The Effective Use of NSLDS

1
The Effective Use of NSLDS

• (At Least Its Not A Financial Aid Transcript)
• Presented by Katie Harrison
• Fall 2006 NCASFAA-SCASFAA Conference
• November 6-8, 2006 Asheville

2
NSLDS.What is it?

• Never Simple Loan Disbursement Summary?
• National Sanity Loss Database Server?
• Notice! Student Loans Deserve Scrutiny?
• Never-ending Student Loan Discrepancy Scenarios?
• (ActuallyIts the National Student
• Loan Data System)

3
NSLDS

• A national database of Title IV aid recipients,
  enrollment data, loan information, Federal Pell
  Grants, and overpayments on student aid disbursed
  under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of
  1965, as amended. Data in NSLDS is provided by
  schools, guaranty agencies, and ED agencies.

4
What can you do with it?

• View student enrollment history
• Obtain Pell Grant disbursement information
• Report and view grant overpayments
• Mid-year transfer monitoring
• Determine remaining Stafford and Perkins loan
  eligibility by reviewing loan history
• Establish contacts for your institution and
  obtain contact information for other schools,
  lenders, and agencies
• Run pre-set reports
• View current and prior Cohort Default Rates
• View upcoming and past data provider schedule
  information

5
Enrollment History

• Schools are required to confirm and report the
  enrollment status of students who receive Federal
  student loans. This process is called Enrollment
  Reporting (formerly the Student Status
  Confirmation Report). This enrollment information
  is merged into the NSLDS database and provided to
  guarantors, lenders, and servicers of student
  loans.
• Federal regulations governing Title IV student
  aid programs require institutions, lenders,
  guarantors, and the Direct Loan servicer to
  monitor and update the enrollment status of
  students who receive Federal student loans.
  Completion of Enrollment Reporting satisfies the
  regulatory requirements
• for schools only 34 CFR 682.610(c).

6
Enrollment History

• Many schools utilize the National Student
  Clearinghouse to satisfy Enrollment Reporting
  requirements.
• For institutions that do not report through the
  Clearinghouse, the Enrollment Reporting roster
  file is available in the designated SAIG mailbox
  monthly. Schools may set up their schedule using
  the Enrollment Reporting Schedule section of the
  NSLDS web site.
• Responses to the Enrollment Reporting roster file
  are due within 30 days of creation of the file.
  When the Enrollment Reporting roster is updated,
  the school returns it online or as a submittal
  file.

7
Enrollment History
Most recent enrollment status only
8
Enrollment History
Shows all enrollment statuses reported by each
school
9
Enrollment History
Shows enrollment sorted by time period
10
Pell Grant Disbursements

• Allows schools to verify whether a student has
  received a Pell grant at another institution
• Shows percentage of Pell grant award received at
  prior school(s)
• Indicates ISIR transaction number and EFC at
  which Pell award was disbursed

11
Grant Overpayments

• View grant overpayments reported by schools or
  the Department of Education
• Confirm satisfactory repayments of overpayments
  allows aid administrators to verify Title IV
  eligibility
• Report overpayments caused by student error

12
Transfer Monitoring and Alerts

• Replaced Financial Aid Transcript
• (Effective July 1, 2001)
• Schools must inform NSLDS
• of mid-year transfer students
• Schools may rely on NSLDS information
• when determining transfer student eligibility

13
Transfer Monitoring and Alerts

• Using financial aid history data from NSLDS,
• you can determine
• Whether the student is in default or owes an
  overpayment on a federal loan or grant
• The student's balance on all loans
• The student's scheduled Federal Pell Grant, ACG
  and/or National SMART Grant (forthcoming) amount
  already disbursed for the current award year
• The amount of, and period of enrollment for, all
  loans for the current award year

14
Transfer Monitoring and Alerts

• School Responsibilities
• When a student transfers from one school to
  another, the new school must obtain a financial
  aid history for the student before it disburses
  or delivers federal financial aid funds.
• For students transferring in at the beginning of
  an award year, schools may use the NSLDS
  information contained on the student's ISIR or
  SAR, or they may access the information directly
  from the NSLDS database.

15
Transfer Monitoring and Alerts

• School Responsibilities
• The school must identify students who are
  transferring to their school mid-year by
  submitting a list of transfer students to NSLDS.
  This requires the school to set up a School
  Transfer Profile on the NSLDS website.
• Each time a school receives an alert for a
  student, it must review the updated information
  and determine whether it affects the student's
  eligibility.

16
Transfer Monitoring and Alerts

• The Role of NSLDS
• NSLDS monitors students on a school's Inform list
  for
• changes from other schools in the student's
  financial aid
• history, and alerts the school when
• A new loan is originated
• A new disbursement is made on a loan, or a loan
  disbursement is cancelled
• A Federal Pell Grant, ACG or National SMART Grant
  (forthcoming) is awarded or reduced
• A new disbursement is made or a disbursement is
  cancelled on a Federal Pell Grant, ACG or
  National SMART Grant (forthcoming)

17
Transfer Monitoring and Alerts

• The Role of NSLDS
• When NSLDS creates an alert for a student, it
  also sends an e-mail notice to the school's
  designated contact person.

18
Loan Information, Disbursements, and Determining
Eligibility

• NSLDS prescreens applicants for Title IV Aid
  eligibility to identify applicants who are in
  default on an existing Title IV loan, who owe
  overpayments on Pell grants, FSEOGs, or Perkins
  loans, or who may have already borrowed the
  maximum amount allowed under individual or
  cumulative loan limits.
• The results of the NSLDS match are provided on
  the NSLDS Financial Aid History section of the
  SAR and in the FAA Information Section of the
  ISIR.

19
Loan Information, Disbursements, and Determining
Eligibility

• NSLDS scans or "post screens" its database weekly
  to find cases in which a student's eligibility
  status has changed since the time of their
  original aid application.
• If NSLDS finds a change that affects eligibility,
  it notifies the CPS. The CPS sends an updated
  ISIR with updated NSLDS data and transaction
  number to the school.

20
Loan Information, Disbursements, and Determining
Eligibility

• NSLDS Post Screening Codes
• 01 Default added
• 02 Overpayment added
• 03 Default resolved
• 04 Overpayment resolved
• 05 MPN Status Change
• (Direct Loans)
• 06 Loan discharged
• 07 Loan out of discharged status
• 08 Closed school
• 09 Exceeds subsidized loan limit
• 10 Exceeds combined loan limit

• 11 No longer exceeds subsidized
• loan limit
• 12 No longer exceeds combined
• loan limit
• 13 Change in type of discharged loan
• 14 Loan entered active bankruptcy
• 15 PLUS MPN status change
• 16 Grad/Professional PLUS loan status change
  (NEW)
• 99 Other (NSLDS requests for individual
  reprocessing, NSLDS error reprocessing, etc.)

21
Loan Information, Disbursements, and Determining
Eligibility

• So Many Loan Codes,
• So Little Time!
• What do they mean?

22
Loan Information, Disbursements, and Determining
Eligibility
Program Code Description
FFEL CL FFEL Consolidation
FFEL GB FFEL PLUS Grad/Prof
FFEL PL FFEL Parent PLUS
FFEL SF FFEL Stafford Subsidized
FFEL SL Supplemental Loan (SLS)
FFEL SU FFEL Stafford Unsubsidized
FDLP D1 Direct Stafford Subsidized
FDLP D2 Direct Stafford Unsubsidized
FDLP D3 Direct PLUS Grad/Prof
FDLP D4 Direct Parent PLUS
23
Loan Information, Disbursements, and Determining
Eligibility
Program Code Description
FDLP D5 Direct Consolidation Unsub
FDLP D6 Direct Loan Subsidized
FDLP D7 Direct PLUS Consolidation
FISL FI Federally Insured Loan
Perkins DU National Defense Loan
Perkins EU Perkins Expanded Lending
Perkins IC Income Contingent (ICL)
Perkins NU NDSL
Perkins PU Federal Perkins
24
Loan Information, Disbursements, and Determining
Eligibility
Loan Code Status Eligible for Title IV?
AL Abandoned Loan Yes
BC Discharged Bankruptcy Claim No Prior Default Yes
BK Active Bankruptcy claim No Prior Default Yes
CA Canceled Yes
CS Closed School Discharge Yes
DA Deferred Yes
DB Defaulted, Then Bankrupt (Active) Chapter 13 No (Refer to GEN 95-40)
DC Defaulted, Compromise Yes
DD Defaulted, Then Death No
25
Loan Information, Disbursements, and Determining
Eligibility
Loan Code Status Eligible for Title IV?
DE Death No
DF Defaulted, Unresolved No
DI Disability Yes
DK Defaulted, Then Bankrupt (Discharged) Chapter 13 Yes (Defaulted loan has been discharged)
DL Defaulted, In Litigation No
DN Defaulted, Then Paid in Full Through Consolidation Loan Yes
DO Defaulted, Then Bankrupt (Active) Chapters 7, 11, 12 No (Refer to GEN 95-40)
DP Defaulted, Then Paid in Full Yes
26
Loan Information, Disbursements, and Determining
Eligibility
Loan Code Status Eligible for Title IV?
DR Defaulted Loan Included in Roll-up Loan Yes
DS Defaulted, Then Disabled Yes
DT Defaulted, Collection Terminated No
DU Default, Unresolved No
DW Defaulted, Write-Off No
DX Defaulted, Satisfactory Arrangements Payments Yes (assuming student complies with repayment plan or gets forbearance)
DZ Defaulted, Made Six Consecutive Payments, Then Missed a Payment No (Loan reverts to active default status)
27
Loan Information, Disbursements, and Determining
Eligibility

Loan Code Status Eligible for Title IV?
FB Forbearance Yes
FC False Certification Discharge Yes
IA Loan Originated Yes
ID In School or Grace Period Yes
IG In Grace Period Yes
IM Military Grace Period Yes
IP Post-Deferment Grace Period (Perkins Only) Yes
MO Military Deferment Yes
28
Loan Information, Disbursements, and Determining
Eligibility
Loan Code Status Eligible for Title IV?
OD Defaulted, Then Bankrupt (Discharged) Chapters 7, 11, 12 Yes (Defaulted loan has been discharged)
PC Paid in Full (Consolidation) Yes
PF Paid in Full Yes
PM Presumed Paid in Full Yes
PN Non-defaulted, Paid in Full Through Consolidation Yes
RF Refinanced Yes
RP In Repayment Yes
UA Temporarily Uninsured, No Default Claim Requested Yes
29
Loan Information, Disbursements, and Determining
Eligibility
Loan Code Status Eligible for Title IV?
UB Temporarily Uninsured, Default Claim Denied Yes (Temporarily uninsured loans are not considered federal loans)
UC FFEL Permanently Uninsured, Non-defaulted Yes
UC Perkins Non-defaulted Loan Purchased by School Yes
UD FFEL Permanently Uninsured, Defaulted Yes (Loan is no longer federal)
UD Perkins Defaulted Loan Purchased by School Yes (Loan is no longer federal)
UI Uninsured / Unreinsured Yes
XD Defaulted, Satisfactory Arrangements Payments Yes (assuming student complies with repayment plan or gets forbearance)
30
Loan Information, Disbursements, and Determining
Eligibility

• Definition of Common NSLDS Terms
• Guaranteed Amount (FFEL) Original loan amount,
  before any cancellations/refunds.
• Approved Amount (Direct/Perkins) Original loan
  amount, before any cancellations/refunds.
• Disbursed Amount Cumulative net amount of the
  loan actually disbursed to the borrower.

31
Loan Information, Disbursements, and Determining
Eligibility

• Definition of Common NSLDS Terms
• Aggregate Outstanding Principal Balance (Agg
  OPB) The loan amount that counts against the
  students overall loan limits. How this value is
  calculated depends on the loan type and when the
  loan was issued.
• Outstanding Principal Balance (OPB) The
  cumulative dollar amount due on a loan. This
  amount may include capitalized interest
  (indicated by a red C to the left of the OPB
  label).

32
Loan Information, Disbursements, and Determining
Eligibility

• Definition of Common NSLDS Terms
• Academic Level (Acad Lv) Students academic
  level at the time the loan was provided.
  Academic levels are defined as follows
• Undergraduate Graduate
• 1 Freshman/First Year A First Year Grad/Prof
• 2 Sophomore/Second Year B Second Year
  Grad/Prof
• 3 Junior/Third Year C Third Year Grad/Prof
• 4 Senior/Fifth Year D Beyond Third Year
• 5 Fifth Year/Other G Year of Study Unknown
• N Not available (only used if date of
  first disbursement is prior to July 23, 1992)

33
Loan Information, Disbursements, and Determining
Eligibility

• Useful Tips for Determining Loan
• History Eligibility
• Sorting Options

34
Loan Information, Disbursements, and Determining
Eligibility

• Filtering (Display) Options

35
Loan Information, Disbursements, and Determining
Eligibility

• Up to 20 loans can be displayed per page. If a
  borrower has more than 20 loan entries on NSLDS,
  click the Next Group arrow icon ( )
• to view the next set of loans.
• To obtain detailed information (including refunds
  and disbursement cancellations) for each loan,
  click the number to the left of the loan header
  or the Loan Detail button to the right of the
  header.

36
Loan Information, Disbursements, and Determining
Eligibility

• When reviewing underlying loans making up a
  consolidation, use the disbursed amount of loans
  that have been consolidated.
• ? It is good practice to check the loan
• detail page on all underlying loans, in
• 1468 order to take any refunds or
  cancellations
• - 614 into consideration.
• 854

37
Loan Information, Disbursements, and Determining
Eligibility

• When loans have not been consolidated, the
  Aggregate OPB amount is used to calculate loan
  eligibility.
• Review any pending disbursements to determine
  their impact, if any, on eligibility.

38
Loan Information, Disbursements, and Determining
Eligibility

• Review prior loans to determine whether borrower
  received additional unsubsidized Stafford loans
  as a dependent student (usually due to a parent
  PLUS denial). If this is the case, the
  additional unsub loans do not count toward the
  students base loan limit and can be excluded
  from the aggregate total.
• Some students borrow loans as undergraduates and
  graduates, then return to school as an
  undergraduate. In this case, the student is
  subject to undergraduate aggregate limits, but
  the graduate level loan amounts can be excluded
  when determining eligibility.

39
Loan Information, Disbursements, and Determining
Eligibility

• Case Study
• Student A School receives an ISIR with NSLDS
  post screen 9 (exceeds sub limits). The student
  has several consolidation loans listed, and has
  received sub and unsub funds at various
  institutions. Review NSLDS to determine students
  current eligibility.

40
Loan Information, Disbursements, and Determining
Eligibility

• Case Study
• Student B NSLDS prescreens student as being
  over combined loan limits as a dependent
  undergraduate. Student has received unsubsidized
  loans as a result of PLUS denials in previous
  years. Prior to certifying a new loan, review
  NSLDS to determine current year eligibility.

41
Other NSLDS Functions

• Run reports (available in SAIG mailbox)
• Establish contacts for your school, and view
  other schools contact information
• View your institutions current and prior Cohort
  Default Rates
• View your institutions upcoming and past data
  provider schedule information

42
Recent and Upcoming NSLDS Updates

• Graduate Plus loan reporting
• -FFEL loan type code is GB
• -Direct loan type code is D3
• Currently, NSLDS may convert these loan types to
  PL (FFEL) and D4 (Direct) in order to
  exchange data elements with trading partners who
  are not equipped to accept the updated loan
  codes. Such loans can be identified by a
  graduate academic level (A,B,C,D or G).
• After January 1, 2007, all Grad/Professional
  PLUS loans will be reported as they are displayed
  with the updated loan type codes.
• New post-screen 16 indicates a change in
  Grad/Professional PLUS loan status
• For 2007-2008, there is a new loan type code of
  F for fraud. This identifies students who have
  fraudulently obtained Title IV funds (includes
  grants and loans). These students must repay any
  fraudulently disbursed Title IV aid in full
  before regaining eligibility. There is no
  provision for satisfactory repayment
  arrangements.

43
Recent and Upcoming NSLDS Updates

• Ability to report ACG and SMART grant
  overpayments (effective July 1, 2006)
• ACG and SMART grant disbursement information (to
  be implemented after Phase II NSLDS update)
• New military deferment type of MO will identify
  loans eligible for Active Duty Military
  Deferment, as defined by HERA guidelines

44
Resources

• Pell Grant Disbursements and Payments
• IFAP Student Aid Handbook 2006-2007, Volume 3,
  Chapter 3
• Grant Overpayments
• GEN 00-18, GEN 98-14
• IFAP Student Aid Handbook 2006-2007, Volume 5,
  Chapters 1 (general overpayments) and 2
• (overpayment due to Title IV return)
• Transfer Monitoring
• GEN 01-09
• IFAP Student Aid Handbook 2006-2007, Volume 1,
  Chapter 3 pp 44 66

45
Resources

• Determining Loan Eligibility
• IFAP Student Aid Handbook 2006-2007, Volume 1,
  Chapter 3
• IFAP Student Aid Handbook 2006-2007, Volume 3,
  Chapter 4
• NSLDS Newsletter 7 (How NSLDS calculates
  eligibility when a PLUS loan denial is present)
• NSLDS Newsletter 8 (How NSLDS calculates
  aggregate loan totals when graduate and
• undergraduate loans are present)
• Common Manual Chapter 5, Section 5.1 (General
  Borrower Eligibility)
• Common Manual Chapter 6, Section 6.11 (Loan
  Limits)
• Contacting NSLDS
• Email nslds_at_pearson.com
• Phone [phone]
• Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. EST
• (Excluding Federal holidays)

46
NSLDS

• Never
• Stop
• Laughing
• Despite
• Setbacks

47
Questions