At the 2004 NASFAA Conference in Minneapolis, Department of Education officials provided more detailed guidance and procedures for financial aid administrators to use when resolving conflicting data in the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS).
Since a wide variety of users and data providers, such as schools, students, ED, lenders, guaranty agencies, stage agencies, and ED contractors, have different purposes and processes for using and reporting NSLDS data, it's easy to imagine the potential for incorrect or conflicting data. In order to help reduce the administrative burden placed on FAAs and to meet the need for a centralized process for negotiating with data providers to resolve conflicts, ED established the NSLDS data resolution process in November 2001.
Data Resolution Process
The steps of the data resolution process are:
- The FAA reports the conflicting data to the NSLDS Call Center.
- On initial contact, the Call Center assigns an NSLDS tracking number to the student issue.
- The FAA collects acceptable documentation (see below), includes the NSLDS tracking number on each document, and submits the documentation to the Call Center by e-mail or fax.
- The Call Center researches the issue using the documentation provided.
- The Call Center negotiates with the appropriate data provider(s) to correct the data.
- The Call Center notifies the student and the FAA or data provider of the resolution.
NSLDS Call Center Referrals (for FAAs and Data Providers Only)
The NSLDS Call Center is only for use by FAAs and data providers; it can be reached by:
Student Referrals
Students should not be referred to the NSLDS Call Center. Instead, students should be instructed to access NSLDS via the NSLDS Web site for students (www.nslds.ed.gov). The student must have a valid PIN, which he or she may obtain via ED's PIN Web site (www.pin.ed.gov). If the student has difficulty accessing the NSLDS Web site due to incorrect identifiers (see below), the student will then need to provide the FAA with acceptable documentation so that the FAA may contact the Call Center on his or her behalf. If the FAA decides that the issue is not an NSLDS data conflict (see below) and is otherwise unable to assist the student, the FAA may refer the student to the Federal Student Aid Ombudsman at 1-877-557-2575.
If a student contacts the Call Center directly, that student will first be referred to his or her current school. If no current school information is available on NSLDS, the student is referred to the Web site (www.nslds.ed.gov) or to the Federal Student Aid Information Center (1-800-4-FED-AID) for current loan holder contact information. If the student's loan holder has closed, the student is referred to the FSA Ombudsman (1-877-557-2575) as a last resort.
What Is and What Is Not Considered an NSLDS Conflict?
Only the following discrepancies that affect Title IV aid eligibility are considered NSLDS conflicts and are addressed by the NSLDS Call Center:
- Incorrect first names, dates of birth, or Social Security Numbers;
- statuses (e.g., loan status, grade level, etc.);
- amounts; and
- Duplicated records.
The following are not considered NSLDS conflicts and are not addressed by the Call Center:
- Current year Federal Pell Grant issues;
- Incorrect middle or last names;
- Incorrect history data that do not affect eligibility;
- Loan statuses that have recently changed;
- Loan statuses that do not affect eligibility; and
- Aggregate loan limit determinations for consolidation loans (see below).
Acceptable Documentation
Social Security Number: A copy of one of the following is necessary to correct the Social Security Number in NSLDS:
- Social Security Card;
- Current driver's license;
- W-2 form;
- Payroll check or check stub;
- Current U.S. Military ID; or
- State ID.
Date of Birth: A copy of one of the following is necessary to correct the date of birth in NSLDS:
- Birth certificate;
- Current driver's license;
- Passport;
- Current Military ID;
- State ID; or
- Alien registration card (Form I-551 or I-151).
First Name: Except for Direct Loan name change data (see below), a copy of one of the following showing the complete first name (i.e., birth or original; not a nickname) is necessary to correct the first name in NSLDS:
- Social Security Card;
- Current driver's license;
- Birth certificate showing birth name;
- U.S certificate of naturalization;
- Court order;
- Marriage certificate;
- Divorce decree;
- W-2 Form;
- Passport;
- Current U.S. Military ID;
- State ID;
- U.S. Military discharge papers;
- U.S. Certificate of Citizenship;
- Alien Registration Card (Form I-551 or I-151); or
- Adoption paperwork.
In the case of a name change for Direct Loan data, a copy of one of the following is necessary to correct the first name in NSLDS (i.e., others listed above are not sufficient):
- Birth certificate showing birth name;
- Any court decree proving name change; or
- Certificate of Naturalization showing birth name (i.e., cannot indicate alias or have "AKA" prior to name).
Incorrect Status or Amount: A copy of one of the following is necessary to correct a loan or grant status or amount in NSLDS (Note: cancelled checks and/or money order receipts are not acceptable.):
- Letter from loan and/or overpayment holder; or
- Promissory note indicating paid in full.
Duplicate Loan Records: To remove a duplicate loan record, the FAA or data provider must provide the following data elements for both the loan it wishes to nullify and the loan to keep:
- Loan Type;
- Loan Date;
- Loan Amount;
- OPEID on the loan; and
- Separate Loan Indicator.
Additional Guidance
Questions regarding the NSLDS Data Resolution process and its requirements should be directed to the NSLDS Call Center as indicated previously.
The following additional ED guidance is available on ED's Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) Web site at www.ifap.ed.gov.
- NSLDS Newsletter #8, Determining Aggregate Loan Limits for Undergraduate Students with Graduate Level Loans, under NSLDS Reference Materials;
- NSLDS Newsletter #6, NSLDS Determines Aggregates, under NSLDS Reference Materials; and
- GEN 96-13, Questions 26, 37, and 52-55, under archived publications.
The NSLDS Data Conflict Resolution session handout is available on the NASFAA Conference Web site.
Acknowledging a recent backlog due to a change in federal contractors, ED officials noted the time frame necessary for data conflict resolution has been substantially reduced since the Call Center went into operation. ED also indicated continued efforts at finding ways to further reduce that time frame, such as on-line updating capabilities for guaranty agencies and ED's Debt Collection Service (DCS), as well as increased submittal frequency for data providers.
By David Futrell
NASFAA Assistant Director for Training and Technical Assistance
Posted August 19, 2004 on www.NASFAA.org, Web Site of the
National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators
Copyright 2004. Redistribution to nonmember institutions is prohibited
Please submit Web Site questions or comments to Web@NASFAA.org
