Campus Partners Update Newsletter
October 1, 2009
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Inside the Industry |
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The House of Representatives voted to approve H.R. 3221, the Student Fiscal Aid Responsibility Act of 2009 (SAFRA), on Thursday, September 17, 2009. The bill passed by a margin of 252 to 171 votes, with most Democrats and Representatives voting along party lines. Several amendments were added to the bill, but none directly impacted proposed changes to the Federal Perkins program. Most House discussions centered on the elimination of the FFEL program, which so far has overshadowed concerns about the future of the Perkins loan program.
The bill now goes to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) for consideration. Following the Committee’s approval, the bill will go to the full Senate. If the Senate passes the bill in a form that differs from the House’s version, the bill will go to a Conference Committee to work out the differences. This timeline provides several opportunities to modify the current legislation.
Regardless of whether you oppose or support the proposed changes to the current Perkins loan program, it is important to make your opinion known to the Senators from your state. Most opposition focuses on the:
- Elimination of the in-school interest deferment,
- Reduction of most loan cancellation benefits for public service occupations, and
- Removal of the school from the repayment and servicing process.
A sample letter focusing on opposition to these changes can be downloaded from the COHEAO web site at http://www.coheao.org/legis/data/School.doc . Because the bill is expected to move quickly through the Senate, sending the letter via email will be more effective than regular mail. Most senators provide an email link for facilitating receipt of constituent comments on their individual Senate Web sites.
If a Senator from your state serves on the Senate HELP committee, it is critical that you contact him or her immediately to voice your opinion on SAFRA. The following link provides a list of the HELP committee members:
http://help.senate.gov/About.html
More information about SAFRA is available on the COHEAO Web site at www.coheao.org. We have also included an interview with Harrison Wadsworth, Executive Director of COHEAO in this month’s Update.
Campus Partners Advocacy Efforts
Campus Partners continues to work very closely with COHEAO to monitor the status of the SAFRA legislation and to coordinate advocacy efforts. Sharon Cameron, Audit and Compliance for Campus Partners, presented workshops for our employees to ensure they could answer your questions about the bill and to encourage them to contact their representatives concerning this legislation.
Aid Administrators Concerned about Proposed Changes to the Federal Perkins Program (Excerpted from the NASFAA Web site)
More than three-quarters of postsecondary institutions (79 percent) would prefer expanding the current Perkins Loan program rather than replacing it with the Direct Perkins Loan program being proposed in Congress, according to a recent survey of NASFAA-member schools. In fact, increasing unsubsidized Stafford Loan limits (80 percent) and lowering the interest rate on unsubsidized Stafford Loans (83 percent) were both preferred over the proposed Perkins changes passed by the House education committee last month.
During the first week of August, NASFAA surveyed more than 2,600 schools about potential changes to the Perkins program. Nearly 25 percent of surveyed schools responded. The survey addressed the proposal in House Bill H.R. 3221 to eliminate the Perkins Loan Program and replace it with the Direct Perkins Loan Program. As proposed, the Direct Perkins Loan program would operate in much the same way as unsubsidized Stafford loans. The new loan program would not carry an administrative cost allowance; a small payment would be paid to schools that elect to service outstanding loans made under the old Perkins Loan Program. The new loans would be serviced by the Department of Education, carry no interest subsidy for borrowers, offer an interest rate of 5 percent, and generally lack the loan forgiveness provisions currently available to Perkins Loan borrowers. The bill would dramatically increase funding for the program by allocating $6 billion annually towards the program beginning in the 2010-11 award year, which supporters of the proposal hope will significantly increase its usage over the current Perkins Loan program.
Respondents overwhelmingly (80 percent) preferred increasing funding for the current Perkins Loan program rather than creating the new Direct Perkins Loan program. Schools that currently participate in the Perkins Loan program are most opposed to the changes proposed by Congress (only 15 percent favored the new program), while non-Perkins schools tended to be split (45 percent of non-Perkins schools preferred the current program).
To read the complete article, please visit the NASFAA Web site at http://www.nasfaa.org/PDFs/2009/QSSPerkins.pdf
Revised Federal Perkins MPN Published
The Department of Education published Dear Colleague Letter CB-09-05, dated September 28, 2009. This letter provided implementation guidance along with the new MPN and an Addendum for the MPN with the June 30, 2009 expiration date or an earlier version. Due to a formating issue with attached documents, the Department subsequently published Dear Colleague Letter CB-09-06, which provides the corrected versions of the newly issued Perkins MPN and Addendum.
The new Perkins MPN has been updated to reflect changes that were made by the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 (CCRAA) and the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 (HEAO).
Implementation Details
Brian Smith with the Department of Education has notified us that the Department has changed the implementation date for the new MPN to December 31, 2009.
- Schools may use the Perkins MPN with the August 31, 2012 expiration date beginning September 28, 2009, but must begin using it as of December 31, 2009.
- Schools may not distribute the MPN with the June 30, 2009 expiration date to borrowers on or after December 31, 2009.
- If you are using the June 30, 2009 MPN as a multi-year note, you may continue to make loans under that MPN for future award years. Borrowers will not be required to sign a new note in this case.
- The Department has also developed an Addendum for schools to use to explain the changes made by the CCRAA and HEOA. This addendum must be provided to borrowers signing the MPN with the June 30, 2009 expiration date or an earlier version. Campus Partners is working to assist you with the requirement to send the Addendum to your borrowers.
To view guidance for the revised MPN go to http://ifap.ed.gov/dpcletters/CB0905.html.
The correct MPN and Addendum are available at http://www.ifap.ed.gov/dpcletters/CB0906.html.
The revised MPN and Addendum are available on our Web site at http://www.campuspartners.com/forms2.html.
Implementation of New Web Site for Total and Permanent Disability
A new Web site has been launched to aid in the Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) Discharge process. Borrowers seeking a disability discharge of their Federal Perkins, FFEL, Direct Loan and Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant service obligations will find complete information at this new TPD Discharge Web site. The address for the new site is:
http://ifap.ed.gov/disabilitydischarge/main.html.
Additional details are included in an electronic announcement from ED at
http://ifap.ed.gov/eannouncements/090309NewSiteTPD.html.
Release of Policies and Procedures Manual Guidance
On September 10, ED announced the availability of “A Guide to Creating a Policies and Procedures Manual.” This guide will assist schools in creating and revising written documentation about their efforts to comply with federal regulations pertaining to the administration of the Title IV programs. The guide features activities designed to help a school meet the minimum general requirements with regard to documented policies and procedures. While recommended, creating the guide is an optional activity that schools often find helpful. You can read more about this Guide at
http://ifap.ed.gov/eannouncements/091009PolicyProceduresManualGuidance.html.
The Product Services team continues to be very busy as they implement system changes
required by regulations while managing system enhancements that facilitate the customer
and borrower experience. To catch up with recent enhancements, please review the
following attachment.
Attachment: Recent System Enhancements
For the tenth consecutive year, Campus Partners has received perfect marks from its third-party audit firm. Porter Keadle Moore, LLP (PKM) conducted this year’s SAS 70 Audit and reported no findings for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009. The firm issued an “unqualified” opinion, which means that it is issued “without reservation and unconditionally.” Campus Partners has maintained a 22-year history of successful audits and began conducting them before they were required by federal regulations.
If you have not ordered your copy of this year’s audit, please complete and return the Audit Report Request Form, found on our Web site at the following address:
http://www.campuspartners.com/forms.html.
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“I love the new exit packets. I got the first ones today. Very user friendly; easier to copy, fits better in envelopes... Just a few reasons, but I do like them! The mailing labels are also much easier to deal with! And, they are much easier to sign off on.” Connie Cox
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"Managing the Exit Interview Process" Webinar Planned
As the end of a semester approaches, schools are faced with the onset of the exit interview process. It’s never too early to start planning! Preparing for the exit interview process is critical as you must ensure all loan information and the separation date(s) are accurately reflected on the system. We will be discussing the importance of the school’s involvement in preparing for the exit interview process and offering helpful suggestions. Join us for a webinar on “ Managing the Exit Interview Process” scheduled for Friday, October 9th at 2:00pm EST. To register or find out more information, please contact Debra Pitts at dpitts@campuspartners.com.
As this issue of the Update goes to publication, Campus Partners has scheduled a Web conference, entitled “SAFRA: What it Means to Your Students and Institution,” to be presented on September 30. At this time, almost 125 participants have registered for the training event, which will be moderated by Sharon Cameron, Audit and Compliance Specialist. Many schools have multiple participants so this Webinar promises to be one of our most anticipated presentations.
Because of the importance of this topic, we will continue to keep you informed about the progress of SAFRA through the Senate via email messages and this publication.
2009 Web Conference Schedule
| Topic | Date |
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Managing the Exit Interview Process-New |
Friday, October 9 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..
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 Minnesota 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/.
PDG will present its National Student Loan/Receivables Collection Conference November 8-11 at the Hilton St. Petersburg Bayfront Hotel in St. Petersburg, FL. Visit http://www.prodev.com for more information.
Cutoff dates for September, October, November, and December are presented below. The 2010 Cutoff dates also follow.
Transaction
|
Sept. 2009 |
Oct. 2009 |
Nov. 2009 |
Nov. 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Last day to receive collection payments |
9/25 |
10/27 |
11/20 |
12/28 |
Last day to receive regular payments |
9/28 |
10/28 |
11/23 |
12/29 |
Last day for online payments |
10/2 |
10/30 |
11/25 |
12/31 |
Date final post begins |
10/2 |
10/30 |
11/27 |
12/31 |
Report date used for final post |
9/30 |
10/31 |
11/30 |
12/31 |
Last day deposits created for deposit to bank account |
9/30 |
10/30 |
11/25 |
12/31 |
2010 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 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 |
01/29/2010 |
01/29/2010 |
01/31/2010 |
01/29/2010 |
February 2010 |
02/23/2010 |
02/24/2010 |
02/26/2010 |
02/26/2010 |
02/28/2010 |
02/26/2010 |
March 2010 |
03/26/2010 |
03/29/2010 |
04/02/2010 |
04/02/2010 |
03/31/2010 |
03/31/2010 |
April 2010 |
04/27/2010 |
04/28/2010 |
04/30/2010 |
04/30/2010 |
04/30/2010 |
04/30/2010 |
May 2010 |
05/25/2010 |
05/26/2010 |
05/28/2010 |
05/28/2010 |
05/31/2010 |
05/28/2010 |
June 2010 |
06/25/2010 |
06/28/2010 |
07/02/2010 |
07/02/2010 |
06/30/2010 |
06/30/2010 |
July 2010 |
07/27/2010 |
07/28/2010 |
07/30/2010 |
07/30/2010 |
07/31/2010 |
07/30/2010 |
August 2010 |
08/24/2010 |
08/25/2010 |
08/27/2010 |
08/27/2010 |
08/31/2010 |
08/31/22010 |
September 2010 |
09/27/2010 |
09/28/2010 |
10/1/2010 |
10/1/2010 |
09/30/2010 |
09/30/2010 |
October 2010 |
10/26/2010 |
10/27/2010 |
10/29/2010 |
10/29/2010 |
10/31/2010 |
10/29/2010 |
November 2010 |
11/19/2010 |
11/22/2010 |
11/24/2010 |
11/26/2010 |
11/30/2010 |
11/26/2010 |
December 2010 |
12/27/2010 |
12/28/2010 |
12/31/2010 |
12/31/2010 |
12/31/2010 |
12/31/2010 |
January 2011 |
01/25/2011 |
01/26/2011 |
01/28/2011 |
01/28/2011 |
01/31/2011 |
01/31/2011 |
