Publication Date: June 2002
DCL ID: CB-02-09
Approval of the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program, Federal Perkins Loan (Perkins) Program, and William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program Total and Permanent Disability Discharge Application
June 2002
GEN-02-04
CB-02-09
G-02-335
L-02-229
Subject: Approval of
the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program, Federal Perkins Loan (Perkins)
Program, and William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program Total
and Permanent Disability Discharge Application
Dear Partner:
This letter will serve
as approval of the enclosed FFEL/Perkins/Direct Loan programs Loan Discharge
Application: Total and Permanent Disability form. This form is the only one
that may be distributed for use for total and permanent disability discharge
requests on or after July 1, 2002.
Implementation and Transition
to New Forms
The previously approved
FFEL/Direct Loan total and permanent disability discharge form, or a school
form for Perkins borrowers, may still be processed by loan holders after July
1, 2002. However, for discharge requests approved by a loan holder on or after
July 1, 2002 based on a previous form, the loan holder must, in the preliminary
determination of eligibility, inform the borrower that the regulations governing
disability discharges have changed and provide information to the borrower on
the new total and permanent disability eligibility criteria and discharge process.
These new procedures are outlined in Dear Colleague Letter GEN-02-03, which
is available on the Department of Education's Information for Financial Aid
Professionals (IFAP) web site at the following address:
http://www.ifap.ed.gov/dpcletters/GEN0203.html
Imaging Technology
The enclosed loan discharge
application form requests the borrower to complete and sign the form in ink.
This request is made to accommodate imaging technology, but a pencil signature
does not invalidate the form. This is consistent with the use of other common
FFEL and Direct Loan forms.
Page 2 - Dear Partner Letter
Printing Instructions
The enclosed form must
be printed with black ink on white paper. The type face, point size, and general
presentation of the form may not be changed from the enclosed form approved
by the Secretary. The program names appear in the header of each form ("Federal
Family Education Loan Program/Federal Perkins Loan Program/William D. Ford Federal
Direct Loan Program"). The order of the program names may be changed as appropriate.
Loan holders should pre-print
their name and address and provide a contact number for borrowers to call in
the boxes provided for that purpose in Section 8 on page 2 of the form.
In developing the form,
consideration was given to bar coding. Accordingly, the space at the top, bottom,
or sides of the form may be used for this purpose.
Obtaining Copies for
Reproduction
The form is available in
PDF and Word formats as Attachments to this letter. In addition, the form is
available in PDF format on the National Council of Higher Education Loan Programs
(NCHELP) web site at www.nchelp.org.
Guaranty agencies and Perkins
school lenders are responsible for ensuring that the form used is identical
to the form approved by the Secretary. No changes may be made to the form except
those expressly authorized above.
Sincerely,
Jeff Baker, Director
Program Development Division
Federal Student Aid
Attachments:
Loan Discharge Application:
Total and Permanent Disability
Attachments/Enclosures:
Loan Discharge Application: Total and Permanent Disability in Microsoft Word Format, 162KB, 3 pages
Loan Discharge Application: Total and Permanent Disability in PDF Format, 75KB, 3 pages
