NSLDS Reviews

Jean BalcerFinancial Aid Processing CoordinatorDavenport University

Overview• Determine loan eligibility for dependents

w/PLUS denials

• Determine loan eligibility when student’s history has Health loans

• Try to identify capitalized interest

• Discuss the reaffirmation process

Determining Loan Eligibility for Dependent Student• Review NSLDS – loans noted with “P” indicate

additional eligibility due to PLUS denial. These loans can be subtracted out of the aggregate total to determine the dependent undergrad aggregate total.

• If student is under the $31,000 cap, you can

award loans up to the cap. If student is at the $31,000 cap, before awarding any additional loans, you must obtain a PLUS denial. Then you can award at independent level.

Example: • Johnny has $20,500 sub and $26,000 unsub =

$48,000 for aggregate totals. On NSLDS he is being flagged for “Additional Unsub.”

• Per his loan history he has $17,000 in additional unsub that is flagged with “P”. So, his undergraduate dependent total actually is: $20,500 + 9000 = $29,500.

Example con’t: • The student can borrow $1500 in sub funds for

the academic year, which now brings him to $31,000 cap. In order to borrow any more than that, you would need a PLUS denial on file.

• For the next academic year, you would not be

able to award the student anything until you have a PLUS denial on file.

Another Example of Over award: • Student is flagged for exceeding dependent

aggregate loan limits. • The dependency code on NSLDS is dependent, on

the 13-14 ISIR the student is showing independent.

• Loan Acad. Level equals NA. The student’s loans are coded incorrectly, therefore creating the status of being overawarded.

Another example con’t: • Two years of loans disbursed should be coded as

independent academic level.

• To correct, must contact the servicer to have the student’s loan history updated.

Determine Eligibility when Additional Health Loans are on NSLDS • For participating medical schools student can

borrow up to $224,000. • If your school is not a medical school, you

must determine the student’s eligibility before awarding loans.

• Review NSLDS – loans noted with “H” indicate additional eligibility due to health medical loans. These loans can be subtracted from aggregate total.

Health Loan in History (cont.) • If the loans are not clearly marked, but you

know the other school was a participating medical school, then the student would only be eligible for Grad PLUS loan at your school.

• From FSA handbook, Volume 3, Chapter 5, page 3-92. “If a student receives the additional Stafford loan amounts on the basis of study in a health profession program but then leaves that program and enters a program in a different field, the student is no longer eligible for the increased Stafford loan limits. However, the additional loan amounts received on the basis of health professions study are not counted towards the normal aggregate Stafford loan limit for that student.”

Health Loan in History (cont.) • Example: Student’s aggregate total is $145,000.

There is one unsub loan for $35,000 marked with “H”. To determine her non-health professional aggregate total: 145,000 – 35,000 = 110,000. Student is eligible for $28,500 in unsub funds before reaching $138,500 cap.

How to Identify Capitalized Interest in AGG OPB• The consolidated loans and older FFELP loans

are usually the culprit for capitalized interest.

• Usually capitalized interest will be added to AGG OPB when the OPB balance is less than the disbursed amount on FFELP loan.

• One way to determine which loan may be the

issue is to compare current loan history to a prior loan history. If current is higher, then principal balance increased.

Capitalized Interest (cont.)• You can also look at Loan Detail tab on NSLDS to

see if the AGG OPB balance has increased from a prior date.

• If you can find the loan that created the overaward, you may be able to go to the servicer’s website to look at loan payment history; there it will indicate if capitalized interest has been added.

• If so, you can use that as your documentation as to why the student is over aggregate limits.

Capitalized Interest (cont.)• If not, then you will need to obtain a

Reaffirmation letter or Satisfactory Repayment Arrangements letter.

• If the student has consolidated all of their loans, the student has then reaffirmed their debt as he or she has to sign a new Promissory Note for the consolidation.

Reaffirmation Process • When a student is flagged on NSLDS for exceeding

loan limits, the school must rectify the overaward before the student is eligible for Title IV funds.

• Note: NSLDS will only flag a student as exceeding loan limits if the overaward is greater than $100.

Reaffirmation Process con’t

• Per regulations, even if the overaward is a $1.00 the school must rectify the overaward either by reallocating a sub overaward or student obtains reaffirmation letter.

• Gen 13-02: Remaining Title IV Eligibility after exceeding loan limits explains the steps to take for the reaffirmation letter.

Process for LLE issue – requesting reaffirmation letter.

GEN-13-02: Regaining Title IV Eligibility after exceeding loan limits.

A student who has inadvertently over borrowed may regain Title IV eligibility by making satisfactory repayment arrangements acceptable to the servicer of the loan. The satisfactory repayment arrangement requirement can be met if the student agrees, in writing, to repay the excess amount according to the terms and conditions of the promissory note that supported the loan. This is called “reaffirmation.”

The reaffirmation process includes the following steps:

Step 1 – Either the institution or the student contacts the servicer and explains that the student has inadvertently over borrowed and wishes to reaffirm debt.

Step 2 – The servicer sends the student a reaffirmation agreement.

Step 3 – The student reads, signs and returns to the servicer the reaffirmation agreement.

Step 4 – The servicer sends the student confirmation that the reaffirmation agreement has been accepted. The student or servicer must provide a copy of the reaffirmation confirmation to the institution.

Step 5 – The inadvertent over borrowing is considered to have been resolved as of the date the servicer receives the student’s signed reaffirmation agreement.

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DU FA Loan Coordinator or specialist will complete step 1 on behalf of the student. Notes will be made in RHACOMM which servicer was contacted and will note how the servicer will be sending the letter to the student, such as via email or regular mail. It is the student’s responsibility to submit the confirmation of reaffirmation.

NOTE: for Sallie Mae serviced loans, once we have requested the reaffirmation letter and Sallie Mae has generated the letter; the student can log onto their account with Sallie Mae and go to “View Correspondence History” and click on Incoming Notifications. Here they should be able to re-print the reaffirmation letter.

Reaffirmation process (cont.)• When the student receives the reaffirmation

letter, they have two options: 1. Pay the overaward. Payment must accompany the

letter back to the servicer in order to be applied directly to principal.

2. Sign the reaffirmation, which is an amendment to the original promissory note.

NSLDS Contact Information NSLDS Customer Support Center

Phone: 1-800-999-8219

Toll: 1-785-838-2141

Fax: 1-785-838-2154

Web: www.nsldsfap.ed.gov

Email: nslds@ed.gov

Thank you! Jean Balcer

Davenport University Financial Aid Processing Loan Coordinator

Jean.balcer@davenport.edu

989-393-2635