College Zone - Printable Version - Lender Zone - Processes

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The National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) is a national database of information on Title IV student aid, including FFELP loans. NSLDS was developed to provide current loan-level information on Title IV aid, and to provide an integrated view of Title IV programs in terms of aid approval, disbursements, repayments, delinquencies, and school closings. The overall goals of NSLDS are to improve the efficiency of the Title IV delivery system and to support research on improving program administration.

Lenders and servicers are required to report specific FFELP loan data elements to guaranty agencies on a monthly basis for inclusion in the guarantor’s monthly reporting to NSLDS. A lender reports NSLDS data to the guarantor using the NSLDS Lender Manifest, a common report format developed by the National Council of Higher Education Loan Programs, Inc. (NCHELP).

The common NSLDS Lender Manifest format requires lenders and servicers to report the data to the guarantor for each loan until the loan is closed (cancelled, paid in full, paid in full by consolidation, paid in full by refinancing or uninsured). If a loan record is rejected during the lender manifest process, the lender or servicer must correct the error and resubmit the loan record in the next scheduled monthly NSLDS lender manifest submission.

For regular monthly reporting of loan status, lenders and servicers can choose from two options:

Common Account Maintenance (CAM) - a transaction-based reporting process that facilitates the exchange of loan data in an electronic format.
NSLDS Lender Manifest - a reporting process which uses a common format through paper, diskette or cartridge to provide a "snapshot" of a lender's/servicer's portfolio at a specific point in time.

Full Loan Cancellations

The preferred method of notifying ISAC of full loan cancellations for non-disbursed subsidized Stafford, unsubsidized Stafford and PLUS loans is through NSLDS Lender Manifest reporting. Reporting full loan cancellations through the regular lender manifest process replaces the need to submit this type of cancellation via rosters, etc., thereby eliminating duplication. The standard error reporting process is in place; any errors returned mean the cancellation failed.