What's New
State of the Union Address - January 24, 2012
Listen to President Obama's comments on higher education and federal student aid in his most recent address.
Special Direct Consolidation Loans
The U.S. Department of Education (the Department) will offer Special Direct Consolidation Loans to eligible borrowers, beginning in January 2012. This is a short-term consolidation opportunity, ending June 30, 2012, for borrowers with
- at least one student loan held by the Department (a Direct Loan or a Federal Family Education Loan [FFEL] owned by the Department and serviced by one of the Department’s servicers); and
- at least one commercially-held FFEL loan (a FFEL loan that is owned by a FFEL lender and serviced either by that lender or by a servicer contracted by that lender).
Additional information is available at The U.S. Department of Education website and from The White House Press Release. Applications are available at http://www.specialdirectconsolidationloan.org
Upcoming Changes to Direct Loans
The Budget Control Act of 2011 makes the following changes to the Federal Direct Loan Program for loans disbursed beginning July 1, 2012.
- Loss of subsidized loan eligibility for Graduate and Professional Students - The annual limit for graduate and professional students remains unchanged at $20,500, but this amount will now be limited to Direct Unsubsidized Loans.
- Termination of Direct Loan Borrower Repayment Incentives - The current up-front interest rebate that has been provided to borrowers at the time of the loan disbursement will no longer be offered. Interest rate reductions for borrowers who agree to automatic electronic debit payments will remain.
2012-2013 Verification Changes
Beginning January 1, 2012 the U.S. Department of Education will implement changes to the verification process. Due to these changes we will no longer be able to accept IRS 1040 forms and instead will be requesting IRS Tax Transcripts from those students selected for verification and did not utilize the IRS data retreival option when completing the FAFSA.
Washburn University
1700 SW College
Topeka, KS 66621
Phone: (785) 670-1151
Toll-Free: 800-524-8447
financialaid@washburn.edu
