| DCLPublicationDate: 2/1/99 DCLID: GEN-99-7 AwardYear: Summary: This letter announces the extension of eligibility for increased unsubsidized loan amounts due to the phaseout of the Health Education Assistance Loan (HEAL) Program. It also announces the decision of the Department of Health and Human Services to relax signature requirements for certain health professions students. February, 1999 GEN-99-7 Summary: This letter announces the extension of eligibility for increased unsubsidized loan amounts due to the phaseout of the Health Education Assistance Loan (HEAL) Program. It also announces the decision of the Department of Health and Human Services to relax signature requirements for certain health professions students. References: Dear Colleague Letter GEN-98-18 and Bureau of Health Professions' memorandum of December 1, 1998. Dear Colleague: As I am sure you are aware, the phaseout of the Health Education Assistance Loan (HEAL) Program is final and the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, has been completed. As a result, we are extending indefinitely the authority of certain eligible institutions (those discussed in previous Dear Colleague Letters on this subject) to award increased annual loan amounts of Unsubsidized Stafford Loans under the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program and Unsubsidized Student Loans under the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program. Additional references for the procedure for increased annual loan limits can be found in Dear Colleague Letters GEN-98-18, GEN-97-14, and GEN-97-4, as well as the 1998-99 Federal Student Financial Aid Handbook - Chapter 10, Page 30 and Chapter 11, Page 18. In addition, we are communicating the Department of Health and Human Services' decision to relax the parental signature requirement for independent students. The following is from page 12 of the December 1, 1998 Memorandum sent by HHS to “all schools and lenders participating in the Health Professions and Nursing Students Assistance Programs”, issued from Bruce C. Baggett, Deputy Director, Division of Student Assistance. For health professions students applying for aid for academic year 1999-2000, the Department will allow health professions school participating in the Title VII campus based programs (HPSL, LDS, PCL, SDS) to comply with the requirement to collect parent financial information, for the purposes of determining student need, without requiring a parent signature. Please note that parent information must still be collected in accordance with existing requirements; the only change is that a parent signature is not required. I hope that this information is helpful to your management of the Title IV student financial assistance programs. Sincerely, Greg Woods Chief Operating Officer Office of Student Financial Assistance Programs |