Financial Collections

Federal Perkins Loan Program (NDSL)

Change of Status | Prepayment | Interest Rate | Grace Period | Student Loan Ombudsman | Repayment of Loan | Military Deployment | Deferment | Hardship Repayment Options | Forbearance | Cancellations | Death or Disability | Penalties | Collection Agents, Litigation, and Witholding of Services | Loan Rehabilitation | Additional Information

General Information

Change of Status
Until your loan is repaid, please keep the UMD Financial Collections Office informed of any change in your name, address, telephone number, Social Security number, or driver’s license number.

Prepayment
All or any part of your unpaid loan balance may be paid at any time without penalty.

Interest Rates
All loans made on or after August 13, 1981 carry an interest rate of five percent (5%) per year.

Grace Period
All loans made after June 30, 1987, carry a grace period of nine months, during which time interest does not accrue on the loan and repayment is not required. The grace period ALWAYS begins on the date you cease to be at least a half-time student.

Student Loan Ombudsman
If you dispute the terms of your NDSL or Federal Perkins Loan in writing and the holder of your loan is unable to resolve the dispute, you may seek the assistance of the Department of Education's Student Loan Ombudsman. The Student Loan Ombudsman will review and attempt to informally resolve your dispute and may be reached at 1-877-557-2575.

Repayment of Loan

The total amount of the loan received under this program, plus accrued interest, must be repaid within a ten-year period which begins immediately after the grace period expires. If you cease to be a half-time student, but re-enter the same or another accredited school as at least a half-time student within the applicable grace period, the grace period is not considered to have begun (i.e., the repayment period does not begin until you have been away from an eligible course of study continuously for the full duration of the grace period).

During the repayment period, your monthly payment amount will be a minimum of $40 in principal and interest according to your repayment schedule. If the amount you borrowed is greater than $4800.00 your monthly payment amount will be larger.

Military Deployment

If your loan is in an in-school status or grace period when your are called to active duty or reassigned, your status will be maintained as in-school during the period of active duty, plus the time necessary for you to resume enrollment in the next regular enrollment period that is reasonably available. This status may not exceed three years including the time period necessary for you to resume enrollment.

If your loan is in repayment when you are called to active duty, UMD will grant a forbearance for the expected period of active duty, not to exceed one year.

Deferment

Once the repayment period begins, you may be eligible for periods of deferment during which interest ceases to accrue on the loan(s) and repayment of principal is not required. Periods eligible for deferment status are described below:

• If you are enrolled in an institution of higher learning and pursuing at least a half-time course of study.
• If you are a student in a graduate fellowship program approved by the Secretary.
• If you are engaged in graduate or post-graduate fellowship supported study outside the U.S.
• If you are enrolled and attending a rehabilitation training program for disabled individuals.
• If you are engaged in public service that qualifies for having part or all of your loan cancelled
• For a period not to exceed three years during which you are seeking but unable to find full-time employment.
• For a period not to exceed three years during which you experiencing an economic hardship as determined by the school.

You may continue to defer making scheduled installment payments and will not be liable for any interest that might otherwise accrue for a six-month period immediately following the expiration of any deferment period described in the above paragraphs.

To claim deferment, a Certification of Deferment Status form must be submitted to the school that made the loan:

1. when the first installment is due
2. every six months thereafter
3. upon termination of such status

Hardship Repayment Options

Upon written request during the repayment period, the school may extend the repayment period for up to an additional ten years and adjust any repayment schedule to reflect your income. The school may extend the repayment period if, in its opinion, prolonged illness or unemployment prevent making the scheduled payments. During this time, interest will continue to accrue. The school may reduce minimum the monthly repayment rate for a period not more than one year at a time if you experience a period of prolonged illness or unemployment; such action may not extend the repayment period beyond 10 years.

Forbearance

Forbearance is the temporary postponement of payments, an extension of time allowed for making payments, or the acceptance of smaller payments than were previously scheduled. A written request and supporting documentation must be submitted to receive forbearance. Forbearance may be granted for up to one year, but will not exceed a total of three years. Both loan principal and any interest that accrues must be included in the forbearance. However, the borrower may choose to pay any interest that accrues during forbearance. Interest will accrue during any period of forbearance.

Forbearance must be granted if the school determines the borrower should qualify due to poor health or for other reasons, including service in AmeriCorps.

Cancellation

Upon making a properly documented written request to the school, up to 100% of the original principal loan amount may be cancelled by performing service in the areas listed in paragraphs 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 below. Qualifying service must be performed after you receive the loan. **Rates for Teacher and other Employment Cancellations are up to 100% of the outstanding loan principal balance may be cancelled at the rate of 15% the 1st and 2nd year, 20% the 3rd and 4th year, and 30% the 5th year.**

Teacher Cancellations

A teacher is defined as on who is a professional employee of a school or school system working full-time for a complete academic year or its equivalent and who is devoted to providing classroom instruction or related services in support of the educational program.

1. Full-time teacher in a public or nonprofit elementary or secondary school designated by the Secretary of Education as having a high concentration of low-income students, and in which more than 30 percent of the school’s enrollment is Title I children, according to the list published annually in the Federal Register.
2. Full-time special education teacher , including teachers of infants, toddlers, children and youth with disabilities in a public or nonprofit elementary or secondary school system. The applicant must specify what percentage of students or clients in the class are disabled.
3. Full-time speech pathologists with a master’s degree working exclusively in Title I schools.
4. Full-time teacher in a field of expertise such as mathematics, science, foreign languages, bilingual education or other fields where the state education agency determines there is a shortage of qualified teachers.
5. Full-time faculty members at a Tribal College or University.

Employment Cancellations

The employment must be full-time and for a complete calendar year or its equivalent.

1. Service as a law enforcement or corrections officer in an eligible local, state or federal agency. The agency must be publicly funded and its principal activities must pertain to crime prevention, control, or reduction or enforcement of criminal law, and your principal responsibilities are unique to the criminal justice system. The applicant must be a sworn law enforcement officer, or a person whose principal responsibilities are unique to the criminal justice system, including public defenders.
2. Full-time firefighters.
3. Full-time employment as a nurse or medical technician providing health care services for 12 consecutive months. A medical technical is an allied health professional (working in fields such as therapy, dental hygiene, medical technology, or nutrition) who is certified, registered, or licensed by the appropriate State agency. An allied health professional is someone who assists, facilitates, or complements the work of physicians and other specialists in the health care system.
4. Providing or supervising the provision of services to high-risk children from low-income communities under the age of 21, and families of such children, and working full-time in a public or private nonprofit child or family service agency for twelve consecutive months.
5. Qualified professional provider of early intervention services working full-time for twelve consecutive months in a public or other nonprofit program authorized in Section 676 (b)(9) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Providing developmental services to handicapped children under the age of 3 who have developmental needs in physical, cognitive, language and speech, psycho-social development, or self-help skills.
6. Librarians with a master’s degree in library science who are employed in a school served under Title I of the ESEA, or a public library serving a Title I school.
7. Full-time staff members in a prekindergarten or childcare program that is licensed or regulated by the state.

Service Cancellations

1. Active duty service in the military in an area of hostility that qualifies for special pay under Section 310 of Title 37 of the U.S. Code. Up to 100% of the outstanding principal balance may be cancelled at the rate of 15% the first and second year, 20% the third and fourth year, and 30% the fifth year.
2. Volunteer service under the Peace Corps Act of Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 (VISTA). Up to 70% of the outstanding loan principal balance may be cancelled, at the rate of 15% for the first two years of service, and 20% for the third and fourth year.
3. Full-time service in a Head Start program carried out under the Head Start Act (formerly under the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964), and operated for a complete academic year or its equivalent. The applicant must be a full-time educational staff member, and must not earn more than a comparable employee working in the local educational agency. Validation must be attached. Up to 100% of the outstanding loan principal balance may be cancelled, at the rate of 15% for each year of service.

Death or Disability

Death: If you die, the unpaid balance of the loan and accrued interest thereon is canceled. To claim cancellation, the executor of the estate or a family member must submit a death certificate to the lending school.

Permanent and Total Disability: If you become unable to engage in any substantial gainful activity because of a medically determinable impairment, the unpaid balance of the loan and accrued interest thereon may be canceled. To claim this entitlement, a formal request for cancellation must be submitted to the lending school, along with a physician’s statement which certifies the date of onset, nature, and extent of your disability, and copies of medical records pertinent to the disability. Final approval of the loan cancellation will be made by the U.S. Department of Education.

Penalties

Late Charges

Under the terms of the Federal Perkins Loan promissory note, the school will assess a charge, if a payment is not received when due or "timely" evidence of entitlement to deferment is not filed. Late charges may not exceed 20% of the monthly payment. In order to avoid late charges as specified in the note, payments, or forms for deferment in lieu of such payments, must reach the school on or before the due date.

Default

If you fail to make a scheduled payment when due or to submit proper documentation of deferment, cancellation or forbearance, the school may declare your loan in default and accelerate your loan. The school will disclose to all 3 national credit bureaus that the loan is in default. If you default on repayment of your loan, you will lose the right to apply for forbearance and cancellation benefits. You will also lose the right to be awarded further federal student financial assistance until satisfactory arrangements have been made to repay the loan.

Collection Agents, Litigation and Withholding of Services

If you fail to make a scheduled payment, or fail to comply with any other terms of your promissory note, the Institution may:

1. refer your loans to a collection agent for further collection efforts;
2. initiate legal proceedings against you, including possible offset of Minnesota state income tax refunds;
3. withhold institution services, such as registration, transcripts, letters of recommendation, and degree;
4. obtain your address from the Internal Revenue Service, if the Institution has no current address for you.

Loan Rehabilitation

Defaulted Perkins Loan borrowers may be eligible for rehabilitation. Eligible borrowers must request rehabilitation. Perkins Loan rehabilitation is achieved by making nine consecutive, on-time monthly payments on a defaulted Perkins Loan. After successfully completing 9 consecutive payments the borrower will again be eligible for all remaining benefits from the original promissory note. The default will be removed from the borrower's credit bureau report.

Additional Information
Any questions regarding repayment of your Perkins Loan(s) not answered on this site should be directed to: University of Minnesota Duluth, Financial Collections, 129 DAdB, 1049 University Drive, Duluth, MN 55812-3011. Telephone: 218-726-8103. Email: fincoll@d.umn.edu.