Campus Partners Update Newsletter
April 14, 2011
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Proposed Changes to the Perkins Loan Program
As reported in last month’s Update, the administration has introduced the FY 2012 budget, which calls for “congressional action to modernize and expand the Perkins loan program so more colleges can participate and more students receive access to these loans.”
Harrison Wadsworth, Executive Director of COHEAO, had predicted that changes to the current Perkins loan program would be included in the FY 2012 budget. During a COHEAO teleconference in November 2010, Wadsworth had told participants that it was a matter of routine not to withdraw budget items. Preserving the benefits of the current Perkins loan program, while expanding its funding, remains a top priority for COHEAO.
Under the proposed program, starting July 1, 2012, available Perkins funding would increase from $1 billion to $8.5 billion. This proposal would be highly advantageous to colleges and student borrowers, but does come with increased interest rates for borrowers and significant changes to current program provisions to accommodate increased funding.
Other proposed changes are listed below:
- The federal government would originate and service Perkins loans, but schools would continue to have discretion over student eligibility
- Perkins borrowers would be charged 6.8% interest on their loans, the same rate charged for the Unsubsidized Stafford loans.
- Interest would begin accruing while students are in school. Perkins loans would have the same terms and conditions as the current Unsubsidized Stafford loan program.
- As current Perkins loan borrowers repay their loans, schools would remit the federal share of those payments to the Department of Education.
- Schools would retain their own share of the revolving funds, as well as amounts sufficient to cover the costs of the various Perkins Loan forgiveness provisions.
- Loan volume would be allocated among degree-granting institutions using a method to be determined in consultation with Congress.
As part of its efforts on behalf of the Perkins program, COHEAO has sent a letter to members of the House Education committee. The letter encourages Congress to expand the funding and availability of the Perkins loans, while keeping the unique aspects of the program: low interest rates, deferred interest accrual, generous cancellation benefits, and campus-based servicing.
The letter is available on the COHEAO web site: at: http://www.coheao.org/legis/data/COHEAOCommentsonPerkinsLoanProposals-3-14-11-Kline.pdf.
Total and Permanent Disability – Electronic Announcement from ED
In October, the Department of Education (ED) announced it had awarded a contract for total and permanent disability servicing to Nelnet effective October 1, 2010. At that time, Nelnet began processing General (Non-Veterans) Total and Permanent (TPD) discharge assignments on behalf of ED. ED also announced that the Disability Discharge Servicing Center in Greenville, TX would process any TPDs submitted prior to October 1, 2010 until ED was ready to transfer these loans to Nelnet. We published this information in the October issue of the Update newsletter.
ED just announced that it has finished the preparatory work and expects the transfer of loans to be completed by April 1, 2011. From this point, the Nelnet Total and Permanent Disability Service will process and service all general (non veterans) total and permanent disability discharge assignments and referrals.
To view this electronic announcement, go to: http://ifap.ed.gov/eannouncements/032511TPDInfoAllGeneralProcessNelnetEffective040111.html
Note: The electronic announcement reiterates that VA Total and Permanent Disability requests should continue to be submitted to the Veterans Disability Discharge Unit in Atlanta, GA.
ED Publishes Two Program Integrity Dear Colleague Letters
The Department of Education has published two Dear Colleague Letters (DCL) concerning the Program Integrity regulations. DCL GEN-11-05 addresses state authorization of distance learning programs, misrepresentation, and incentive compensation, while Dear Colleague Letter GEN-11-06 provides additional guidance on the definition of a credit hour.
To view these DCLs, go to:
GEN-11-05: http://ifap.ed.gov/dpcletters/GEN1105.html
GEN-11-06: http://ifap.ed.gov/dpcletters/GEN1106.html
mycampusloan Enhancement
We have added information to the Update My Profile section of mycampusloan.com to aid international borrowers in adding an international address or telephone number to their profile. These borrowers are instructed to call a direct number to reach a Borrower Services Coordinator who will assist them in entering the information.
Get Ready for Year End Processing
June 30, 2011 is several months away, but it is not too early to start planning for year-end processing. Use this checklist to help close the fiscal year successfully:
1. Reconcile loan and accounting information.
- Reconcile all disbursements for the year.
- Correct and return all unpostable new loans and advances.
- Check and update separation dates.
- Reconcile your general ledger.
2. Determine special needs and communicate them to us.
- Contact your auditors to determine the reports they need.
- Submit change/adjustment memos/Emails/Dispatches for processing early.
3. Work the Cohort Default Rate Report.
- Provide your Customer Service Representative with requests for coding changes.
As the end of the fiscal year approaches, our goal is to process all Customer Service requests in a timely manner. All requests are processed in the order that we receive them, whether they arrive via regular mail, overnight mail, fax, DataLink Dispatch, or e-mail.
Important Year-End Processing Deadlines
June 24 Requests for change/adjustment memos June 27 Last date to receive payments submitted by collection agencies June 29 Last date to receive payments and payment transmittals sent directly to the Campus Partners office June 30 Last date to make online payments and/or reverse payments June 30 Last date to receive payments at our lockbox location June 30 Month-end and year-end post begins
eXpressReports and myReports will be available on the second business day following year-end processing. These online tools provide you with the fastest method of receiving your year-end information. Data files received via FTP, such as the Masterfile, will be available during the first business day.
Our Customer Service team looks forward to assisting you with any requests you may have.
Campus Partners Third-Party Audit – New SSAE 16 Requirements
Due to the new Statement on Standards for Attestations Examinations (SSAE 16) requirements, Campus Partners third-party auditors will conduct a Type II SOC-1 audit this year instead of a SAS 70 Type II audit
SSAE 16 effectively replaces the SAS 70 audit in providing guidance to auditors examining controls at service organizations. The new guidance was adopted to align U.S. practices with new international service organization reporting standards. Your school’s auditors should be aware of this change.
Porter Keadle Moore, LLP, (PKM) will again conduct this year’s audit. PKM does not expect any issues in implementing the new audit standards since Campus Partners already has very robust controls in place from previous years. From the period ending June 30, 2010, Campus Partners has received perfect marks for eleven consecutive years.
This year’s audit will begin next month. We will post a new Audit Request Form to our Web site soon.
Welcome New Customer
Campus Partner is pleased to announce Montgomery College has joined our community of customers. Montgomery College is a former customer, and we look forward to working with its staff and borrowers again.
Remarkable Anniversaries
Campus Partners is celebrating anniversaries of 45, 40, 35, and 30 years with the following customers this quarter.
45 years
Johnson C. Smith University
University of Kentucky
40 years
Eastern Mennonite University
Elmira College
Spartanburg Methodist College
University of North Carolina at Asheville
University of Virginia College at Wise
35 years
University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth
West Chester University
30 years
Eckerd College
Middlesex County College
Customers reaching other milestone anniversaries are listed in the attachment.
Attachment: Long-Term Customer Anniversaries
Web Conferences
Web conferences are a great way to receive training without leaving your office--and they are free of charge. Please email Debra Pitts at dpitts@campuspartners.com to register for any or all web conferences, specifying the web conferences you plan to attend.
| Topic | Date |
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Accounting: Balancing to your General Ledger |
Thursday, May 5 2:00 to 3:30 Eastern |
Cohort: What is it and How do I Manage it? |
Thursday, July 14 2:00 to 3:30 Eastern |
Understanding and Completing the FISAP |
Thursday, August 11 2:00 to 3:30 Eastern |
Where do I Start? A Month to Month Guide |
Thursday, September 8 2:00 to 3:30 Eastern |
Regulations Update |
Thursday, November 17 2:00 to 3:30 Eastern |
Tips for Managing Delinquencies |
Thursday, December 8 2:00 to 3:30 Eastern |
Student Loans 101
The dates for Student Loan 101 and 202 workshops are listed below. Student Loans 101 is designed for recently hired student loan administrators at your school or new Campus Partners customers, while Student Loans 202 provides more advanced training. Both events offer hands-on training at individual workstations and theopportunity to ask questions and receive personal attention.
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October 13-14 |
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Student Loans 202 |
June 9-10 |
Time |
Day 1: 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM |
Registration Form and Information |
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To Register
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Fax the completed registration from to Debra Pitts at 336-607-2025.
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Conference Schedule
Campus Partners staff will attend the conferences listed below during the first half of 2011. Details about future conferences will be published in the subsequent issues of the Update newsletter.
CAASLAR will hold its Spring Conference April 21-22 at Estes Park, CO. Additional information is available at http://www.caaslar.org.
KASRO also will present its Spring Conference May 11-13 in Rough River, KY. Additional information is available at http://www.kasro.net/default.html.
Transaction
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April 2011 |
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Last day to receive payments submitted by collection agencies |
4/26 |
Last day to receive payments and payment transmittals sent directly to the Campus Partners office |
4/28 |
Last day to make online payments and/or reverse payments |
4/29 |
Last date to receive payments at our lockbox location |
4/29 |
Date month-end processing begins |
4/29 |
