Trends and Issues

Question of the week

Q.: What do a Dear Colleague Letter's (DCL) numbers and letters mean?

A.: Each DCL has a specific identifying number, which is made up of three components: the type of the letter, the year, and the sequence. Take, for example, DCL GEN-07-01, which was a summary from the Department of Education (ED) regarding a FFELP loan borrower's choice of lender. In this case, "GEN" indicates that the letter is intended for general distribution. The "07" notes the year in which the letter was published, 2007. The final number — "01" — marks where in the sequence of letters, this letter was published. DCL GEN-07-01 was the first DCL of this type published in 2007. DCL GEN-07-02 was the second DCL of this type published in 2007, and so on.

Listed below are some common types of DCLs that ED publishes

• General Distribution (GEN)
• Training Announcements (ANN)
• Campus-based Programs (CB)
• Pell Grant Program (P)
• Financial Partners (FP) — prior to publication year 2004, FP DCLs were classified as Lender (L) and Guarantor (G)
  
  Recent and archived DCLs are available on the Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) Web site.

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