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Update: 12-20: Perkins Loans Awarded or Disbursed After the Expiration of the Perkins Loan Program

Posted Date: December 20, 2018

Author:  Federal Student Aid

Subject: Perkins Loans Awarded or Disbursed After the Expiration of the Perkins Loan Program

In Dear Colleague Letter GEN-16-05 and Dear Colleague Letter GEN-17-10, we provided information about the expiration of the authority to make new Federal Perkins Loan (Perkins Loan) Program loans and the deadline for making Perkins Loan disbursements. The Department of Education (the Department) has identified a large number of Perkins Loans reported by schools or third-party servicers on the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS®) that are in error.

The most common reporting errors include Perkins Loans that have been reported:

1)

with a graduate level academic code and loan date (date of first disbursement) after the program expiration date of 09/30/2016 for graduate borrowers,

2)

as an undergraduate loan with a loan date (date of first disbursement) after the program expiration date of 09/30/2017 for undergraduate borrowers, or

3)

with a disbursement date after 6/30/2018.


Note: 
 
It is critical for every school to review all of its Perkins Loan data currently reported in NSLDS and make updates as necessary. Some schools have informed us that previously correct information in NSLDS is currently incorrect. This occurs when a subsequent reporting update is submitted by a school or its servicer and the previously correct information is overwritten in NSLDS. The school—even if it uses a third-party servicer—is responsible for ensuring the accuracy of its Perkins Loan data in NSLDS at all times.

Actions Schools Must Take

Schools that participate in the Perkins Loan Program must review their Perkins Loans information on NSLDS and ensure the information is reported accurately. To complete the review, schools should request a Perkins Loan Reconciliation Report (REC005) from the NSLDS Professional Access website. Detailed instructions for requesting and formatting the REC005 extract file can be found in Appendix J: NSLDS Perkins Report File Layout of the Federal Perkins Data Provider Instructions on the Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) website.

After you have formatted the REC005 report, check the data in the following three columns:

  • Date of First Disbursement column

    • There should be no loans with a Date of First Disbursement after 09/30/2017.

    • Loans with a Date of First Disbursement after 09/30/2016 should not have a graduate level academic code (A, B, C, D, or G) in the Student's Academic Level column.

  • Student's Academic Level column

    • If there is an A, B, C, D or G in this column, the Date of First Disbursement must be before 09/30/2016.

  • Date of Disbursement column

    • There should be no loans with a date in the Date of Disbursement column after 06/30/2018.

Reporting Errors

If your school identifies NSLDS reporting errors, work with your third-party servicer to correct the errors and update NSLDS. If you are a self-reporting school and do not use a third-party servicer, make the corrections in NSLDS with your next monthly batch submittal, or use the Perkins Spreadsheet Submittal tool to upload data to the NSLDS Professional Access website. Details and instructions for using the submittal tool can be found under "NSLDS Perkins Loan Submittal" on the FSAdownload website at https://fsadownload.ed.gov/software.htm.

If you have questions specific to NSLDS reporting, access, use, or reports, contact NSLDS Customer Support Center by phone at 1-800-999-8219 or by email at [email protected].

Loans Awarded or Disbursed After Authority Expired

If your school awarded a loan or disbursement in error, your school must reimburse the Perkins Loan Revolving Fund for the amount of the loan(s), correct the FISAP, notify the borrower, and update NSLDS accordingly.

The Department is very concerned about this critical issue and we appreciate your prompt attention and action on this matter.

Contact Information

If you have questions about Perkins Loans, contact the COD School Relations Center at 1-800-848-0978. You may also email [email protected].

 

Publication Date: 12/20/2018

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