Posted Date:October 19, 2011
| Author: | Pamela Eliadis, Service Director, System Operations & Aid Delivery Management, Federal Student Aid |
Subject: NSLDS Postscreening Data on 2011-2012 ISIRs Incorrectly Indicated Default for Some FFEL Loans
We would like to alert the community of a reporting error that triggered a National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) postscreening for approximately 8,000 2011-2012 Institutional Student Information Records (ISIRs).
On October 3, 2011 the Educational Credit Management Corporation (Guaranty Agency 706, ECMC-CA) incorrectly reported a loan status of DW (Default Write-off) for approximately 150,000 Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program loans. The status of these loans had been previously reported in a status of DP (Default Paid) on NSLDS.
As a result, students with affected loans incorrectly appeared to be ineligible for federal student aid, and an NSLDS postscreening was triggered on October 11, 2011 for students who have filed a 2011-2012 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). During the postscreening, we generated 2011-2012 Student Aid Reports (SARs) for students and sent 2011-2012 ISIRs to schools under message class IGSG12OP. These ISIRs included the NSLDS Postscreening Reason Code “01” (The student entered default on a Title IV loan that was previously not in default).
We have worked with the guaranty agency to correct the information and return all affected students to an eligible status in NSLDS. New ISIRs, reflecting correct loan status information, were pushed to schools' Student Aid Internet Gateway (SAIG) mailboxes on October 18, 2011 as part of our normal processing schedule. New SARs were also sent to affected borrowers.
Schools can identify the updated ISIRs through one of the following methods:
The ISIRs were sent under the IGSG12OP message class
Paper SARs and ISIRs include SAR comment code 004, which states “This SAR has been produced due to a change in your financial aid history information in the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) that may affect your eligibility for federal student aid.”
The ISIRs include an NSLDS Postscreening Reason Code of “03” (Cleared a previously reported default of a Title IV loan) and a CPS processed date of October 18, 2011. The NSLDS Postscreening Reason Code field also displays “Default resolved” on the FAA Info page in Student Inquiry on the FAA Access to CPS Online Web site.
Please note that once you receive confirmation that a loan is not in default from the guaranty agency you may continue the aid eligibility determination process and do not need to wait for the status to be corrected in NSLDS. In these cases, we refer schools to guidance provided in Dear Colleague Letter GEN-96-13, Attachment C, Q&A 37. Our NSLDS Customer Support Center is also available to assist schools in this situation; the center’s contact information is provided below.
Contact Information
We regret the inconvenience this issue may have caused you or your students.
If you believe that a student was affected by this error and NSLDS has not been corrected, please contact the guaranty agency ECMC at 800/367-1590 to verify the correct current status of the loans.
If you have questions, contact the NSLDS Customer Support Center at 800/999-8219. You can also contact Customer Support by e-mail at nslds@ed.gov.