January 20, 2010

PLUS Loans Exceptions Expire

The Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loan Act of 2008 (ECASLA) temporarily broadened the definition of “extenuating circumstances” for PLUS credit criteria. This exception for PLUS applicants was published in Dear Colleague Letter GEN-08-08, which encouraged lenders to approve PLUS loan requests that had been denied based on established regulatory credit criteria for the period of Jan. 1, 2007 through Dec. 31, 2009.

Don’t forget that these temporary changes, which were highlighted in Common Manual section 7.1, expired Dec. 31, 2009. Original provisions for PLUS credit review are now in effect.