This notice establishes the deadline for the submission of all William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program electronic loan records and promissory notes to the Secretary for the 1997-1998 academic year (Year 4).

[Federal Register: July 7, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 129)]

[Notices]               

[Page 36747-36748]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:fr07jy99-145]                         



[[Page 36747]]


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Part II






Department of Education






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Office of Postsecondary Education--William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan 

Program; Notice



[[Page 36748]]




DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION



Office of Postsecondary Education--William D. Ford Federal Direct 

Loan Program


AGENCY: Department of Education.


ACTION: Notice of deadline for submission of loan records and 

promissory notes.


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SUMMARY: This notice establishes the deadline for the submission of all 

William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program electronic 

loan records and promissory notes to the Secretary for the 1997-1998 

academic year (Year 4).


DEADLINE DATES FOR SUBMISSION OF RECORDS: Institutions that 

participated in the Direct Loan Program during academic year 1997-1998 

(Year 4) must submit all electronic loan records and promissory notes 

associated with Direct Loans made during that year to the Secretary no 

later than August 2, 1999.


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: An institution that participates in the 

Direct Loan Program is required under 34 CFR 685.300(b)(6) to comply 

with all requirements established by the Secretary relating to loans 

made under that program. The Secretary has the authority under this 

provision to establish a deadline by which all required electronic 

records and promissory notes for a particular academic year must be 

final, complete, accurate, and submitted to the Secretary.

    The Secretary believes that establishing an annual deadline for the 

submission of all electronic records (both initial and adjusted or 

revised records) and promissory notes is necessary to protect the 

rights of borrowers, and to protect the United States from unreasonable 

financial risks. Under 34 CFR 685.309(a), schools that participate in 

the Direct Loan Program are required to establish and maintain proper 

administrative and fiscal accounting procedures. The establishment of 

an annual submission deadline promotes compliance with this 

requirement. An annual deadline also enables the Secretary to close out 

the processing of Direct Loan Program cash records for an academic year 

and makes it easier for the Secretary to determine that Direct Loan 

funds were disbursed appropriately to student and parent borrowers. 

Further, an annual deadline enables the Secretary to conduct program 

reviews of Direct Loan schools more efficiently, since all Direct Loan 

records submitted to the Secretary by the deadline are final.

    The annual submission deadlines established in this notice are 

separate from the 30-day requirement for the regular submission of 

initial electronic records and promissory notes. Under 34 CFR 

685.301(d), Direct Loan schools that participate under Origination 

Option 1 or Origination Option 2 must submit loan origination records, 

promissory notes, and disbursement records no later than 30 days after 

the date the disbursements are made. Schools that participate under 

Standard Origination must submit initial and subsequent disbursement 

records to the Secretary no later than 30 days after the date of each 

disbursement.

    In some cases, institutions may need to adjust or revise electronic 

records that were previously submitted to the Secretary within the 

regular 30-day time period. The annual submission deadline established 

in this notice is the date by which all electronic records (whether 

adjusted/revised or initial) and promissory notes for the 1997-1998 

academic year (Year 4) must be submitted to and accepted by the 

Secretary. If initial records and promissory notes have not been 

submitted before the annual deadline, the annual submission deadline 

supersedes the regular 30-day requirement under 34 CFR 685.301(d). 

Therefore, any initial records or promissory notes for the 1997-1998 

academic year must be submitted to the Secretary by the annual 

submission deadline, even if that date is earlier than the regular 30-

day deadline.

    Any electronic record or promissory note for the 1997-1998 academic 

year that is submitted to the Secretary after the annual submission 

deadline will be rejected. This includes any record or promissory note 

that was previously submitted, but rejected, on or before the 

submission deadline. Records and promissory notes that have been 

rejected and remain incomplete or inaccurate by August 2, 1999 may 

result in institutional, rather than Federal, responsibility for the 

loan or portion of the loan.


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jon Utz, U.S. Department of Education, 

400 Maryland Avenue, SW, ROB-3, Room 3045, Washington, DC 20202-3272. 

Telephone (202) 708-8242. If you use a telecommunications device for 

the deaf (TDD) you may call the Federal Information Relay Service 

(FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.

    Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an 

alternate format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape or computer 

diskette) on request to the contact person listed in the preceding 

paragraph.


Electronic Access to this Document


    You may view this document, as well as other Department of 

Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe 

Portable Document Format (PDF) on the Internet at the following sites:


http://ocfo.ed.gov/fedreg.htm

http://www.ed.gov/news.html


    To use the PDF you must have the Adobe Acrobat Reader Program with 

Search, which is available free at either of the previous sites. If you 

have questions about using the PDF, call the U.S. Government Printing 

Office (GPO), toll free at 1-888-293-6498, or in the Washington, DC, 

area at (202) 512-1530.


    Note: The official version of this document is the document 

published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the 

official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal 

Regulations is available on GPO Access at:


http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html


(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 84.268, William D. 

Ford Federal Direct Loan Program)

    (Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1087a et seq.)


    Dated: July 1, 1999.

Greg Woods,

Chief Operating Officer for the Office of Student Financial Assistance.

[FR Doc. 99-17134 Filed 7-6-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4000-01-P