View Information Collection Request (ICR) Package

OMB Control No: 1845-0132	ICR Reference No: 201506-1845-005
Status: Historical Active	Previous ICR Reference No: 201505-1845-004
Agency/Subagency: ED/FSA	Agency Tracking No:
Title: Borrower Defenses Against Loan Repayment
Type of Information Collection: No material or nonsubstantive change to a currently approved collection	Common Form ICR: No
Type of Review Request: Emergency	Approval Requested By: 06/05/2015
OIRA Conclusion Action: Approved without change	Conclusion Date: 06/16/2015
	Date Received in OIRA: 06/15/2015
Terms of Clearance:

	Inventory as of this Action	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	12/31/2015	12/31/2015	12/31/2015
Responses	150,000	0	150,000
Time Burden (Hours)	150,000	0	150,000
Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0	0

Abstract: This is an request for an emergency collection to facilitate the collection of information for borrowers who believe they have cause to invoke the borrower defenses against repayment of a loan as noted in regulation. This collection includes website language that will provide minimum information that requests need to include for consideration as well as a separate specific attestation form. These processes are being offered to aid in preserving borrowers rights and to meet the fiduciary responsibilities of the federal student loan programs. These collections will allow the Department of Education to inform borrowers and loan servicers of the information needed to review and adjudicate requests for relief under borrower defenses regulations.

Emergency Justfication: Section 455(h) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (20 U.S.C. 1087e(h) provides that the U.S. Department of Education (Department) defines by regulation which claims against a school constitute defenses to repayment of a loan under the Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) program. Following a negotiated rulemaking process, the Department published amendments to the Direct Loan program regulations on December 1, 1994. These regulations included borrower defenses specified in 34 CFR 685.206(c). The regulation, in part, states “(c)(1) [i]n any proceeding to collect on a Direct Loan, the borrower may assert as a defense against repayment, an act or omission of the school attended by the student that would give rise to a cause of action against the school under applicable State law.” Prior to 2015, the borrower defense identified above was rarely asserted by any borrowers and no specific methods of collecting information was defined or found necessary. In the 20 years prior, the Department received 5 claims for borrower defense. Over the last several months, the Department has received over 1000 such claims due to a building debt activism movement as well as the notoriety of Corinthian’s collapse, creating a need for a clearer process for potential claimants. This exponential increase in demand was unexpected and outside of the Department’s control.

Authorizing Statute(s): US Code: 20 USC 1087e(h) Name of Law: Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
	Not associated with rulemaking

Federal Register Notices & Comments
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? No

ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Approved	Previously Approved
Annual Number of Responses	150,000	150,000
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	150,000	150,000
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Increase Due to:

Burden decreases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Reduction Due to:

Short Statement: This is a new information collection. There is no change to statutory or regulatory requirements. We estimate a total of 150,000 responses, resulting in a total of 150,000 new burden hours for 150,000 borrowers. This new burden is necessary to ensure Heald College borrowers who wish to invoke the borrower defense against repayment of federal student loans can do so in a uniform and informed manner.

Annual Cost to Federal Government: $0

Does this IC contain surveys, censuses, or employ statistical methods? No

Is the Supporting Statement intended to be a Privacy Impact Assessment required by the E-Government Act of 2002? No

Is this ICR related to the Affordable Care Act [Pub. L. 111-148 & 111-152]? No

Is this ICR related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, [Pub. L. 111-203]? No

Is this ICR related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)? No

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? Uncollected

Agency Contact: Beth Grebeldinger 202 708-8242

View ICR - OIRA Conclusion