Student Loans
Notes on Federal Student Loan Debt Relief:
The University of Northern Colorado is closely monitoring the Biden-Harris Administration’s Student Loan Debt Relief Plan. Below is what we know so far. For the latest information, please see this Federal Announcement and Whitehouse Information on Debt Relief.
The Federal Student Loan Debt Relief Application is now open.
To be eligible:
-Your annual income must have fallen below $125,000 for individuals, or $250,000 for married couples or head of households
-If you received a Pell Grant in college and meet the income threshold, you will be eligible for up to $20,000 in
debt cancellation
-If you did not receive a Pell Grant in college and meet the income threshold, you
will be eligible for up to $10,000 in debt cancellation.
-Your relief is capped at the amount of your outstanding debt (example: If you’re
eligible for $20,000 in debt relief, but have a balance of $15,000 remaining, you
will only receive $15,000 in relief)
Review your Student Aid History
Recipients of federal student aid can view loan balances and check their status as a Pell Grant recipient at studentaid.gov.
Timing & Notification
The Department of Education will take action to forgive eligible loan debt before the pause on federal student loan repayments ends on Dec. 31. If the Department of Education doesn't have your income data, or you're not sure if they do, a simple application will be launched in the coming weeks for you to check. To be notified when the process officially opens, sign up for federal student loan borrower updates on the Department of Education webpage.
Pause on Student Loan Repayment Extended
The student loan payment pause is extended until the U.S. Department of Education is permitted to implement the debt relief program, or the litigation is resolved. Payments will restart 60 days later. If the debt relief program has not been implemented and the litigation has not been resolved by June 30, 2023 — payments will resume 60 days after that. Borrowers will be notified before payments restart.
UNC is committed to making every attempt to keep the cost of attendance manageable for all students. However, even with this commitment to reasonable educational costs, many UNC students must take out student loans to meet their educational expenses. UNC has several loan options available. These are all interest bearing loans, which must be repaid. An educational loan is an investment in your education; it is also a tremendous financial responsibility since a loan must be repaid to the lender with interest. It is always best to borrow only what you need to meet your educational expenses.
Attention Students with Federal Stafford Loans taking Module classes
Students who take module classes and receive federal financial aid, have new federal
regulations which may impact them starting Fall 2021. Module classes are defined as
any course that does not span the entire length of the full-term. If you take 5 credits
as a graduate student or 6 credits as an undergraduate student, the minimum to qualify
for a Federal Stafford loan, and then decide to drop a module course you are jeopardizing
your loan and possibly other financial aid.
Students need to complete at least 60% of their individual term to retain a full loan.
For example, a student with Stafford loans signs up for Module A for three credits
and Module B for three credits, both for 18 days each. The student completes Module
A and then drops Module B. Since their loan was based on both modules, the days in
the period for this calculation is 36 days and they successfully completed 18 days;
their completion rate is 50%. Because they have not completed 60% of the days of their
courses, some of their financial aid is required to be returned to the government.
Traditionally students who have dropped module course(s) early had little impact to
their federal loans. Now, depending upon the completion rate, federal loans are jeopardized
when a module class is dropped . Please be sure you understand this change in regulations
before you drop from a module course.
Loan Counseling Requirements
In an effort to increase understanding and reduce the default rate for student loans, the Federal Government requires that all first time borrowers complete an online entrance counseling session.
If you have previously received a loan at UNC and have completed entrance counseling, for Stafford Loans you are NOT required to complete another session. You WILL be required to complete an online session if you received a loan while attending a different school even though you completed an entrance counseling session for that institution.
Loan Entrance Counseling
An e-mail message will be sent to UNC when you have completed this requirement.
- DL Stafford Entrance Counseling: If you are an undergraduate student and borrowing a Direct Stafford loan, you will be required to complete this.
- DL Plus Entrance Counseling: If you are a parent and borrowing a PLUS loan with an endorser, you will be required to complete this.
- DL Grad Plus Entrance Counseling: If you are a graduate student and borrowing a PLUS loan, you will be required to complete this.
Once a session is completed, loan proceeds may be available in three working days, provided that all other disbursement requirements have been met.
In addition, student borrowers who are graduating must complete exit counseling online during the last semester of attendance. Failure to complete exit counseling may result in a hold on all University services and materials including transcripts, diplomas and registration.
Loan Exit Counseling
Federal Loan Requirements
- Applicants must have a current year FAFSA on file and eligibility determined by the UNC Office of Financial Aid.
- Students must not be in default of a federal loan, owe a payment on a federal grant, or have reached the lifetime borrowing limit.
- All full academic year (loans for Fall and Spring) Stafford and PLUS Loans must be disbursed in two installments during the term of the loan.
- First-time Direct Stafford Loan borrowers must complete an entrance counseling requirement prior to receiving loan funds.
- First-time Graduate PLUS borrowers must complete Grad PLUS Entrance Counseling prior to receiving loan funds.
- Direct Stafford Loan borrowers not returning to UNC must complete an online exit counseling prior to leaving campus.
- Borrowers must keep their lenders informed of any changes in enrollment status, name changes and/or address changes.
- NSLDS (National Student Loan Data System) Federal Loan (Title IV), information will be submitted to NSLDS, and will be made accessible by guarantee agencies, lenders, schools determined to be authorized users of the data system.
- Federal Direct Loans charge fees that are deducted from your loan disbursements. The current origination fee schedule can be found on the studentaid.gov site. Consequently, your loan disbursement may be less than the gross amount by the amount of those fees.
- Half-time status is required for Direct Stafford Loan consideration (6 credits for undergraduate, 5 for graduate).
Borrowing Strategies
Many of our students will be borrowing for the first time in their lives. Students should attempt to borrow the minimum amount possible to insure that after graduation they can comfortably accommodate student loan payments.
Whom can I contact if I have questions about processing?
If you have questions pertaining to processing your student loans please contact us
at (970) 351-4862.
View information for the DL Federal Student loans in PDF format
Ver información de préstamos federales estudiantiles DL en formato de PDF.
