Note
Update on Nov. 6, 2024: The system issue described in the announcement has been resolved. Borrowers who were incorrectly switched from Independent to Dependent have self-corrected. Thank you for your patience as we worked to fix this issue.
Update on Oct. 15, 2024: We updated the information below to more clearly describe the action schools may take if the school reduced previously disbursed Direct Loan amounts based on incorrect information.
We have identified an issue that has caused some borrowers to be incorrectly identified as Dependent in the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS®). This issue impacts 5,478 borrowers who are under the age of 24 but who are Independent for various reasons.
This issue has led to inconsistencies in determining aggregate loan limit totals, as displayed on the NSLDS Professional Access website’s Financial Aid Dashboard, and has caused some 2023–24 ISIRs to be incorrectly flagged for exceeding aggregate loan limits during the weekly NSLDS Postscreening process.
The issue will be resolved in mid- to late October when NSLDS begins receiving 2024–25 demographic data (ISIR processed results) from the FAFSA Processing System (FPS).
If your school reduced previously disbursed Direct Loan amounts based on the incorrect information in the affected 2023–24 ISIRs, you may make adjustments to restore the original loan amounts on a case-by-case basis and with supporting documentation.
In addition, please request Financial Aid History (FAH) for applicants through NSLDS once this issue is resolved. Doing so can assist with award determinations because the FAH output response will include aggregate loan limits, with details on loans and other relevant information about the requested applicant. Please refer to the NSLDS Transfer Student Monitoring & Financial Aid History User Guide and Record Layouts for additional guidance on creating the FAH request file and interpreting the FAH response file. Alternatively, you can manually review aggregates and loan information about applicants on the NSLDS Professional Access website.
We will update this announcement when the issue is resolved.
We apologize for the inconvenience caused by this issue.
Contact Information
If you have questions about this issue, contact the NSLDS Customer Support Center at 1-800-999-8219 or nslds@ed.gov.