FFELP Processing Refresher August 2004 Financial Aid Services

Our Agenda What controls loan processing? What are the common problems? How can they be solved and prevented? Do’s and don’ts

Quick review: Loan set-up in Banner http://www.commnet.edu/FinAid/Documents/loantrng.pdf is our basic resource on loan set-up in Banner. The annual New Year System Start-up guides also cover loan set-up. Changing lenders and/or processors? Be sure to review RPRLOPT, RPRLNDA, and GJAPDFT. Modify as needed.

Quick review: Loan creation in Banner Award loan on ROARMAN or RPAAWRD. Create application (ELAP) from ROARMAN. Review application on RPAELAP. Release ELAP on RPAELAP.

Quick review: Interaction with loan processor (LP) RWPXF01 extracts released loan apps. Review the report! We upload extracted apps files to our LP (SLMA, CSLF, etc.). Watch for error reports from the LP. Status changes at the LP generate response files that we import into Banner with RWPXF02. Review the report! LP creates eft weekly; we import them into Banner with RWPXF03. Review the report!

What goes wrong? EFT amounts don’t match Banner scheduled amounts. EFT terms don’t match Banner disbursement schedule. EFT loan type (Sub/Unsub) doesn’t match Banner type. EFT represents a loan we cancelled in Banner.

How does this happen? Most loan problems are caused by modifying the schedule, amounts, or types of a loan record in Banner – or canceling a loan outright - without making the corresponding change in the processor’s system, or vice versa. Because we don’t use Commonline loan change processing, we don’t automatically update the processor’s loan records to reflect manual changes to Banner loan records. Nor do we automatically import into Banner manual changes made by the college on the processor’s system. Our response file import (RWPXF02) updates loan status in Banner (guaranteed, note signed, cancelled, etc.). It doesn’t update the Banner loan record to reflect manual changes we make on the processor’s system to loan amounts or disbursement schedules.

Scheduling your loan processing jobs RWPXF01 (application extract): at least weekly Review the report! RWPXF02 (import response files): at least weekly RWPXF03: (import eft): weekly

Before releasing an ELAP…. Does the RPAELAP loan period match the student’s aid period? Does the aid period reflect the actual enrollment? (This is especially important with spring-only students). Does the RPAELAP disbursement schedule match the ROARMAN disbursement schedule? Are the required biographical data complete (e.g., student’s driver’s license)? Do the lender codes match the borrower’s choice? Is entrance counseling completed?

How to cancel a disbursement If the eft didn’t post to the student account, cancel it on your LP’s system; the LP will debit your college’s account on the next eft cycle. If the eft did post to the student account: Contact Banner user support to have a return record created on RPALDSB. Cancel (in part or in full) on the LP system. LP will debit your account on the next eft cycle.

How to handle EFT’s that don’t match the Banner disbursement schedule If Banner and the processor’s records are out of synch, you may receive an eft that doesn’t match the term and/or amount in Banner’s schedule. When this happens, contact Banner user support for assistance. The Banner team will look for the cleanest and easiest way to resolve the problem for you.

How to set up PLUS loans (with the refund to the parent borrower) Obtain (on paper?!!!) the parent data you need to complete RPAELAP. Have your Business Office create a Banner account for the parent; alert them that a PLUS credit balance due the student should be refunded to the parent. Award PLUS and create ELAP. Enter parent data on ELAP. Transmit to LP just as with a Stafford. When eft arrives, alert the Business Office that a credit balance needs to be transferred to the parent’s account.

FFELP Do’s and Don’ts DO review ELAP’s before releasing them. DO download response files at least weekly. DO download eft files weekly. DO run RWPXF01, 02, and 03 at least weekly. DO review the RWPXF0… reports and follow up. DO contact user support for help and advice.

FFELP Do’s and Don’ts DON’T cancel a loan at your processor unless you also cancel it in Banner. DON’T cancel a loan in Banner unless you also cancel it at your processor. DON’T change loan periods, disbursement schedules, etc., unless you change them both in Banner and at your processor. DON’T hesitate to contact user support for help and advice with FFELP processing.

Questions?