Federal Updates

ED provides new loan servicing information

On August 28, ED released the first in a series of electronic announcements (E-ANN) through which it will explain the transition to additional loan servicers beginning in September 2009. Currently, ED services Direct Loans through the Direct Loan Servicing Center, and services FFELP loans that are sold to ED (through the ECASLA Loan Purchase Programs) through the ED Student Loan Servicing Center. In September 2009, ED will add four new servicers that will service purchased FFELP loans; see the June 17 E-ANN for more information.

In this announcement, ED provides the following information about the transition to additional servicer support:

• Overview of the new servicing approach;
• Details about the servicing of purchased FFELP loans beginning September 2009, such as how ED will measure the customer satisfaction for each servicer, plans to assign all of a borrower's federally owned loans to the same servicer, services that will be provided to schools, and the identification and communication of servicer information; and
• Additional announcements and contact information.

More information
Please visit the Information for Financial Aid Professionals website at http://ifap.ed.gov/eannouncements/082809LoanServicingInfo.html to view the entire E-ANN.

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Take advantage of these private loan resources from NCHELP

The National Council of Higher Education Loan Programs (NCHELP) has announced several resources and tools to assist students and families, borrowers, and the financial aid community in understanding private education loan programs.

Webinar training event
On September 10, from 1 p.m.-2:30 p.m. Central Time, the NCHELP Private Loan Committee will host a free webinar on Private Loan Regulatory Changes and Access for the 2009-10 academic year.

The webinar will provide the following information:

• A summary of the many changes made to the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) brought about by the Higher Education Opportunity Act and the Federal Reserve Board's recently published amendments to Regulation Z;
• A discussion of liquidity challenges and how they impact loan availability and price; and
• Insight on private loan access for the 2009-10 academic year.

Time will also be made available to answer audience questions.

To register for the webinar, visit the online registration site. Please remember that NCHELP webinars deliver both the audio and presentation slides via your PC. There is no dial-in "audio only" option.

Awareness brochures
As part of its financial literacy campaign, the NCHELP Private Loan Committee has created two awareness brochures that are available for use by high school counselors, schools, lenders, and other organizations that would find the brochures useful:

• "Research, Remember, Repay: A Guide to Responsible Borrowing" explains loans and responsible borrowing to students and parents.
• "Understanding the Cost of Borrowing" describes why the amount of a student loan which is to be repaid is more than the amount borrowed.

The brochures, along with instructions on how to download, modify, co-brand, and print the documents, can be found on the NCHELP website at www.nchelp.org/elibrary/index.cfm?parent=1971.

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Closed school corner

The following table provides a list of newly reported school closures and corrections from the Postsecondary Educational Participants System (PEPS) and from the August 2009 Closed School Monthly Report supplied by ED. Schools listed are those with which TG has done business or to which TG has otherwise provided services.

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