College Zone - Printable Version - Lender Zone - Processes

collegezone.com	Print page	Close window

During the in-school, grace, and in-school deferment periods, guarantors and the U.S. Department of Education, monitor the enrollment status of the borrower, or the student on whose behalf a parent has borrowed a PLUS loan, to determine whether the student is maintaining continuous enrollment on at least a half-time basis. This is done via the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS). As a result, schools are required to supply enrollment information for students.

Student enrollment status reporting is an important part of student loan servicing since lenders and/or servicers rely on this information to properly track the status of borrowers’ enrollment when servicing Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) loans. In an effort to streamline the enrollment reporting process, the National Student Clearinghouse (The Clearinghouse) has enhanced enrollment reporting. ISAC is pleased to be the first guarantor to participate in this enhanced process known as the Total Enrollment Reporting Process (TERP).

The Clearinghouse data is also used to populate NCHELP's Meteor network. Meteor is a national financial aid community initiative that allows colleges to access and view, in a real-time environment, borrowers' student loan (Federal Stafford, PLUS, Consolidation and some alternative) data regardless of the lender, servicer or guarantor. Future expansions to Meteor are expected to incorporate Federal Direct and Perkins loan data, as well as data for all types of student financial assistance, including the Federal Pell grant, campus-based aid programs and state gift assistance programs.

ISAC participates in Meteor as an access provider, providing colleges a gateway to the Meteor network through INFOnet on the College Zone Web site.