Publication Date: June 2002
DCL ID: G-02-335
Approval of the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program, Federal Perkins Loan (Perkins) Program, and William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program Total and Permanent Disability Discharge Application
June 2002
GEN-02-04
CB-02-09
G-02-335
L-02-229
Subject: Approval of the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program, Federal Perkins Loan (Perkins) Program, and William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program Total and Permanent Disability Discharge Application
Dear Partner:
This letter will serve as approval of the enclosed FFEL/Perkins/Direct Loan programs Loan Discharge Application: Total and Permanent Disability form. This form is the only one that may be distributed for use for total and permanent disability discharge requests on or after July 1, 2002.
Implementation and Transition to New Forms
The previously approved FFEL/Direct Loan total and permanent disability discharge form, or a school form for Perkins borrowers, may still be processed by loan holders after July 1, 2002. However, for discharge requests approved by a loan holder on or after July 1, 2002 based on a previous form, the loan holder must, in the preliminary determination of eligibility, inform the borrower that the regulations governing disability discharges have changed and provide information to the borrower on the new total and permanent disability eligibility criteria and discharge process. These new procedures are outlined in Dear Colleague Letter GEN-02-03, which is available on the Department of Education's Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) web site at the following address:
http://www.ifap.ed.gov/dpcletters/GEN0203.html
Imaging Technology
The enclosed loan discharge application form requests the borrower to complete and sign the form in ink. This request is made to accommodate imaging technology, but a pencil signature does not invalidate the form. This is consistent with the use of other common FFEL and Direct Loan forms.
Page 2 - Dear Partner Letter
Printing Instructions
The enclosed form must be printed with black ink on white paper. The type face, point size, and general presentation of the form may not be changed from the enclosed form approved by the Secretary. The program names appear in the header of each form ("Federal Family Education Loan Program/Federal Perkins Loan Program/William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program"). The order of the program names may be changed as appropriate.
Loan holders should pre-print their name and address and provide a contact number for borrowers to call in the boxes provided for that purpose in Section 8 on page 2 of the form.
In developing the form, consideration was given to bar coding. Accordingly, the space at the top, bottom, or sides of the form may be used for this purpose.
Obtaining Copies for Reproduction
The form is available in PDF and Word formats as Attachments to this letter. In addition, the form is available in PDF format on the National Council of Higher Education Loan Programs (NCHELP) web site at www.nchelp.org.
Guaranty agencies and Perkins school lenders are responsible for ensuring that the form used is identical to the form approved by the Secretary. No changes may be made to the form except those expressly authorized above.
Sincerely,
Jeff Baker, Director
Program Development Division
Federal Student Aid
Attachments:
Loan Discharge Application: Total and Permanent Disability
Attachments/Enclosures: