Loan Debt Letter

[Nichole Rishel]

I am reaching out to see how schools are handling different aspects of the Loan Debt Letter.

What methods of communication are you using to disseminate your Loan Debt Letters in accordance with Act 121 HB2124? The act states “…provide information to students through first class mail, electronic mail, or other communication protocol established by the institution of higher education.”

A recent PASFAA hosted webinar from the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) answered a question asking “If the loan disclosure is posted in a student portal, where the student has to log in and view it (and the email includes a link to the portal and instructions on how to accomplish this) does this satisfy the requirements?” PDE’s answer was “this would likely be compliant as long as the information in the student portal contains all of the required information provided for in the act and the notification email is sent at least once per year.” Has anyone received any PDE guidance that contradicts this statement?

Also, how are you determining interest rates for direct loans and private alternative loans?

Thank you!!

[Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania]

Hi Nichole,
We will be using the PHEAA template and they will calculate a weighted average interest rate for the federal loans. For private loans we will most likely NOT be calculating a payment amount but instead just indicate the cumulative amount borrowed and add instructions to reach out to their lenders. We will be providing the notice via email directly. I hope that helps you!

Thanks,
Alyssa

[Allison Kuhn]

How do you find information on the PHEAA Template? I haven’t been very successful in locating anything and when I attended the NextPage training at PHEAA it didn’t seem like there has been much progress made.

Thanks,
Allison

[Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania]

I don’t think it has been released just yet. I think the plan is for PHEAA to release it in September.

[Dickinson College]

Hi there,

Has anyone seen any further guidance from PDE on how to handle debt letters for students who ONLY have private (including institutional) loans? When I attended Nextpage there was concerned that the OR statement in the legislation may mean that we have to calculate a repayment amount for private loans if the student did not borrow federal, but we were awaiting additional clarification.

This is the only item I need to proceed with getting this implemented so I’m curious if anyone else has heard anything definitive! Thanks!

Leah Young,
Dickinson College

[Anonymous]

Do schools have to use the weighted average interest rate? Can a school use a sample interest calculation to estimate the monthly payments?

Thank you.

[Author]

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