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To All COHEAO Members: As you know last November, COHEAO wrote to the Department of Education expressing concerns and questioned the legality of the Department’s August 27, 2021 electronic announcement concerning the assignment of Perkins Loans. That letter can be found here. Last week, COHEAO received a letter from Under Secretary James Kvaal in response…

Withholding student transcripts of students who owe funds to an institution has percolated as a consumer/student fairness issue over the past year.  As such, many states have introduced measures that would prohibit colleges and universities from withholding transcripts due to unpaid debts. Withholding transcripts is a key tool in the process by which colleges and…

  Today, the office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) announced a one year extension of the mandatory assignment of Federal Perkins Loans in Default for more than two years. If you have any questions, please reach out to COHEAO’s executive director, Robert Moran.   Click here to view the announcement.   FSA’s announcement is below:…

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced yesterday that it plans to examine the operations of colleges that offer private student loans directly to students. The CFPB stated that it is concerned about institutional loans because of past examples of high interest rates citing actions at two for-profit operators that shut down in the mid-2010s…

As you know, COHEAO has been actively engaged and reviewing the Department’s August 27th notice regarding the mandatory assignment of Perkins loans that are more than 2 years in default.  Our previous Sparks indicated that COHEAO would be taking action.   This week, a letter was sent to Under Secretary James Kvaal asking him to…

On Friday, August 27, the Department of Education issued a notice regarding the assignment of Perkins Loans that have been in default for more than two years.  As you know, over the past several years, the Department through Federal Student Aid (FSA) has stepped up their efforts to require schools to assign defaulted Perkins Loans…

On Friday, August 27, the Department of Education issued a notice regarding the assignment of Perkins Loans that have been in default for more than two years.  As you know, over the past several years, the Department through Federal Student Aid (FSA) has stepped up their efforts to require schools to assign defaulted Perkins Loans…

Ever have a quick operational question? Run into a new situation and want to hear how others handled? Need suggestions on improving software or policies? COHEAO is excited to announce the release of its new Listserv for all Higher Education staff members and COHEAO Commercial Members. The Listserv will provide participants with the opportunity to…

Institutions frequently ask whether to assign their Perkin Student Loans to the Department of Education and when they are required to do so.  This document is designed to provide insight and information for institutions struggling with these questions.   Assigning Loans to the Department of Education Process of transferring to the Department of Education (ED)…

Through discussions with a number of our members, we have learned that Conduent (formerly Xerox/ACS) has informed their clients of their intention to discontinue servicing campus-based loans including Perkins as well as institutional loan programs. While we are still in the process of gathering information, we wanted to share with our membership that COHEAO is…