FAA Message Board
The FAA Message Board is updated each week.
A recent Dear Colleague Letter (
DCL GEN-13-16) from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and a
June 13, 2013 Federal Register notice provide details regarding 2014-15 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) information that must be verified, as well as acceptable documentation for the verification process.
A recent Dear Colleague Letter (
DCL GEN-13-15) from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) announces the renewal of the Private Education Loan Applicant Self-Certification form for use by institutions and private educational loan lenders. The new version of the Self-Certification form (which has an expiration date of May 31, 2016) may be used immediately, and has no substantive changes from the earlier version (which has an expiration date of February 28, 2013). The earlier version of the form may continue to be distributed until June 30, 2013 and may be accepted until July 31, 2013.
Remind your students, who are seeking ways to finance higher education, that they should beware of scams (including attempts at identity theft or fraud). Information about financial aid scams is available at the
Scholarship and Financial Aid Scams page of the
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Consumer Information website. Suspected identity theft or fraud can be reported by calling the federal Office of Inspector General hotline at 800.MISUSED (647.8733). A
MISUSED web resource is also available. In addition, students may wish to review a document from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) entitled “
Don’t Get Scammed on Your Way to College!”
The U.S. Department of Education (ED) is publishing a series of electronic announcements to discuss changes to the total and permanent disability (TPD) discharge regulations that are effective July 1, 2013. Announcements dated
May 17 (background and summary information),
May 24 (TPD Loan Holder Notification File), and June 12 (
Perkins Loan and
guaranty agency assignment procedures) provide operational guidance to the financial aid community.
A
June 14 e-Message announces that summer term payment requests for the 2012-13
Illinois National Guard (ING) Grant Program may be completed and submitted electronically to ISAC via the
ING Grant Payment Roster system at
My Zone. Although ISAC will not reimburse schools for summer term awards or late claims, payment requests must be submitted to ISAC so eligibility units can be assessed to students' accounts. Summer ING Grant claims are due to ISAC on or before Monday, July 1, 2013.
2012-13 summer term Certification of Enrollment for Payment rosters for the
Grant Programs for Dependents of Police, Fire or Correctional Officers were mailed to colleges on June 14, 2013. Summer claims for these programs are due to ISAC on or before Monday, July 1, 2013. Details regarding the payment process are available at the
PFC Payment Procedures section of the ISAC Gift Assistance Programs area.
2013-14 Illinois Special Education Teacher Tuition Waiver (SETTW) Program award verification rosters and certification forms, which were mailed to colleges on June 10, are due back to ISAC on or before September 27, 2013. Details are provided within the ISAC Gift Assistance Program’s
SETTW Tuition Waiver Process area.
A
May 31 posting from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) provides charts showing the variable interest rates applicable to the Federal Stafford, Federal SLS, Federal PLUS, and Federal Consolidation loan programs for the period July 1, 2013 – June 30, 2014. Included is an explanation of how the interest rates for these variable-rate loans are determined. The posting may be accessed via the
Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) website.
A
May 31 electronic announcement from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) provides the financial aid community with the latest updates on how “across-the-board” federal budget cuts, known as the sequester, will impact the Federal Title IV student financial assistance programs. Additional information was provided in prior electronic announcements, dated
March 1, March 15, April 5 and
April 26. As a reminder, the Budget Control Act (BCA) of 2011 stipulates that the sequester is to take effect if Congress failed to enact legislation to reduce the federal deficit. The required budget cuts took effect as of March 1, 2013. As more information becomes available, ED will provide additional updates via a series of sequester-related communications posted to the
Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) website.
Effective June 5, 2013, the 2013-14 Initial Qualification process runs on a nightly basis for the Minority Teachers of Illinois (MTI) Scholarship Program. Be sure to access the
TESP Student Certifications: List at My Zone regularly to learn the qualification status of applicants from your college. Further details are provided within the
MTI Program News section of the
ISAC Gift Assistance Programs area.
A
May 29 e-Message provides upcoming important dates, including details regarding close-out for 2012-13 ISAC-administered gift assistance programs. Continue to visit the Program News sections of individual gift assistance programs for the latest updates.
A recent Dear Colleague Letter (
DCL GEN-13-14) from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) provides additional guidance regarding an earlier ED announcement to use a calculated Pell Grant “Lifetime Eligibility Used” (LEU) in the implementation of the Pell Grant duration of eligibility provision. Also discussed is how schools determine the amount of a student’s Pell Grant award when the student has limited duration of eligibility (i.e., an LEU of greater than 500 percent), as well as how a student or institution may dispute the accuracy of Pell Grant LEU information in the Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) System.
A
May 23 e-Message reminds financial aid administrators to join us for the "ISAC Operational Update for the 2013-14 Award Year" webinar, which will take place at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, June 26, 2013. The message provides details regarding how to participate in the webinar, along with information about Financial Aid 101/Financial Aid 201 Workshops that will also take place in June.
Registration is now open for the
College Changes Everything conference, which will be held on July 11, 2013, at the Tinley Park Convention Center. Further details are provided in a
May 21 e-Message.
A
May 8 electronic announcement from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) announces that, effective June 9, 2013, the Student Aid Internet Gateway (SAIG) data retention period will change from 180 calendar days to 90 calendar days. The data retention period is the length of time during which files transmitted using the SAIG are stored in the system. All files residing in the system prior to June 9, 2013 that are older than 90 days will be removed and institutions will no longer be able to access them. Institutions are encouraged to retrieve all files stored in archive or in their SAIG mailboxes that are older than 90 days, in order to prevent the loss of data.
A
May 3 e-Message provides operational details regarding the required return of funds – ten percent (10%) – for those students whose 2012-13 Monetary Award Program (MAP) awards have been released from suspense status [i.e., students whose FAFSA receipt dates were March 20, 2012 through (and including) April 2, 2012]. As a reminder, the required return of funds – as well as an explanation of why this action is necessary – was announced in an
April 25 e-Message.
The links below have information on topics that were recently listed on the Message Board.
2013-14 State Scholar AnnouncementsInformation regarding Pay As You Earn Repayment Plan (for
colleges and
students)
Information regarding Employment Certification for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (for
colleges and
students)
Outreach Calendar/EventsFAFSA Completion InformationImportant Reminders calendar
Prepaid Tuition 
Twitter
Facebook