November 2000

GEN-00-18

Subject: Monitoring and Resolving Defaults and Overpayments.

Summary: This letter describes the actions a school must take whenever it receives information from any source that a student is in default on a Title IV loan or owes an overpayment of Title IV program funds.

References: Dear Colleague Letters GEN-96-13, GEN-98-6, GEN-98-14, GEN-98-22, GEN-00-12 and the 2000-2001 Federal Student Aid Handbook.

Dear Partner:

As we are sure you know, a student who is in default on a Title IV loan or who owes an overpayment of Title IV program funds is not eligible to receive further federal student aid until the default or overpayment is resolved. A recent audit performed by the Department's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) found more than a few instances where ineligible students received Title IV funds even though schools were aware, or should have been aware, that those students were in default or owed an overpayment. The OIG reported that some schools simply missed the information that was provided to them on ISIRs and SARs. In other cases, schools resolved one default or overpayment but failed to note that the student had multiple eligibility problems. Finally, the report found instances where the school obtained, what it thought was adequate documentation that the issue had been resolved, when in reality it was not.

When our school partners make certain that all students who receive the support of these programs are eligible for that support and have met their obligations to the programs, program integrity improves. In order to ensure that the statutory and regulatory student eligibility requirements are adhered to, we have prepared, as an attachment to this letter, a document that reminds you of your institutional responsibilities with regard to this issue. The attachment describes the default and overpayment information available through NSLDS, specifically the NSLDS data included on ISIRs. It also describes your options when you have been informed that a student is in default or owes an overpayment, including a description of the documentation that is required for resolution.

As noted above, one of the findings of the OIG report was that schools often did not obtain adequate documentation to support the resolution of the reported default or overpayment. While the attachment provides more detail, you need to be aware of the following general guidance with regard to the adequacy of documentation.

Documentation that is used to show that a reported default or overpayment has been resolved must clearly identify the specific reported defaulted loan or overpayment and include the current status of the loan or overpayment. In no case may a school accept or use documentation from any entity stating that it has "no record" of a student's defaulted loan or overpayment. This is because it was the reporting entity that provided the default or overpayment information to NSLDS in the first place.

Please take the time to review the information provided in the attachment. Make certain that you have developed and utilize systems and procedures that properly monitor the eligibility of your students. Also, make sure that you understand when and how you can obtain documentation that supports the resolution of a default or overpayment. Finally, make sure that your staff understands how to determine what kind of documentation is required to resolve these student eligibility issues.

If you have questions, please contact our SFA Customer Service Call Center. Staff is available Monday through Friday between the hours of 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM (Eastern Time) at 1-800-433-7327. After hours, calls will be accepted by an automated voice response system. Callers leaving their name and phone number will receive a return call the next business day. You may FAX an inquiry to the Customer Service Call Center at (202) 260-4199, or E-mail one to sfa_customer_support@ed.gov.

Thank you for your continued support of the Student Financial Assistance programs.

Sincerely,

Enclosure A

Monitoring and Resolving Student Loan Defaults and Overpayments
October 31, 2000

Introduction:

The most common way that a school obtains information showing that a student is in default or owes an overpayment is when it receives the student's Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR). The default or overpayment information on the ISIR comes from the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) and reflects the student's status as of the date that the ISIR is generated by the Central Processing System (CPS).

In some instances, the ISIR may report a student in a default or overpayment status but the student claims, or has documentation showing, that the default or overpayment has been resolved. There are two primary reasons why such a discrepancy may exist:

• A school, lender, guaranty agency, ED's Debt Collection Service (DCS), or other entity reported incorrect information about the student to NSLDS; or
• NSLDS was not updated in time to reflect the student's current default or overpayment status when that ISIR was generated.

Regardless of the reason, a school may not disburse Title IV program funds to a student if it receives information on the ISIR, or from any other source, that the student is in default on a loan or owes an overpayment until it obtains documentation, or more current information from NSLDS, that clearly shows that the default or overpayment has been resolved.


Monitoring Default and Overpayment Information:

NSLDS ISIR Information: A school must have in place reliable systems for monitoring default and overpayment information it receives from any source to ensure that ineligible students do not receive Title IV aid. With respect to ISIRs, each applicant transaction (original application, correction transaction, request for a duplicate ISIR, and any system-generated transaction) that is processed by the CPS contains current NSLDS information, including flags and codes that inform a school of any defaults or overpayments.

ISIR Flags and Codes - The EDE Technical Reference, the ISIR record layout, and the ISIR Guide describe, and provide the specific field numbers for, all flags and codes. The following flags and codes show that a student is in a default or overpayment status.

• 'C' Flag - A value of C in this field indicates there is a student eligibility issue that must be resolved before the student may receive Title IV aid (the student may be in a default or overpayment status or there is a discrepancy in one or more of the data matches that CPS performs in checking to see if the student meets certain eligibility requirements).

Monitoring and Resolving Student Loan Defaults and Overpayments
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• NSLDS Match Flag - If the value of this field is:

Equal to 1, NSLDS shows no defaults or overpayments.

Equal to 2, NSLDS has reported at least one loan in default status.

Equal to 3, NSLDS has reported at least one overpayment.

Equal to 4, NSLDS has reported at least one defaulted loan and one overpayment.

• Overpayment Flag - If this flag is set to Y, there is at least one overpayment in NSLDS.
• Defaulted Loans Flag - If this flag is set to Y, there is at least one defaulted loan in NSLDS.
• Loan Status Code - Each loan reported on an ISIR (up to 12 loans) includes this field. A student is not eligible for Title IV aid if the Loan Status Code is equal to one of the following:

AL - Abandoned Loan
DB - Defaulted, then bankrupt, Chapter 13
DF - Defaulted, unresolved
DL - Defaulted, in litigation
DO - Defaulted, then bankrupt, other
DT - Defaulted, collection terminated
DU - Defaulted, unresolved
DW - Defaulted, write-off
DZ - Defaulted, satisfactory arrangements made, then missed
UB - Temporarily uninsured, default claim denied
UD - Uninsured/unreinsured, default claim denied; for Perkins Loan, non-defaulted loan purchased by school
DE - Death Discharge (While not a defaulted loan, student can not receive additional aid until death discharge is resolved)
DD - Defaulted, then died (In addition to default, student can not receive additional aid until death discharge is resolved)
Comment Code - If the value of any one of the comment code fields is:

Equal to 132, there is at least one defaulted loan that has been reported to NSLDS.

Equal to 133, there is at least one overpayment that has been reported to NSLDS.

Equal to 134, there is at least one default and one overpayment that has been reported to the NSLDS.

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ISIR Flags and Codes - continued

These flags and codes act in concert with one another. For example, if a student has one loan in default and no overpayments, then the Loan Status Code on the one loan will be equal to DU, the Defaulted Loans Flag will be set to Y, the 'C' Code field will have a value of C, and a Comment Code will be set to 132. Thus, while the other flags provide additional and more detailed information regarding a default or overpayment, a school does not need to monitor all of them in order to find those students who have an eligibility problem related to default or overpayment. Instead, the school could choose to monitor the value of only the NSLDS Match Flag, the Overpayment Flag, or the Defaulted Loans Flag.

Resolution:

The easiest way for a school to determine if a reported default or overpayment has been resolved is to access NSLDS on-line (www.nsldsfap.ed.gov). This is particularly true if the school believes that the reporting entity has updated NSLDS. For example, an ISIR may show that a student defaulted on a loan but the student claims to have provided information to the lender a few weeks ago to have the loan discharged. The school may check NSLDS on-line to see if the status of the previously reported loan has been updated to show that it is no longer considered to be in default. In such a case, the school may disburse Title IV aid after it documents the student's file.

However, there are instances where a default or overpayment has been resolved but NSLDS has not yet been updated. In such cases, a school may not have to wait until NSLDS is updated, or until it receives a new ISIR, before it can disburse Title IV funds to the student. If the school obtains documentation from the entity that reported the loan or overpayment to NSLDS, that clearly shows that the default or overpayment has been resolved federal aid may be disbursed. In some limited cases, the school may rely on documentation provided directly by the student.

Once a school has determined that an applicant for federal aid has a default or overpayment problem, it must determine which defaulted loans or overpayments are causing the student to be ineligible. The school must then identify the entity that can provide documentation needed to resolve the reported default or overpayment. Schools should follow the following steps in order to ensure compliance:

Step 1 - Determine if the student is ineligible because of a default, an overpayment, or both. This may be done a number of ways, the easiest being to check for a value of Y in the Overpayment Flag and the Defaulted Loans Flag.

Step 2 - If there is a defaulted loan, determine which loan(s) is in default by reviewing the loan detail record for each of the individual loans (up to 12) reported on the ISIR. If the student has more than 12 loans, a comment will appear on the ISIR informing the school that it must access NSLDS on-line to see the additional loans. Any loan reported with one of the Loan Status Codes listed above is in default and the default must be resolved before the student may receive Title IV aid.

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Resolution: - continued

Step 3 - If there is an overpayment, determine the number and type of overpayments by reviewing the "Overpayment" field on the ISIR for each type of overpayment (Pell, FSEOG, and Perkins). If the value of this field is "Y," then at least one overpayment of that type has been reported to NSLDS.

Step 4 - Determine which entity must provide documentation that may resolve the reported default or overpayment.

For defaults, the loan detail record includes the two following fields that informs a school of the entity that currently holds the defaulted loan.

Contact Type will contain one of the following codes:

* SCH for a school holding a defaulted Perkins Loan or overpayment.

* EDR for the ED Regional Office that holds a defaulted loan or overpayment.

* GA for the Guaranty Agency that holds a defaulted FFELP Loan.

* LEN if the FFEL lender still holds the defaulted FFELP Loan.

Contact displays the identification number of the entity (school, GA, lender, or ED Regional Office) that holds the defaulted loan.

For overpayments, the field Contact next to each of the Overpayment Flags will contain either the OPEID code number of the school that reported and holds the overpayment or a number identifying the ED Regional Office that holds the overpayment.

Note that if more than one overpayment has been reported for a student under the same Title IV program, Access NSLDS will display informing the school that it must access NSLDS on-line to determine the entity who is responsible for each of the overpayments.

Step 5 - Obtain contact information. In many instances, the Comment text on a printed ISIR (or on the student's SAR) contains specific contacts and phone numbers for the entity that reported a default. Schools may also obtain contact information (name, phone and fax numbers, mail and e-mail addresses) for the reporting entity by using the "Contact" function of NSLDS on-line and entering the entity's identification number from steps 4 and 5.

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Resolution: - continued

Step 6 - Resolve the discrepancy by obtaining documentation from the entity that reported the default or overpayment. Note that some guaranty agencies will provide documentation that identifies each of the defaulted loans they hold for a student and the status of each of those loans. Other guaranty agencies and DCS (for loans held by one of ED Regional Offices) treat all of the student's defaulted loans that they hold as a single account or debt obligation. The documentation from these entities will show that the account or debt obligation is satisfied only when the student has paid-in-full, made satisfactory arrangements to repay, or has otherwise resolved all of his or her defaulted loans held by that entity.

In any case, the school must account for each defaulted loan or overpayment by individually or collectively matching them to the documentation it obtains from the loan holder or overpayment data provider.

Step 7 - Ensure that the documentation obtained is acceptable to resolve the default or overpayment. The documentation for each data type of discrepancy must be provided in writing on the entity's letterhead (or other format that ensures its origin) and dated. Alternatively, a school may accept an e-mail (or other electronic message) from the entity that is dated, contains the name and address of the entity, and the name and title of the official who provided the message.

The documentation must clearly identify the reported defaulted loans or overpayments being addressed and the current status of those loans or overpayments. In no case may a school accept or use documentation from any entity stating that it has "no record" of a student's defaulted loan or overpayment - the information reported to NSLDS by that entity is what created the data discrepancy in the first place.

Step 8 - Maintain the documentation in its institutional records in order to show that the default or overpayment was resolved and the disbursement of Title IV aid was allowed. The school's records must show, based on the documentation it used to resolve the discrepancy, that it made a proper determination that the student was eligible to receive Title IV program funds before it disbursed those funds.

If you have questions, please contact our SFA Customer Service Call Center. Staff is available Monday through Friday between the hours of 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM (Eastern Time) at 1-800-433-7327. After hours, calls will be accepted by an automated voice response system. Callers leaving their name and phone number will receive a return call the next business day. You may FAX an inquiry to the Customer Service Call Center at (202) 205-2960, or E-mail one to sfa_customer_support@ed.gov.


Posted November 8, 2000, on the NASFAA Web Site www.nasfaa.org