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() Summary: Revised Master Promissory Note for Direct PLUS Loans

Publication Date: October 2007

Bulletin ID: DLB-07-20

Summary: Revised Master Promissory Note for Direct PLUS Loans

Posted on 10-04-2007

Dear Direct Loan Colleague:

This bulletin announces the availability of a revised Federal Direct PLUS Loan Application and Master Promissory Note (Direct PLUS Loan MPN) and related forms, and provides guidance on the implementation of these documents.

Revised Direct PLUS Loan MPN

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved a revised Direct PLUS Loan MPN under OMB Control Number 1845-0068, with a new expiration date of 08/31/2010. The revised Direct PLUS Loan MPN reflects the following significant changes from the current version of the Direct PLUS Loan MPN:

  • All of the changes to the terms and conditions of Direct PLUS Loans made by the Higher Education Reconciliation Act of 2005 (the HERA), P. L. 109-171, have been incorporated. These changes include a redesign of the Direct PLUS Loan MPN so that it is suitable for use by both parent borrowers and graduate or professional student borrowers.

  • The Direct PLUS Loan Borrower’s Rights and Responsibilities Statement (BRR), previously a separate document, has been combined with the Direct PLUS Loan MPN into a single document. However, we have also created a stand-alone version of the Direct PLUS Loan BRR that can be provided to borrowers upon request.

The revised Direct PLUS Loan MPN will replace the current Direct PLUS Loan MPN that has an expiration date of 01/31/2006, as well as the current Direct PLUS Loan BRR. In addition, the addendum that accompanies the current Direct PLUS Loan MPN will no longer be needed once the revised Direct PLUS MPN has been implemented, since the revised MPN includes all of the HERA changes that are explained in the addendum.

For reference, we have attached the revised Direct PLUS Loan MPN to this bulletin. We have also attached the stand-alone version of the Direct PLUS Loan BRR.

Note: Recently enacted legislation makes further changes to the terms and conditions of Direct PLUS Loans. We will provide guidance on these changes and how they will be conveyed to Direct PLUS Loan borrowers in future communications.

Related Documents

  • Endorser Addendum – OMB has also approved a revised Endorser Addendum for use with the revised Direct PLUS Loan MPN. The revised Endorser Addendum has the same OMB Control Number and expiration date as the revised Direct PLUS Loan MPN. The revised Endorser Addendum, like the revised Direct PLUS Loan MPN, reflects all of the changes made by the HERA and incorporates the Direct PLUS Loan BRR.

  • Plain Language Disclosure – We have made two minor changes to the Plain Language Disclosure for Federal Direct PLUS Loans (Direct PLUS Loan PLD). Specifically, we have rearranged the words in the title of the document so that “Plain Language Disclosure” appears first, and we have slightly revised the description of the Extended Repayment Plan in Item 12. The revised Direct PLUS Loan PLD (attached to this bulletin) can be easily distinguished from earlier versions by the words “Revised 02-16-2007” in the lower right corner of each page of the document.

Timeline for Transition to the Revised Direct PLUS Loan MPN

We are in the process of printing the revised Direct PLUS Loan MPN and making the necessary changes to Federal Student Aid systems to allow for implementation of the new form. This work is expected to be complete on October 13, 2007. Additional information about the system implementation and associated outages will be provided in a forthcoming Electronic Announcement on the Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) Web site.

The revised Direct PLUS Loan MPN will be implemented as follows:

Paper Direct PLUS Loan MPN

  • Before October 13, 2007 – We will accept only the current version of the Direct PLUS Loan MPN (expiration date 01/31/2006).

  • October 13, 2007 through February 29, 2008 – We will accept either the current Direct PLUS Loan MPN (expiration date 01/31/2006) or the revised Direct PLUS Loan MPN (expiration date 08/31/2010).

  • On or after March 1, 2008 – We will accept only the revised Direct PLUS Loan MPN (expiration date 08/31/2010). If the current Direct PLUS Loan MPN (expiration date 01/31/2006) is submitted on or after March 1, 2008, it will be rejected.

More detailed information on Federal Student Aid’s implementation of the revised Direct PLUS Loan MPN (paper version) and appropriate school actions is provided in an attachment to this bulletin titled “Implementation Guidance for the Revised Direct PLUS Loan MPN (Paper Version).”

Note: The attached implementation guidance applies only to the paper version of the revised Direct PLUS Loan MPN. As in the past, schools are not required to provide a paper copy of the Direct PLUS Loan MPN to borrowers who complete the MPN electronically. Although we encourage the use of the electronic MPN option, we remind schools that they may not require student or parent borrowers to complete MPNs electronically.

Electronic Direct PLUS Loan MPN

Schools do not have to take any action relative to Direct Loan Electronic MPN Web site implementation.

Contact Information

If you have questions about the information contained in this bulletin, please contact the COD School Relations Center at 800/848-0978 or by e-mail at CODSupport@acs-inc.com.

Thank you for your ongoing partnership in the Direct Loan Program.

Sincerely,

William Leith
Acting General Manager, Application, Operations and Delivery Services

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