4/1/10
FFEL Program Update
As shared in our Legislative Update last week and in recent editions of our Online News, numerous changes to health care and education were on the table for consideration and approval by Congress. After many long hours, H.R. 4872 was passed by Congress and was signed Tuesday by President Obama.
H.R. 4872 (the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010) includes the elimination of new lending under the FFEL Program beginning July 1, 2010, increases Pell Grants and expands the Income Based Repayment Program, among other provisions. OGSLP’s Interim Executive Director, Rick Edington said, “OGSLP has two focused missions over the next few months. One, provide as much information, assistance and support as possible for schools during the transition to the Direct Lending (DL) Program. Two, continue to strengthen our support services, tools, products and advocacy efforts for students and parents, as we recognize the ongoing demand for these resources, which Oklahomans need and deserve.”
During the immediate future, schools will continue to focus on ensuring their systems and processes are ready to originate all loans with a first disbursement on or after July 1, 2010 through the DL Program. OGSLP is currently gathering resources to share with financial aid offices during the transition, so continue to call your OGSLP school representative to discuss information you need to facilitate the changes.
We’d like to take this opportunity to recognize and thank our FFELP lending community for decades of outstanding service to Oklahoma students and families. As for the future of OGSLP, our objective is to continue to service our $3.5 billion FFELP portfolio and provide important support services for students, families and schools.
We’re offering two conference calls next week to share more about our future plans and provide an opportunity to hear from our customers. We hope you can join us next Tuesday, April 6 at 3 p.m. or Friday, April 9 at 10 a.m. to discuss the transition and anticipated impacts in our state. To join the conference call, dial-in using the phone number 866.255.8320 and the participant code 532335. In the interim, visit our Legislation Page for more information and resources.
OGSLP Communications
P.O. Box 3000
Oklahoma City, OK 73101-3000
gslcommunications@ogslp.org
www.ogslp.org