| Publication Date: June 27, 2008 Bulletin ID: DLB-08-16 Summary: Annual Loan Limit Increases for Certain Direct Unsubsidized Loan Borrowers Posted on 06-27-2008 Note: The information provided in the attachment to this Direct Loan Bulletin titled “EDExpress Guidance for Annual Loan Limit Increases for Certain Direct Unsubsidized Loans” was updated on July 17, 2008 with the posting of an Electronic Announcement. View this July 17, 2008 Electronic Announcement for information regarding a program file that is available for EDExpress for Windows 2008-2009, Release 3.0 that will enable users to originate Direct Unsubsidized Loans at ECASLA annual loan limits. Dear Direct Loan Colleague: As part of the changes to the student loan programs made by the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008 (ECASLA), Pub. L. 110-227, the annual loan limits for Direct Unsubsidized Loans will increase for some (but not all) students, effective for loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2008 (that is, loans with an earliest disbursement date on or after July 1, 2008). There are no changes to the annual loan limits for Direct Subsidized Loans. Dear Colleague Letter GEN-08-08 posted on the Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) Web site explains the loan limit increases in narrative and chart formats. Please refer to GEN-08-08 for this information. We have begun the work needed to modify our systems, Web and software products, technical documents, training materials, and school and borrower materials/publications to reflect the loan limit increases. In this communication, our focus is to provide operational guidance for schools and third party software providers on processing Direct Unsubsidized Loan awards affected by the increased annual loan limits. This includes guidance for schools that use EDExpress. Beginning with the Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) System implementation scheduled to occur during the period June 27-28, 2008, the COD System will use the increased annual loan limits when determining if a Direct Unsubsidized Loan award with an earliest disbursement date on or after July 1, 2008 has exceeded the applicable maximum annual loan limit. The COD System will continue to use the lower annual loan limits when determining if a Direct Unsubsidized Loan award with an earliest disbursement date before July 1, 2008 has exceeded the applicable maximum annual loan limit. Note: The COD System will reject Direct Unsubsidized Loan awards made under the increased loan limits (including those submitted with an earliest disbursement date on or after July 1, 2008) that are submitted prior to the COD System implementation during the period June 27-28, 2008. Through two attachments to this bulletin, we provide operational guidance for schools and third party software providers on processing Direct Unsubsidized Loan awards affected by the increased annual loan limits.
Note: The ECASLA also made changes to aggregate loan limits. Information about the aggregate loan limit changes can be found in Dear Colleague Letter GEN-08-08. We appreciate schools' assistance in the operational implementation of the increased annual loan limits. If you have any questions about the information in this bulletin, contact the COD School Relations Center at 800/848-0978 or by e-mail at CODSupport@acs-inc.com. If you have any questions about the EDExpress guidance, contact CPS/SAIG Technical Support at 800/330-5947 (TDD/TTY 800/511-5806) or by e-mail at CPSSAIG@ed.gov. Thank you for your ongoing partnership in the Direct Loan Program. Sincerely, William Leith |
