PCA Procedures Manual for Private Collection ... - Government Attic

Description of document:

Requested date: Release date: Posted date: Source of document:

PCA Procedures Manual for Private Collection Agencies to collect federal defaulted student loans and grants overpayments under the U.S. Department of Education's (ED) Federal Student Aid (FSA) collections contract, 2016

14-February-2019

24-May-2019

17-June-2019

FOIA Request ATTN: FOIA Public Liaison Department of Education Office of Management Office of the Chief Privacy Officer 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, LBJ 7W104 Washington, DC 20202-4536

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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY FOIA Service Center

May 24, 2019

RE: FOIA Request No. 19-00914-F

This letter is a final response to your request for information pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. ? 552, dated February 14, 2019 and received in this office on February 15, 2019. Your request was forwarded to the appropriate office to search for documents that may be responsive to your request.

You requested the following : The Private Collection Agency (PCA) Procedures Manual.

Attached to this e-mail are 291 pages of documents responsive to your request. The documents provided are: However, certain information has been withheld according to FOIA exemptions (b)(4) (b)(5), (b)(7)(E), specified below:

? Proprietary information has been withheld under exemption (b)(4) of the FOIA, 5 U.S.C. ? 552 of the FOIA. These provisions require us to withhold proprietary information, which, if disclosed, is likely to cause substantial competitive harm.

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? Records of portions of records relating to the techniques and procedures that are used for a law enforcement purpose is exempt pursuant to (b)(7)(E) of the FOIA. Disclosure of this information could reasonably be expected to disclose the information pertaining to all law enforcement information that "would disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions and could reasonably be expected to risk circumvention of the law. "

400 MARYLAND AVE.. S.W.. WASHI NGTON , DC 20202-4500 www .ed .gov

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Page 2 FOIA Request No. 19-00914-F

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FOIA Public Liaison Office of the Executive Secretariat U.S. Department of Education 400 Maryland Ave., SW, LBJ 7C132 Washington, DC 20202-4500 robert. wehausen@ 202-205-0733 202-401-0920

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Appeals may be submitted using the on-line form available at policy/gen/leg/foia/foia-appeal-form.pdf.

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EDFOlAappeals@ 202-401-0920 Appeals Office Office of the Executive Secretariat U.S. Department of Education 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, LBJ 7Wl06A Washington, DC 20202-4536

Enclosure

Sincerely, Shahanga Lee FOIA Analyst Office of the Executive Secretariat

400 MARYLAND AVE. S.W., WASHINGTON, DC 20202-4500

Our mission is to ensure equlll access to education and to promote educational excellence throughout the Nation.

PCA Procedures Manual for Private Collection Agencies contracted by Federal Student Aid

5/10/2016

Federal Student Aid, U.S. Department of Education

Description: This document describes the procedures and policies for private collection agencies (PCAs) to collect federal defaulted student loans and grants overpayments under the U.S. Department of Education's (ED) Federal Student Aid (FSA) collections contract. These procedures and policies are outlined in the Request for Quote and Statement of Work for PCAs and are further detailed here, in the Procedures Manual. Any questions regarding the procedures and policies described here should be directed to the FSA Contract Office Representative (COR) and Contract Officer (CO).

The Procedures Manual does NOT: 1. provide comprehensive guidance of all regulatory and contractual requirements for PCAs; or 2. relieve PCAs and affiliated contractors of their obligation to comply with all of the statutory and regulatory provisions governing the statement of work; or 3. relieve the above from compliance with all contract requirements and other statutes and guidelines (including specific processing/training manuals} that are applicable to the ED collections contract.

Last Revise : 5 10 2016

TABLE of CONTENTS

1.0 ACCOUNT RESOLUTION 2.0 REHABILITATION 2.1 ELIGIBILITY 2.2 BORROWER EDUCATION 2.3 MONTHLY PAYMENT AMOUNT 2.4 REHABILITATION AGREEMENT LETTER (RAL) 2.5 WAGE GARNISHMENT 2.6 PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION FOR REHABILITATION FUNDING 2.7 SUPPLEMENTAL RE-DEFFAULTS DATASET 2.8 POST-SUBMISSION PROCEDURES 2.0 - APPENDIX A - REHABILITATION AGREEMENT LETTER 2.0 - APPENDIX B - FIS BORROWER SUPPLEMENT 3.0 CONSOLIDATION 3.1 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS 3.2 FORCED INCOME-DRIVEN REPAYMENT (IDR) CONSOLIDATIONS 3.3 BORROWER COUNSELING 3.4 LOAN VERIFICATION CERTIFICATION 3.5 FAST-TRACK PROCEDURES 3.0 -APPENDIX A -ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF CERTIFICATION RESPONSIBILITIES 3.0 - APPENDIX B - FAST-TRACK CHECKLIST 3.0 - APPENDIX C - FAST-TRACK PROCESSING CHECKLIST 3.0 - APPENDIX D - FAST-TRACK EDITS CHECKLIST 4.0 COMPROMISES AND STANDARD REPAYMENT 4.1 COMPROMISES 4.2 STANDARD COMPROMISES 4.3 DISCRETIONARY COMPROMISE 4.4 NON-STANDARD COMPROMISE WITH ''NET-BACK" 4.5 ACCOUNT CLOSURE 4.6 TERMS OF COMPROMISES 4.7 COMPROMISES AND TREASURY OFFSET PAYMENTS 4.8 COMPROMISES AND ADMINISTRATIVE WAGE GARNISHMENT PAYMENTS 4.9 STANDARD REPAYMENT PLAN FOR DEFAULTED LOANS

Distribution authorized too the Department Eflcfu~ation and its Private Collection Agency contractors only. Other requests shall be referred to the Federal Student Aid Acquisitions Group

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