Campus Partners Update Newsletter
June 1, 2009
Holiday Closing: July 3, 2009 - 4th of July (observed) |
|
|
|
|
|
Inside Campus Partners Gail Mayo
|
|
Perkins Loans and the FY2010 Budget Proposal – An Update from COHEAO (Coalition of Higher Education Assistance Organizations)
“The Obama Administration completed the presentation of its budget proposal for FY2010 recently, filling in numbers and a few details on its outline of February 26th. Of special interest in these budget documents is the Appendix, which holds details from the Office of Management and Budget and the Education Department’s Budget Office on the actual costs of programs, including Perkins Loans.
As announced in February, the President’s budget calls for increasing Perkins Loan assistance from $1.1 billion to $5.8 billion, but also removes the in-school interest subsidy and transfers the administration of loan servicing and collections to the Department of Education. According to the budget appendix, this will provide $3.2 billion in savings for the federal government over five years. COHEAO is discussing alternatives to the budget proposal with Congress and the Administration with the goal of achieving the President’s call for expanding Perkins, but also maintaining the current benefits of the program, such as campus based administration, the in-school interest subsidy, and loan forgiveness benefits.”
To view the complete Education Budget Appendix, please visit
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2010/assets/edu.pdf.
COHEAO is a partnership of more than 300 educational and commercial members promoting access to post-secondary education. Their focus is on legislative and regulatory advocacy for the Federal Perkins and other campus-based student loan programs. COHEAO’s grassroots efforts on behalf of the Perkins program are largely why it still exists today.
COHEAO also communicates closely with the Department of Education (ED) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and congressional members to ensure that campus-based loan programs are successful. If you are interested in becoming a member, go to www.coheao.com.
Campus Partners is a strong supporter of COHEAO. Sharon Cameron serves as our company’s representative to the group and stays in close communication with them to stay informed and share her insight.
Draft FISAP for 2009 Published by ED
The Fiscal Operations Report for 2008-09 and Application to Participate for 2010-11 in the Campus-Based Programs (FISAP) is currently under review by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The Department is providing the Draft FISAP and accompanying instruction booklet so schools can begin gathering necessary information for the actual submission of information through the final version of the FISAP, which will be available by August 1, 2009. The draft form and instructions are available in an electronic announcement from ED at http://ifap.ed.gov/eannouncements/050809DraftFISAP1011.html.
As published in our April 1, 2009 Campus Partners Update, there are significant changes to Part III (Perkins Loan), Part IV (FSEOG Program) and Part V (Federal Work-Study Program) of the FISAP due to the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA). Below is a summary of those changes:
- Part III, Section A. – Lines added to report loan cancellations.
- Part III, Section A. – Lines added to accommodate short-term loans to the Fund.
- Part III, Section B. – Lines added to allow for the transfer of Federal Work- Study funds to the Federal Perkins program.
- Part IV, Section B. – Changed to allow for transfer of funds from the Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants Program (FSEOG), which is now authorized under HEOA, to be spent in the Federal Work-Study Program (FWS).
- Part V, Section B. – Changed to allow funds to be transferred from the FSEOG to be spent in the FWS Program and to allow funds to be transferred from the FWS program to the Federal Perkins program. Lines were also added to report funds that were spent for students impacted by a disaster and students who participated in civic education activities.
Campus Partners continues to work with our development staff to add new cancellation codes and update the NDSL/INST Accounting Report (Perkins Accounting report). At this time, we have made the appropriate changes to this year’s FISAP; however, a final release will not be made until we receive the final version of the FISAP from the Department of Education.
Discharging Title IV Loans for Unemployable Veterans
ED has published Dear Colleague Letter GEN-09-07 (DCL) which provides procedures for a new discharge made by changes to the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA). ED has established a separate standard for determining whether certain veterans are totally and permanently disabled for Title IV loan discharge purposes. The effective date for implementation of this new Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) cancellation was July 1, 2008, but guidance was not published until this May.
The DCL provides implementation guidance to FFEL lenders, guaranty agencies, and Perkins school lenders on the procedures for processing total and permanent disability discharge requests for borrowers who are covered by the new statutory provisions. Unlike the current total and permanent disability provisions, loans will not be assigned to ED.
There are two types of VA determinations that qualify a veteran for this discharge:
- A determination that the veteran has a service-connected disability, or service connected disabilities, that are 100% disabling; or
- A determination that the veteran is totally disabled based on an individual’s unemployability.
The VA grants individual unemployability only for service-connected conditions. Therefore, any determination of individual unemployability qualifies a veteran for discharge. In the case of a determination that a veteran is 100% disabled, the determination must specify that the disabilities are service-connected.
Campus Partners is working to outline procedures for our staff to use to process these requests and provide guidance to your borrowers. We are also adding a new cancellation code (V0) for the new VA cancellation as well as updating the NDSL/INST (Perkins) Accounting Report. This new cancellation category has been added to this year’s FISAP.
Campus-Based Waivers/Reallocation for Major 2008 Natural Disasters
Dear Colleague Letter CB-09-03 provides schools with new statutory waivers of some campus-based program requirements and a revised process for the reallocation of unspent campus-based funds. This waiver applies to the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) Program and the Federal Work-Study (FWS) Program and pertains to institutions located in certain areas affected by a major 2008 natural disaster. To read this DCL in its entirety, go to http://ifap.ed.gov/dpcletters/CB0903.html.
The Product Services team continues to be very busy as they respond to system changes required by regulations while managing system enhancements to facilitate the customer and borrower experience. To catch up with recent enhancements, please review the following attachment.
Attachment: Recent System Enhancements
We are profiling Gail Mayo, a member of the Applications Services team, in this month’s “Inside Campus Partners.” Gail has helped program many of the new system enhancements and loves this aspect of her job. Read more about Gail in this month’s edition.
Student Loan Default Rates Predicted to Continue to Rise
The student loan default rate is continuing to rise in response to a poor economy and the large amount of student loan debt carried by students, according to many published accounts. In the past week, Boston.com, the online arm of the Boston Globe, and USA Today have published articles predicting higher student loan default rates for this year. The May 6, 2009, Boston Globe article discusses the issue with student loan experts who are very concerned about inpending loan defaults. The article quotes Arne Duncan, the Secretary of Education, who states, “Whether we like it or not that is a reality we are looking at.”
In a May 13, 2009 USA Today article, the author interviewed student loan officials who are also concerned about the growing default rate. Several students were interviewed who could not repay their loans because of job loss. Other students were pessimistic about their ability to find a job after graduation and feared they could not afford their payments.
We continue to counsel students about their student loan debt and assist them in submitting deferment and forbearance requests whenever possible. Anecdotal experience based on the number of borrowers calling our office suggests that the default rate is continuing to rise.
Our third-party audit for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009 is currently underway. We have expanded the scope of our audit to include all loan programs serviced by Campus Partners. As a result, our auditor, Porter Keadle Moore, LLP, estimates the final report will be available for distribution by September 15. Please email Debra Pitts dpitts@campuspartners.com if you need preliminary results before that date.
An Audit Report Request Form is available on our Web site. We will keep you informed about the status of the audit in future issues of the Campus Partners Update
Attachment: Audit Request Form
Get Ready for Year-End Processing
June 30, 2009 is just a month away. Be sure to get important requests in before the deadlines listed below so they can be processed by year-end. All requests are processed in the order that we receive them, whether they arrive via regular mail, overnight mail, fax, DataLink Dispatch, or e-mail.
Important Year-End Processing Deadlines
June 5 Requests for duplicate reports
June 19 Requests for Change/Adjustment memos
June 26 Year-end post begins
|
”As always, thank you for your help. The staff at Campus Partners have always provided prompt, courteous assistance to me concerning the Federal Perkins Loan Program.”
Cindy Colbert |
The next session of Student Loans 101 will be presented on July 9-10. This workshop is designed for less experienced student loan administrators or those who are new to the Campus Partners system. Participants will gain hands-on experience at individual workstations in the newly renovated training room
Student Loans 101: July 9-10
Time: Day One: 8:30 AM- 4:00 PM Day Two: 8:30 AM - 1:00 PM
To register, fax a completed registration form to Debra Pitts at 336-607-2025.
Attachment:Student Loan 101 Registration Form
To register, fax a completed registration form to Debra Pitts at 336-607-2025.
Sign up for Web Conferences !
Please join us for our next Web conference, Understanding and Completing the FISAP, rescheduled for Tuesday, July 7 at 3:00 PM Eastern---New Time, Date, and Day
We are rescheduling the webinar to better align it with the receipt of year end reports and actual completion of the FISAP.
To register for one or more training events, please contact Debra Pitts at dpitts@campuspartners.com.
2009 Web Conference Schedule
| Topic | Date |
|---|---|
Understanding and Completing the FISAP |
Tuesday, July 7 3:00 to 4:30 Eastern |
Cohort: What is it and How Do I Manage it? |
Thursday, August 13 2:00 to 3:30 Eastern |
Where do I start? A Month to Month Guide |
Thursday, September 10 2:00 to 3:30 Eastern |
Open |
Thursday, October 8 2:00 to 3:30 Eastern |
Regulations Update |
Thursday, November 12 2:00 to 3:30 Eastern |
Tips for Managing Delinquencies |
Thursday, December 10 2:00 to 3:30 Eastern |
Campus Partners staff will attend the following conferences during the first six months of 2009.
The 2009 Western Student Financial Services Conference will be held July 19-22 at the LaSells Steward Center at Oregon State University in Corvallis, OR. For more details, please visit http://oregonstate.edu/conferences/pac10/index.html.
COHEAO will hold their mid-year conference in Philadelphia, PA on August 1-4. We will provide more information as it becomes available. COHEAO’s Web address is http://www.coheao.org.
Williams & Fudge will hold its Student Loans and Receivables Collection Conference on September 20-23 at the Hilton Mrytle Beach Resort. For more information, go to http://www.wfcorp.com/news/upcoming.html.
The Texas Bursars for Universities and Colleges will host the Texas BUC$ Conference at the Omni Bay Front Hotel on Oct. 11-14 at Corpus Christi, TX. More details are available at http://texasbucs.com.
The Minnnesota Collection Network will present its Mega Conference XVII on Oct 19-21 at the Sheraton Bloomington in Bloomington, MN. More information is available at http://www.mnnetwork.org/.
Cutoff dates for May, June, July, and August are presented below:
Transaction
|
May 2009 |
June2009 |
July 2009 |
Aug. 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Last day to receive collection payments |
5/26 |
6/23 |
7/28 |
8/25 |
Last day to receive regular payments |
5/27 |
6/24 |
7/29 |
8/26 |
Last day for online payments |
5/29 |
6/26 |
7/31 |
8/28 |
Date final post begins |
5/29 |
6/26 |
7/31 |
8/28 |
Report date used for final post |
5/31 |
6/30 |
7/31 |
8/31 |
Last day deposits created for deposit to bank account |
5/29 |
6/26 |
7/31 |
8/28 |
2009 Cutoff Dates
Month |
Last day to receive collection payments |
Last day to receive regular payments |
Last day for on-line payments |
Date final post begins |
Report date used for final post |
Last day deposits created for deposit to bank account |
December 2008 |
12/26/2008 |
12/29/2008 |
1/2/2009 |
1/2/2009 |
12/31/2008 |
12/31/2008 |
January 2009 |
01/27/2009 |
01/28/2009 |
01/30/2009 |
01/30/2009 |
01/31/2009 |
01/30/2009 |
February 2009 |
02/24/2009 |
02/25/2009 |
02/27/2009 |
02/27/2009 |
02/28/2009 |
02/27/2009 |
March 2009 |
03/24/2009 |
03/25/2009 |
03/27/2009 |
03/27/2009 |
03/31/2009 |
03/27/2009 |
April 2009 |
04/27/2009 |
04/28/2009 |
05/01/2009 |
05/01/2009 |
04/30/2009 |
04/30/2009 |
May 2009 |
05/26/2009 |
05/27/2009 |
05/29/2009 |
05/29/2009 |
05/31/2009 |
05/29/2009 |
June 2009 |
06/23/2009 |
06/24/2009 |
06/26/2009 |
06/26/2009 |
06/30/2009 |
06/26/2009 |
July 2009 |
07/28/2009 |
07/29/2009 |
07/31/2009 |
07/31/2009 |
07/31/2009 |
07/31/2009 |
August 2009 |
08/25/2009 |
08/26/2009 |
08/28/2009 |
08/28/2009 |
08/31/2009 |
08/28/2009 |
September 2009 |
09/25/2009 |
09/28/2009 |
10/2/2009 |
10/2/2009 |
09/30/2009 |
09/30/2009 |
October 2009 |
10/27/2009 |
10/28/2009 |
10/30/2009 |
10/30/2009 |
10/31/2009 |
10/30/2009 |
November 2009 |
11/20/2009 |
11/23/2009 |
11/25/2009 |
11/27/2009 |
11/30/2009 |
11/25/2009 |
December 2009 |
12/28/2009 |
12/29/2009 |
12/31/2009 |
12/31/2009 |
12/31/2009 |
12/31/2009 |
January 2010 |
01/26/2010 |
01/27/2010 |
01/29/2009 |
01/29/2009 |
01/31/2009 |
01/29/2009 |
