Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] software developers are helping the Internal Revenue Service and Department of Education make life a whole lot easier for students and their families applying for Federal Student Aid.
Every year millions of prospective college students complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form in their pursuit of funding assistance. The form requires personal financial data that is only available through the IRS. In the past, an applicant had to apply to the IRS, obtain the information, and then submit it along with the application. This took time and additional effort.
To simplify this process, Lockheed Martin worked with the IRS to create a link on the DoEd FAFSA Web page. The developers used Web services to build, test and deploy a shared data system that makes available the data transfer of 14 key pieces of information needed by Department officials to make a determination. To ensure privacy, the process includes the requirement for complete authentication before the data can be transferred. The new process has reduced application time from days or weeks to minutes.
“This project is a perfect example of how our partnership with two government agencies is helping them provide complete citizen service, ” said Rocky Thurston, director of financial services. “The result of this initiative has been a faster, easier process for the applicant, the transfer of data that has clarity and is completely accurate, and a demonstration of the possibilities that exist through data sharing.”
