Changes to Master Promissory Notes and Graduate PLUS loans
June 16, 2010
TO: Webster University Students & Staff
FROM: Webster University Financial Aid Office
As the university’s transition to the Direct Loan program continues, some of our systems and processes are beginning to change. One of our main goals is to make these changes as transparent as possible for our students. However, on occasion there may be times when the student must take certain actions as part of the change over to the Direct Loan program. Such is the case with Master Promissory Notes (MPN) and Graduate PLUS loans.
Master Promissory Note
Students will need to go to www.studentloans.gov to sign a MPN. Your Direct Loans will not be disbursed unless you do this. Please note that you will only need to sign a MPN for the Direct Lending Program once while you are at Webster University in order to receive Direct Stafford and Direct Unsubsidized Stafford loans. The only group of students that does not need to sign a Direct Loan MPN is those who will finish their program of study during the Summer 2010 term AND have already received their loan disbursement.
Graduate PLUS Loans
Graduate students that wish to apply for a Graduate PLUS loan will also need to visit www.studentloans.gov to apply and sign a MPN for this loan program. Please understand that during our transition to the Direct Lending program, all requests for Graduate PLUS loans will be initially certified at your maximum eligibility.
Please continue to check our website at /admissions/finaid/update.asp for any new updates regarding student loan processing.
Important information about your 2010-11 student loan
May 3, 2010
TO: Webster University Students
FROM: Webster University Financial Aid
Recently, President Obama signed legislation that makes significant changes in the Federal Student Loan program. Webster University will be processing Federal Stafford Loans through the Direct Lending (DL) program beginning with the Fall 2010 semester. We will no longer use the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program to process Stafford, Parent PLUS, and Graduate PLUS loans after the conclusion of the Summer 2010 term. Under the DL program, your federal loan funds will come directly from the federal government instead of from a private lender.
Some important points to keep in mind as this transition in student loan processing methods proceeds:
- Eligibility rules and loan amounts are identical under both the FFEL and DL programs; the amount of loan funds available to you will not change
- The interest rate on your student loans will not change
- If you are a current FFEL/Stafford loan borrower, you will not be able to continue using a private lender to fund federal student loans. If you have never borrowed a federal Stafford Loan, you will not be impacted by this change
- Webster University will process all student loans for the Summer 2010 term through FFEL and those for the Fall semester and beyond through DL
- This change will in no way affect other awards for which you may be eligible
- Webster University will process all Parent PLUS loans and Graduate PLUS loans through the federal Direct Loan program. Parents and Graduate students may not obtain a PLUS loan through a private lender even if they have prior loans through the FFEL program.
Be advised that some students for whom we have already processed student loans will need to be cancelled and recertified by our office. Do not be alarmed if you should receive a notice from your FFEL lender that the loan has been cancelled. The Financial Aid Office is in the process of replacing those loans with new ones that allow us to accommodate the recent legislative changes.
Our efforts are focused on making this process as transparent as possible for you. When the university has finalized software implementation you will be contacted again to complete a new Master Promissory Note for the DL program and provided with instructions on how to do so. You may also wish to periodically check our website for updates regarding loan processing for the 2010-11 academic year. /admissions/finaid/default.asp
Federal Direct Loan Program update
April 28, 2010
TO: Webster University Community
FROM: Paul Carney, Vice President, Enrollment Management and Student Affairs
On March 31, I informed the Webster University community of the legislative changes surrounding the federal student loan program. Today, I'd like to provide you an update on our efforts in working within this new student loan environment.
First, I am pleased to report that representatives of the business, finance, financial aid and information technology are meeting together regularly to develop systems, policies and procedures necessary to support our transition to the Federal Direct Loan Program.
Secondly, the Financial Aid office has identified individual student records that require immediate action. For example, students who had loans certified prior to the enactment of the new legislation and had loan periods that included the Summer 2010 term need to be canceled. This impacts roughly 1,600 students. Once these loans are canceled, they will be certified for "summer only" loans under the current student loan system, as well as Federal Direct Loan Program loans for the remainder of their loan period. This is the best way to minimize the impact of the new regulations for these students and make funding available for summer enrollment. We will have have all these loans re-certified by the beginning of the summer term.
As you can imagine, this may be confusing to students. Please be aware that students in this situation are now receiving notification from their individual lenders that their original loans have been canceled. Your assistance in reassuring them that new loans will be certified as soon as possible is both critical and appreciated.
We will continue to update you on progress of this transition. We thank you for your understanding of this evolving situation.
Changes to loan program
March 31, 2010
TO: Webster University Community
FROM: Paul Carney, Vice President, Enrollment Management and Student Affairs
On March 30th, 2009 President Obama signed a reconciliation bill into law which, among other things, eliminates the Federal Family Educational Loan Program (FFELP) as an option for students and educational institutions. Effective 7/1/10 student loans must be made under the Federal Direct Loan Program (FDLP). As you may know, Webster University has historically processed student loans under the FFELP model. We have, however, been monitoring the events which ultimately led to the enactment of this legislation.
More than a year ago Webster completed the process and paperwork to become approved as a FDLP participant in preparation for the possibility that this sweeping change might eventually materialize. Additionally, pertinent staff has participated in FDLP training and will continue to take advantage of similar opportunities as the July deadline approaches. Nonetheless, the task of implementing this new mandate and the conversion of operations to support the delivery of $150 million in student loans to our students annually is no small matter.
The time frame to implement these changes, roughly 12 weeks, is not ideal. You should know, however, that Webster will do all that can be done to make this conversion as transparent as possible for all parties. As you read this, staff members from the Business Office, Finance, Financial Aid and other involved components of the university are hard at work to get the job done. Your awareness of this situation as well as your understanding and support as we transition to a new model of student loan delivery will surely make the ending to this chapter of our collective “Webster story” a happy one. A summary of the legislation is located at http://www.usafunds.org/news/30mar2010/wu033010a.htm