The Chronicle of Higher Education November 15, 2011 Overpayments on Pell Grants Have Dropped by Millions of Dollars, White House Says By Kelly Field Changes in the Free Application for Federal Student Aid that let applicants import information directly from their federal income-tax returns have reduced Pell Grant overpayments by $300-million since 2010, the White House announced on Tuesday. The news was part of a broader announcement<http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/11/15/we-can-t-wait-agencies-cut-nearly-18-billion-improper-payments-announce-> by the Obama administration that it had cut improper payments by more than $20-billion, largely in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. A statement from the White House attributed the improvements to "more robust audits," new technologies, and better partnerships with states. Over the last two years, the government wide payment-error rate has fallen from 5.4 percent to 4.7 percent, according to the statement. The administration is on pace to prevent $50-billion in improper payments by 2012, it said. Allowing students to import tax information into the student-aid form, known as the Fafsa, can reduce the transcription errors that occur when parents and students copy the information by hand. It also eases the process for first-generation students and others unfamiliar with applying for student aid. Tuesday's announcement came less than a month after the Education Department sent a letter to colleges<http://chronicle.com/article/Education-Department-Calls-on/129482/> urging them to help protect the federal student-aid programs from fraud. The department is expected to announce steps that it will take to crack down on "fraud rings" soon. SANDRA M. PHOENIX Program Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 404.592.4820 Skype:sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree Street NW Suite 200 Atlanta, GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (Lyrasis) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children.