Federal Student Aid (FSA) has announced the availability of the 2025–26 Prison Education Program (PEP) Reporting Tool Workbook, designed to assist institutions with required annual reporting for students enrolled in approved Prison Education Programs.
The workbook and corresponding reporting template provide guidance for reporting individual student information beginning with the 2025–26 award year.
What Institutions Need to Know
As outlined in FSA’s earlier Electronic Announcement GEN-26-56, institutions offering approved PEPs must submit annual reporting information to the U.S. Department of Education (ED).
The reporting process includes two components:
- Student-Level Reporting: Institutions must submit information about individual students enrolled in approved PEPs using the reporting template available through the Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) system.
- Program-Level Reporting: Institutions must provide program-level information through a separate school survey, which ED will make available at a later date.
Both components will be used to support ED’s annual reporting on Prison Education Programs.
What’s Included in the Workbook?
The newly released workbook provides institutions with practical guidance on completing the student-level reporting requirements, including:
- Instructions for locating the reporting template within COD.
- Guidance on completing and submitting the required student information.
- A data dictionary explaining the template’s reporting fields.
- Troubleshooting tips to assist institutions with the reporting process.
Accessing the Workbook and Additional Resources
The 2025–26 PEP Reporting Tool Workbook is available through the Prison Education Programs Topics page on the FSA Knowledge Center. It is also available on the COD website.
Institutions can find additional guidance on PEP approval, annual reporting requirements, and best interest determinations through the Knowledge Center.
For questions, institutions may contact the Prison Education Program team at PEP@ed.gov
SOURCE: (GENERAL-26-65) Availability of the Prison Education Program Reporting Tool Workbook