In response to school concerns and the unprecedented disruptions caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19), we will be delaying the requirement that borrowers complete the Annual Student Loan Acknowledgement prior to disbursement for the 2020–21 Award Year. Instead, the borrower completion requirement will begin with the 2021–22 Award Year.
Background
In a November 21, 2019 Electronic Announcement, we informed schools about a change to our approved Master Promissory Note (MPN) confirmation processes. The new process will require student and parent borrowers to view how much they currently owe in federal student loans, and to acknowledge that they have seen this amount before a school can make the first disbursement of the first Direct Loan that a student or parent borrower receives for each new award year.
The “Annual Student Loan Acknowledgement” process (previously referred to as the “Informed Borrowing Confirmation” process) will be available on StudentAid.gov beginning in late April 2020. However, while we plan to implement most of the functionality related to the Annual Student Loan Acknowledgement process, we will delay the requirement that borrowers complete the Annual Student Loan Acknowledgement prior to disbursement for the 2020–21 Award Year. Instead, the process must be completed before a borrower can receive the first disbursement of the first loan the borrower receives for a particular award year, starting with loans associated with the 2021–22 Award Year.
Complete operational guidance about the Annual Student Loan Acknowledgement will be provided in a forthcoming Electronic Announcement.
Training and Partner Engagement
As a result of this change, schools will have additional time to learn more about the Annual Student Loan Acknowledgement and a longer lead time to incorporate it into their processes. Borrowers will also have an opportunity to become familiar with the tool prior to it being a required step. We look forward to working with schools and other stakeholders to refine and improve the Annual Student Loan Acknowledgement over time.
In addition, we are updating the training material for the previously scheduled webinar about the Annual Student Loan Acknowledgement. Updated details, including new dates and registration information, will be provided in a forthcoming Training Announcement to be posted to the IFAP website.
We will continue to post additional operational guidance as it becomes available and appreciate your patience as we work through this new approach. If you have questions about this announcement, you may email CODSupport@ed.gov.