Department of Education Electronic Announcement

Secretary Spellings on Katrina Disaster Relief; Help Is Available for Students, Borrowers, And Schools

Posted on September 7, 2005

"Our hearts go out to the victims of this unspeakable tragedy. We stand ready to help-and will do everything in our power to meet the needs of those affected. We will work to ensure that federal student aid rules are applied in a way that enables every student displaced by Hurricane Katrina to continue his or her education."

The U.S. Department of Education is committed to assisting students enrolled in postsecondary education impacted by Hurricane Katrina. This page provides links to information we have posted to various websites related to the impact of the hurricane on students, parents, borrowers, colleges and universities, and financial institutions that participate in the Federal higher education student assistance programs. In addition, participants can call the phone numbers listed below to ask questions not answered in the posted documents. Please check this page regularly for updates, as we will continue to post information as soon as it is available.

• Students and parents can call 1-800-4FEDAID (1-800-433-3243) for general questions.
• Borrowers who have questions about their Federal Direct Loan can call the Direct Loan Servicing Center at 1-800-848-0979.
• Borrowers who have questions about their Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program loan should contact their lender directly, or they can call 1-800-4FEDAID (1-800-433-3243).
• Postsecondary schools with questions can call 1-800-433-7327 or they can send an e-mail to fsa.customer.support@ed.gov.
• Lenders, servicers and guaranty agencies with questions can call 202-377-3624.

September 2, 2005: Summary: Federal Student Aid Programs - Hurricane Katrina - Transfers, Deadline Extensions, and Other Guidance

February 2004: GEN-04-04: Subject: General guidance for helping Title IV participants affected by a disaster

LINKS TO OTHER US DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION WEB SITES:

US Department of Education: "Hurricane Help for Schools" http://www.ed.gov/katrina

LINKS TO OTHER WEB SITES: (Note If you link to the following web sites you will be leaving the US Department of Education's site. Inclusion of information about non-government web sites does not imply endorsement of those sites by the US Department of Education)

"Campus-to-Campus Assistance in the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina" http://www.campusrelief.org

"National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators Hurricane Relief" http://www.nasfaa.org/linklists/katrina.html

Posted September 8, 2005 on www.NASFAA.org, the Web Site of the
National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA).
Please submit Web Site questions or comments to web@nasfaa.org