Posted Date:October 28, 2013
| Author: | Pamela Eliadis, Service Director, System Operations & Aid Delivery Management, Federal Student Aid |
Subject: Loan Servicing Information - Repayment Plan Preference Information Shared with Loan Servicers Beginning January 2014
We first informed the community in an April 5, 2013 Electronic Announcement posted on the Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) Web site of our plans to provide loan servicers with borrowers' repayment plan preference information gathered during Exit Counseling sessions on the StudentLoans.gov Web site. As described in the attachment to the April announcement, at the end of the Exit Counseling module on StudentLoans.gov, a borrower is provided with preliminary repayment plan eligibility information and estimated repayment amounts. The preliminary information is based on the borrower’s loan information in the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) and offers the borrower the opportunity to select the repayment plan he or she prefers.
On January 1, 2014, we will begin sharing this repayment plan preference information with members of our federal loan servicing team and Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program lenders, lender servicers, and guaranty agencies through updated NSLDS loan exit counseling completion reports. Repayment plan preference information for borrowers who completed Exit Counseling sessions on StudentLoans.gov prior to January 1 will also be made available to the lending community.
Detailed information about the provision of repayment plan preference information to these entities has been now been posted to the NSLDS Reference Materials section of the IFAP Web site.
Note: The school versions of the NSLDS loan exit counseling completion reports will not be modified to include the repayment plan preference information.
The repayment plan preference information is being provided to loan servicers for informational purposes. Loan servicers are encouraged, but not required, to use this information to facilitate actual repayment plan selection and better serve borrowers. For example, a loan servicer may use the repayment plan preference to tailor or personalize communications with the borrower.
Contact Information
We appreciate the community’s support of our loan counseling and loan servicing efforts.
For questions about the NSLDS loan exit counseling completion reports, contact the NSLDS Customer Support Center at 800/999-8219. You can also e-mail nslds@ed.gov.