Federal Updates

Master Agreements released, Notice of Intent to Participate revised and deadline extended

Shoptalk Online reported last week that ED was delaying the release of the Master Loan Sale Agreement and the Master Participation Agreement that will be used to implement ED's loan purchase and participation plans under the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008 (ECASLA). Previous communication from ED indicated that the delay would not result in an extension of the deadline for submitting the Notice of Intent to Participate (Notice). However, when ED released the Master Agreements last week, it also released a revised version of the Notice and extended the deadline to submit the Notice.

New deadline to submit Notice
Remember, while the Notice serves as a lender's preliminary notification to ED that it is interested in participating in the new loan purchase and/or participation program — without obligating the lender to participate — the submission date of the Notice also establishes the earliest disbursement date applicable to 2008-09 loans that a lender may include in either plan.

Previously, ED stated that in order to include loans originated as early as May 1, 2008, a lender must submit the Notice by July 16. Under the revised deadline, a lender considering participation in the program(s) must submit the Notice by July 31 in order to include loans originated as early as May 1, 2008; if a lender submits the Notice after that date, only loans made on or after ED's receipt of the Notice are eligible for the program(s).

Revisions to the Notice
Based upon comments and suggestions received from the community, ED has modified the format of the Notice, and has changed the contact and submission instructions. However, ED will accept submissions using the original format, and, if an entity has already submitted a Notice using the original format, it does not need to submit a revised Notice.

Master Agreements
The Master Participation Agreement and/or the Master Loan Sale Agreement must be executed by a FFELP lender or holder that wishes to participate in one or both of the ECASLA programs. ED states that it will provide additional information in the near future, including document submission directions, regarding the next steps for a lender that plans to execute one or both of the agreements with ED.

For more information
The announcement, along with the Master Agreements and Notice, is available on the Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) website at http://ifap.ed.gov/eannouncements/071108MasterLoanPurAgreements.html.

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ED accelerates updates to R2T4 on the Web

As reported in Shoptalk Online edition 461, ED recently announced that its Return of Title IV funds (R2T4) on the website would be updated on September 28, 2008, to implement provisions related to the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 (CCRAA). ED advised that the R2T4 on the Web would be unavailable for most calculations during the update process and as a result, schools would be required to use CCRAA-compliant paper worksheets to complete the R2T4 calculation in the interim.

In a follow-up Electronic Announcement released to the financial aid community on July 2, ED stated that, "As a result of concerns you have expressed to us regarding the September 28, 2008, implementation date, we have accelerated the implementation schedule and will now be able to offer a CCRAA-compliant R2T4 on the website on July 27, 2008. We will implement additional, non-CCRAA-specific updates to R2T4 on the Web on September 28, 2008."

Between July 1, 2008, and July 27, 2008, schools that normally use R2T4 on the Web should instead use the CCRAA-compliant paper worksheets to perform calculations for students with a withdrawal date on or after July 1, 2008. The system currently will not allow entry of student records with a withdrawal date on or after July 1, 2008; this block will be removed as part of the July 27, 2008, update to the site. Note that a school can continue to use R2T4 on the Web after July 1, 2008, to perform calculations for students with a withdrawal date prior to July 1, 2008.

In this announcement, ED also discusses the enhancements that will be incorporated in the July and September 2008 versions of R2T4 on the Web.

For more information
To view the July 2 Electronic Announcement, visit the Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) website at http://ifap.ed.gov/eannouncements/0702CCRAAR2T4WebRelease.html.

The CCRAA-compliant versions of the R2T4 and Post-Withdrawal Disbursement worksheets are available in PDF format on the IFAP website at http://ifap.ed.gov/aidworksheets/currentoptions.htm.

If you have any questions regarding R2T4 on the Web, contact CPS/SAIG Technical Support at (800) 330-5947 (for TDD/TTY, contact (800) 511-5806); or send an message to CPSSAIG@ed.gov.

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New teacher loan forgiveness forms approved

Last week, ED released Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) GEN-08-11/FP-08-09, which announced the approval of revised Teacher Loan Forgiveness (TLF) Application and TLF Forbearance forms and provided guidance for the implementation of the new forms.

Lenders and servicers may begin to use the new forms immediately but must provide only the newly approved forms to borrowers beginning January 1, 2009. However, the previous versions of the forms may continue to be processed after that date, if applicable.

PDF versions of the new forms are available as attachments to the DCL and on TG Online at www.tgslc.org/forms/frms_tlf.cfm.

More information
To access GEN-08-11/FP-08-09, visit http://ifap.ed.gov/dpcletters/GEN0811.html. For questions about TLF, contact TG customer assistance at (800) 845-6267, or send an message to cust.assist@tgslc.org.

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Current special allowance rates: Quarter ending June 30, 2008

The following rates apply for the quarter ending June 30, 2008:

The average of the bond equivalent rates of the 91-day Treasury bills auctioned during the quarter ending June 30, 2008, is 1.71 percent.

The average of the bond equivalent rates of the quotes of the three-month commercial paper (financial) rates in effect for each of the days in the quarter ending June 30, 2008, is 2.75 percent.

The FFELP special allowance rates for the most recent quarter are available on TG Online at www.tgslc.org/policy/index.cfm.

Questions
For questions about special allowance rates, contact TG customer assistance at (800) 845-6267, or send an message to cust.assist@tgslc.org.

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