drawdown and disbursement of funds, would apply both immediately before and during a government shutdown due to a lapse of appropriations.
- Any program reviews scheduled during a shutdown will be rescheduled.
- Any webinar or training workshop scheduled during the shutdown will be cancelled, including any Fundamentals of Federal Student Aid Administration training workshop that is scheduled during that time. Affected participants will be notified through the FSA registration system. Following the reopening of the federal government, information will be provided about rescheduled sessions through Training Announcements posted on the IFAP Web site. Federal Student Aid staff will not be able to attend state and regional conferences in the event of a shutdown. Every effort will be made to contact the conference chair to inform them of the situation.
Updated information related to the shutdown will be provided on the Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) Web site, as feasible, but routine guidance will not be posted. Please monitor the IFAP Web site for further information, particularly following the reopening of the federal government.
In addition, please see the following notice posted on the IPEDS ListServ today regarding the potential shutdown.
Dear IPEDS Keyholders and Coordinators:
You have probably heard in the news that the U.S. Congress has until midnight tonight, September 30, to pass a federal budget or continuing resolution, or there will be a federal government shutdown. I wanted to reach out to you and let you know how a shutdown would impact you and your responsibilities to report IPEDS data so that you can plan accordingly.
If there is a government shutdown, the IPEDS Data Collection System will be closed beginning at 12:01 a.m. EDT October 1, 2013, for the entirety of the shutdown. Once it reopens, the October 16 keyholder deadline will be extended to cover the time the system was closed. The coordinator deadline will be similarly extended. You will be notified by email when the system reopens.
If there is no government shutdown, the IPEDS keyholder deadline will remain Wednesday, October 16.
Because of this uncertainty, I encourage you to print out any blank forms, instructions, and import specifications you need today so that you can continue to gather and prepare your data during a possible shutdown, as you will want to be able to submit your data very quickly after the federal government resumes operations. During a shutdown, the IPEDS Help Desk staff will operate according to their regular schedule (MF 8:30am-5pm EDT); they will be available to assist with questions, but will not have access to the Data Collection System. NCES IPEDS staff will be unable to answer emails or return calls for the duration of the shutdown.
Thank you for your attention to this matter. We will provide additional information as soon as we are able.
Richard Reeves,
Program Director
Postsecondary Institutional Studies Program National Center for Education Statistics
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