Campus Partners

Update Newsletter
July 31, 2003

Inside AMS Servicing
Jackie Shelton
Control Analyst, Payment Processing

Customer Closeup
Aeda Ghandour
Fairleigh Dickinson University

Federal Perkins Master Promissory Note

The Department of Education (ED) provided an early posting of the recently approved Federal Perkins Loan Master Promissory Note (MPN) in Dear Partner/Colleague CB-03-11. Schools may use the new note at the beginning of the 2003-2004 Award Year. A comprehensive "Dear Colleague Letter" detailing the use of the Perkins MPN is in final review and will be issued as soon as possible. In the meantime, ED advises schools that the Perkins MPN may be used for award years beginning on or after July 1, 2003, and must be used for all new loans made on or after November 1, 2004. The note can be found at http://www.ifap.ed.gov/dpcletters/CB0311.html.

We have also posted the new Perkins MPN to our Web site.

Fiscal Operations Report and Application to Participate (FISAP)

Recently issued Dear Partner/Colleague Letter CB-03-10 provides information about the Fiscal Operations Report for 2002-2003 and Application to Participate for 2004-2005 (FISAP). It includes a series of questions and answers relating to the FISAP for 2004-2005 and also features links to the FISAP Instructions Booklet, Form, and Reference to this letter to aid in preparation of the FISAP for 2004-2005. For more information, go to http://www.ifap.ed.gov/dpcletters/CB0310.html.

Campus-Based Reallocation Form Due

ED announced in Dear Partner/Colleague Letter CB-03-09 the availability of the Campus-Based Reallocation Form (E40-4P), which must be returned to ED by August 22, 2003. This form is used in the FSEOG, FWS, and Perkins Loan programs (the campus-based programs) to release unexpended portions of an institution’s 2002-2003 allocations or to request supplemental 2003-2004 FWS funds for community service jobs. The letter is written in a question-and-answer format and the Reallocation Form worksheet and instructions are attached. You can view this letter at the following link: http://www.ifap.ed.gov/dpcletters/CB0309.html.

Campus-Based Policy Memorandum 2003-4 Issued

The Health and Human Services (HHS) Bureau of Health Professions recently issued Campus-Based Policy Memorandum 2003-4: Cancellation Based on Permanent and Total Disability. This memorandum provides guidance on the policies and procedures for administering the federal student aid programs authorized under Title VII and VIII of the Public Health Service Act for those borrowers requesting cancellation of their loans based on permanent and total disability. The Bureau reiterates that only HHS has the authority to cancel HPSL, PCL, LDS or NSLs based on permanent and total disability. All requests, along with supporting documentation, must be submitted to HHS for review.

Are We Processing Deferments for You via the Clearinghouse?

If you have not signed up for our Deferment Processing Service, offered in collaboration with the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC), now is the time to do it! This service provides you with automated processing of grace and student deferments, based on enrollment information from the NSC file database.

Just complete the authorization form attached to this issue of the AMS Servicing Group Update. If you have any questions about this service, contact your School Relations Coordinator.

Attachment: NSC Authorization Form

New Clearinghouse Report Created

We recently created the National Student Clearinghouse Transaction Report to identify deferment and deferment reversals that are processed on the basis of the NSC database. This new transaction report is available to all customers currently using our Deferment Processing Service (see previous article). Only deferment activity with a source code "K" (Clearinghouse) will appear on this report. It does not replace or remove the deferments or deferment reversals that are currently reported on the Transactions and Adjustments Journal, but it does provide you with a source document for audit purposes.

Beginning with your July month-end reports, you may access this report on-line by using DocumentDirect, a service provided to you at no cost. If you have any questions about this report, please contact your Customer Service Representative.

Audit Almost Complete

Our third-party audit conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP (PwC) for the 2002-2003 fiscal year is almost completed. We expect their report to be available at the end of August 2003. You may download an Audit Request for 2002-2003 from our Web site. The report is available on CD-ROM for $75.00, while a paper copy is $100.00 per report.

Collections System Enhanced

Thanks to input from our current customers, we made the following enhancements to the Collections System on July 9, 2003:

• Reporting Flexibility:
  The administrator can now designate which reports an individual collector is allowed to view.
• Custom Letters:
  You can now imprint your school logo and a collector’s signature on custom letters.
• Assignment of Loans to Collectors:
  In addition to assigning loans to collectors based on SSN or by Alpha order, you now can automatically distribute new borrower assignments evenly among all collectors.

As always, we encourage current users of the AMS Servicing Group Collections System to contact Kim Wilson with suggestions. If you are not currently using the AMS Servicing Group Collections System, please contact Kim for more information.

Your Borrowers and Your Institution Can Save With Consolidation

Interest rates on most federally-backed Stafford loans and federal PLUS dropped to historically low rates on July 1. These record-low rates impact borrowers who are consolidating existing student loans. Consolidation loans secured now may be locked in for about 3.5% for the life of the loan, resulting in considerable savings.

AMS offers a FREE debt management and loan consolidation counseling service that can help your borrowers make a sound, guided decision about consolidation. And, for each of your borrowers that consolidate, you receive a reduction in your monthly invoice from AMS Servicing Group!

When you sign up for this free service, your student loan borrowers will be contacted by specially trained counselors, who will discuss the options available with federal loan consolidation. They will evaluate the benefits to the borrower, particularly in relationship to their Perkins and Nursing/Health Professions student loans. If consolidation is a good choice, then they will begin the application process. It’s as easy as that.

When your borrowers consolidate, the proceeds of the loan return directly to your Perkins fund, allowing other borrowers to reap the benefits of this loan program. And, you are no longer billed for borrowers that consolidate. That results in savings for your Institution.

Have you signed up for our free, money-saving loan consolidation counseling service? If you haven’t, then now is the time to get started. Simply contact your School Relations Coordinator to sign up today!

Index Available

Just a reminder that an index for the 2003 issues of the Update is available from our Web site.

Long-term Customers

Our greatest thanks and appreciation are extended to customers reaching long-term anniversaries with us during July, August, and September. Special recognition goes to our customers of 35 years: Asbury Theological Seminary, Meharry Medical College, and the North Carolina School of the Arts. We also want to recognize Gallaudet University, McDaniel University, South College NC, and South University-Montgomery for allowing us to service their loans for the past 30 years.

Names of all customers attaining 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, and 35 year anniversaries with us during this quarter are attached. Customers reaching anniversaries with us during the fourth quarter of 2003 will be listed in the October Update.

Attachment: Long-term Customer Anniversaries

Customer Closeup

In this quarter’s "Customer Closeup," we are profiling Aeda Ghandour, Manager of Student Loan/Credit and Collection at Fairleigh Dickinson University. The school, which has campuses in Teaneck and Madison, NJ, and Wroxton College in Oxfordshire, UK, has been one of our customers for 35 years. Over 10,000 graduate and undergraduate students are enrolled at the two New Jersey campuses, which offer over 100 degrees in business, civics, communication arts, computer technology, education, health and medicine, language, psychology, and science.

Attachment: Customer Closeup

Teleconference Schedule

Our teleconference schedule continues in August. Each teleconference is geared towards understanding a particular area of student loans and is an opportunity to gain new insight, ask questions, and hear helpful suggestions from other schools. To register, please e-mail Debra Pitts, School Relations Assistant at dpitts@amsweb.com at least 3 days before the conference call. Remember that no special equipment is needed, and there is no charge to register for the sessions.

Last Chance for Student Loans 202

The last session of Student Loans 202 will be held on October 9-10 at our office in Winston-Salem, NC. You can obtain information and a registration form by visiting our Web site or by calling Debra Pitts at (800) 458-4492 ext. 2272 or by e-mailing her at dpitts@amsweb.com.

Regional Meetings

Our next Regional Meeting will be held on August 8, 2003 at the University of South Carolina. All of our 2003 Regional Meetings will feature news about our exciting new Web site, myamsloan.com, which allows your borrowers to access their accounts on-line. You will also learn how you will be able to access your borrowers’ account information via amsservicing.com in the future. For more information, please contact your School Relations Coordinator or call Debra Pitts at (800) 458-4492 ext. 2272 or e-mail her at dpitts@amsweb.com.

Conference Schedule

Representatives from AMS Servicing Group will attend the conferences listed below.

The PDG East Coast Conference will be held October 12-15 at the Hyatt Regency in Miami, FL. Visit www.prodev.com for more information.

The PDG West Coast Conference will be held at the Westin Seattle in Seattle, WA on November 16 -19. More information is available at www.prodev.com.

Cutoff Dates

Cutoff dates for August and September 2003 are presented below:

		This month's Update is available in PDF format.