Skip global navigation
St. Cloud State University

St. Cloud State University

Business Services

Service Hours

Business Services Hours:

8:00-4:30 Monday-Friday
Summer:
7:30-4:00 Monday-Friday

Cashier Hours:

8:00-4:00 Monday-Friday
Summer:
7:30-3:30 Monday-Friday

 Business Serivces

[Loans] Federal Perkins Loans

What's New

**Perkins Loan Cancellation Changed

Effective October 7, 1998 the 1998 Amendments of Higher Education changed eligibility requirements for loan cancellation. Loan cancellations previously eligible for loans disbursed after July 1992 are now available to ALL Perkins borrowers. You may be eligible if you are working full time in the following fields: Nursing; Medical Technician fields; Teacher of Mathematics, Science, Foreign Language, Bilingual Education and Special Education; and as a Law Enforcement Officer (enforcing criminal law); OR providing services: As a Qualified Professional and Provider of Early Intervention Services (as defined in section 672(2) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act that are provided to infants and toddlers with disabilities); to High -Risk Children (Individuals under the age of 21 who are low-income and at risk of abuse or neglect, have been abused or neglected, have serious emotional, mental, or behavioral disturbances, reside in placements outside their homes, or are involved in the juvenile justice system.

**Student Loan Interest Deduction

Beginning January 1, 1998, taxpayers who have taken loans to pay the cost of attending an eligible educational institution for themselves, their spouse, or their dependent generally may deduct interest they pay on these student loans. The maximum deduction each taxpayer is permitted to take increases from $1,000 in 1998 to $2,500 in 2001 and thereafter. The following table summarizes the yearly increases. Year Maximum Deduction 1998 $1,000 1999 $1,500 2000 $2,000 2001 and thereafter $2,500

The deduction is available only for interest payments made during the first 60 months in which interest payments are required on the loan. The student loan interest deduction is available for interest payments due and made on or after January 1, 1998. Thus, the first time taxpayers will be able to claim the deduction is when they file their 1998 tax returns in 1999. No student loan interest deduction will be allowed for interest due or paid before 1998. For more information go to: www.irs.ustreas.gov/hot/not97-605.html

**Bankruptcy Law Change

Effective October 7, 1998, student loans or educational debts are no longer dischargeable except for undue hardship.

**Total and Permanent Disability

Effective 7/1/02 New standards and procedures for granting total and permanent disability write off are in effect as of July 1, 2002. The Loan Discharge Application for Total and Permanent Disability(PDF) must be completed. It is important to read “Section 4: Instructions for Completing the Form”.

**Late Fees/Returned Checks

A $3.00 late charge will be assessed for each monthly/quarterly payment missed.
Any check returned will be assessed a $20.00 fee.

**Rehabilitation

New Federal Regulations allow a Federal Perkins Loan borrower to rehabilitate a defaulted loan. The borrower must request this. To rehabilitate: 12 consecutive, on time, monthly payments must be made (to be determined by SCSU Loan Service Center). When the loan is rehabilitated, the following will take place: The loan will return to regular status, restoring rights and benefits of the promissory note; credit bureaus will be instructed to remove default from credit history; and the borrower may rehabilitate a loan only one time. For information, please call the SCSU Loan Service Center at 320-308-4214 or email us at FederalPerkins@stcloudstate.edu.

**Student Ombudsman

If a borrower disputes the terms of his/her loan in writing and the SCSU Student Loan Service Center does not resolve the dispute, the borrower may contact: Student Ombudsman at 877-557-2575 or www.SFAHELP.ed.gov.

Return to Top

Borrower's Rights and Responsibilities

Borrower's Rights

  • To Repay all or part of the loan(s) without penalty at any time.
  • To a Grace Period after graduation or discontinuing education. During this grace period, payment is not required and interest does not accrue on the Perkins and Nursing loans. Repayment of loan does not begin until your grace period has expired.
  • To Deferment of payment, if eligible.
  • To Cancellation of loan, if eligible.

Borrower's Responsibilities

  • To make payments on time.
  • To notify St. Cloud State University Student Loan Service Center if payment cannot be made by the due date. A $3.00 LATE FEE will be charged monthly if the account is not brought current.
  • To notify the SCSU Student Loan Service Center if there is any change of address, name or phone number.
  • To file appropriate forms, such as deferment or cancellation, in a timely manner.
  • To understand that failure to repay your student loan will have serious consequences:
    • Referral to collection agency.
    • Report the past due status of your loan to National Credit Bureau reporting agencies.
    • Loss of eligibility for deferment or cancellation benefits.
    • Loss of eligibility for further Federal Financial Aid.
    • Hold will be placed on your academic transcript.
    • A claim on your Minnesota State income tax refund

Billing Schedule

Payments are due the first of each month. If your payment is not received by the time the next month’s billing statements are generated, your account will be assessed a $3.00 late charge.

Billing Information

The billing statements will list all Federal Perkins Student and Bessie E. Campbell Student Loans received at St. Cloud State University. Always return the top portion of the statement with your remittance so your payment will be credited promptly. If you lose your bill, you may send your payment directly to the SCSU Student Service Center (AS 122). Please indicate your social security number (this is your account number) on your check to identify your loan and indicate for which loan type the payment should be applied.

Advanced Payment vs. Accelerated Payment

There is a box on the statement that says Advance Payment. You should check this box if you are making more than one payment and you want to apply those monies to one or more future payments. You will not be billed for those extra months.

If you do not mark this box, any additional payment will be treated as an Accelerated Payment. Any excess amount over your normal payment will be applied directly to principal. You will continue to get a regular statement each month.

Return to Top

Credit Bureau

Credit Bureau Reporting

There are three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, Trans Union. The St. Cloud State University Student Loan Service Center reports all loans to two national credit bureaus: Equifax and Trans Union. Loans are initially reported at the time of your first disbursement. When your loan goes into repayment you will be building either a positive or negative credit history. Federal law specifies how long negative information remains on your credit report. This includes late payments, accounts that the credit grantor turned over to a collection agency and judgments filed against you in court -- even if you later paid the account in full. Most negative information must be erased after seven years.

Consumer Credit Report  

A consumer credit report is a factual record of an individual's credit payment history. It is provided for a purpose permitted by law: to help a lender quickly and objectively decide whether to grant you credit. Most of the information in your consumer credit report comes directly from the companies you do business with, but some information comes from public records.

Your Credit Rights

Equal Credit Opportunity Act

This act was enacted to make sure women receive the same treatment from creditors as men. You have the right to obtain a credit card in your own name if you are a married woman and to have child support and alimony counted as income at your request. Creditors may not ask you about birth control or child-bearing plans. They are required to tell you their reasons if they deny you credit.

Fair Credit Billing Act

  1. You have the right to file a written complaint within 60 days after the bill you question was mailed to you.
  2. The creditor must acknowledge receipt of your complaint within 30 days and reach a settlement with you within 90 days.
  3. Until the matter is resolved, the creditor may not collect the disputed amount from you, nor may the creditor report any negative information about the dispute to credit reporting agencies.

Fair Credit Reporting Act

Offers legal protection of consumer privacy by:

  1. Limiting the purposes for which a consumer report may be used.
  2. Giving the consumer the right to receive full disclosure of everything in the file.
  3. Limiting the length of time which adverse information may be reported.
  4. Informing the consumer when a report has contributed to a denial of credit.
  5. Providing the consumer with an opportunity to dispute information.
  6. Limiting the access of governmental agencies.
  7. Providing civil and criminal liability for violations of the law.

Checking Your Credit

You may obtain a free credit report if you have been denied credit within the past 60 days, or you are unemployed and intend to apply for employment within 60 days, or you are a recipient of public welfare assistance, or you have reason to believe the file contains inaccurate information due to fraud. You can call, write, or go to the website to obtain a credit report.

When Your Credit Has Been Denied

  1. Obtain a free copy of your credit report to see what negative information is being reported.
  2. Request an explanation of the denial of credit from the company that denied you credit.
  3. If you spot an error, contact that reporting agency and discuss the error with them. If there is an error, the agency should make the correction. If the agency says it was not a reporting error and you disagree with that decision, you should file a consumer dispute.
  4. To file a consumer dispute, contact your local credit bureau. They will send you a form to complete. Based on that information, they will send an official Consumer Dispute Verification form to the reporting agency. That agency must respond within 5 days or the negative information will be deleted. Your local credit bureau will forward the change in your credit reporting to the other credit bureaus.
  5. If the reporting agency is reporting correctly, but you feel there were mitigating circumstances, you may have an explanation put on your credit report. Call your local credit bureau to submit an explanation.

How to Contact the Credit Bureau

Return to Top

Collections

Internal Collections

The St. Cloud State University Student Loan Service Center wants to work with you to get your loan paid. If you encounter difficulties, please contact our office immediately to try to resolve the problem.

Collection Agencies

If you fail to pay your loan or contact us. Federal regulations and Minnesota State Statutes require that your loan be placed with a collection agency when it becomes 120 days past due. Our office cannot set up a repayment arrangement once your account is with a collection agency.

NOTE: If your account is with a collection agency, but you believe you are eligible for a deferment, or cancellation, you should contact the SCSU Student Loan Service Center.

Loan Consolidation

The Federal Consolidation Loan Program enables borrowers to apply for a federal guaranteed loan to consolidate outstanding educational loan pursuant to Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended.

Listed below are consolidation lenders. You may contact any one of them for additional information if you are interested in consolidating all of your student loans into one. Please check the interest rates, it could be as low as 4% or more.

  • Sallie Mae: 1-800-448-3533
  • Wells Fargo: 1-800-658-3567
  • Direct Loans: 1-800-557-7392
  • AFSA Consolidation: 1-800-283-62213
  • Great Lakes Education Loan Services: 1-800-246-1540
  • Student Loan Finance Corp: 1-605-622-4440

Return to Top

Deferments

A borrower is entitled to have the repayment of a loan deferred under certain circumstances. A deferment is a period of time during which the borrower is not required to repay the loan principal. Interest will not accrue during any type of deferment, except a hardship deferment.

A borrower must apply for a deferment in writing by using a deferment form obtained from the St. Cloud State University Student Loan Service Center. The borrower must file a form at least once a year for as long as the deferment can be claimed. The borrower must immediately report any change in deferment status to the Student Loan Service Center. NOTICE: The 1998 reauthorization of regulations governing deferments of Perkins Loans (NDSL) has amended some of the deferment provisions effective October 7, 1998.

For Perkins Loans Made Before July 1, 1993
A borrower of a Perkins Loan made before July 1, 1993 may defer repayment if he or she is enrolled at least half time as a regular student in an eligible institution.

Such a borrower may also defer repayment for up to three years and interest will not accrue while he or she is:

  • A member of the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines , or Coast Guard;
  • A Member of the National Guard or the Reserves serving a period of full-time active duty in the armed forces;
  • An officer in the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service;
  • On full-time active duty as a member of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Corps;
  • A Peace Corps volunteer;
  • A volunteer under Title I, Part A of the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 (ACTION programs);
  • A full-time volunteer in service for a tax-exempt organization that the Department has determined is comparable to Peace Corps or ACTION service, or
  • Temporarily Totally Disabled or unable to work because he or she must care for a spouse or other dependent who is so disabled.

A Perkins Loan or NDSL borrower is entitled to a 6-month grace period after each type of deferment (a "post-deferment" grace period).

For All Perkins Loans
A borrower may defer loan repayment and interest does not accrue while he or she is:

  • Enrolled at least half time as a regular student in an eligible institution;
  • Enrolled and in attendance as a regular student in a course of study that is part of a graduate fellowship program approved by the Department;
  • Engaged in graduate or postgraduate fellowship-supported study (such as a Fulbright grant) outside the United States;
  • Enrolled in a course of study that is part of a Department approved Rehabilitation Training program for disabled individuals;(3 year limit)
  • Seeking and is unable to find full-time employment; (3 year limit)
  • Suffering an economic hardship;
  • Engaged in certain types of service that qualify the borrower for cancellation of the loan.

A Perkins Loan or NDSL borrower is entitled to a 6-month grace period after each type of deferment (a "post-deferment" grace period).

Return to Top

Cancellations

NOTICE: The 1998 reauthorization of regulations governing partial cancellation of Perkins Student Loans has amended some of the cancellation provisions effective October 7, 1998.

Under certain conditions, a borrower may have all or part of his or her loan cancelled. Cancellation means that a portion of all of the principal borrowed plus accrued interest will never have to be repaid by the borrower.
Important note: Before consideration may be given for any partial cancellation request (or a request for payment postponement/deferment in anticipation of a future partial cancellation), the borrower's account must be current to the beginning date of qualifying employment or, for borrowers of older loans requesting the new October 1998 reauthorization cancellations, current to October 1, 1998. Please contact the St. Cloud State University Student Loan Service Center if you need additional information.

Partial Cancellations

Teacher

  • Full-time teacher in a public or nonprofit elementary or secondary school serving students from low-income families or
  • Full-time teacher of handicapped students in a public or nonprofit elementary or secondary school. The majority of the students the borrower teaches must be handicapped children.
  • Full-time special-education teacher, including teachers of infants, toddlers, children, or youth with disabilities in a public or other nonprofit elementary or secondary school system;
  • Full-time teacher in a public or other nonprofit elementary or secondary school in the fields of mathematics, science, foreign languages, or bilingual education or in any other field of expertise that is determined by a state education agency to have a shortage of qualified teachers in that state;
  • Full-time staff member in HEAD START.

Nurse
A licensed practical nurse, a registered nurse, or other individual who is licensed by the appropriate state agency to provide nursing services.

Medical Technician
An allied health professional (working in fields such as therapy, dental hygiene, medical technology, or nutrition) who is certified, registered, or licensed by the appropriate state agency in the state in which he or she provides health care services; an allied health professional is someone who assists, facilitates, or complements the work of physicians and other specialists in the health care system.

Qualified Professional Provider of Early Intervention Services
A provider of services, as defined in section 672(2) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Section 672(2) of that Act defines developmental services as those services that are provided under public supervision; are provided at no cost except where federal or state law provides for a system of payments by families, including a schedule of sliding fees; are designed to meet a handicapped infants' or toddler's developmental needs.

Child and Family Service Agency Employee
To receive loan cancellation for being employed at a child or family services agency, a borrower must be providing services only to high-risk children who are from low-income communities. The borrower may also be providing services to adults, but these adults must be members of the families of the children for whom services are provided. The services provided to adults must be secondary to the services provided to the high-risk children. The Department has determined that an elementary or secondary school system or a hospital is not an eligible employing agency.

Law Enforcement or Corrections Officer
To establish the eligibility of a borrower for the law enforcement or corrections officer cancellation provision, the school must determine that 1) the borrower's employment agency is eligible and 2) the borrower's position is essential to the agency's primary mission. Please contact the St. Cloud State University Student Loan Service Center to determine if you are eligible. (Agencies that are primarily responsible for enforcement of civil, regulatory, or administrative laws are ineligible.)

Partial Cancellations are typically given at the following rates:

  • 15% for each of the first and second year;
  • 20% for each of the third and fourth years; and
  • 30% for the fifth year.
  • Headstart is automatically 15% for each full year of teaching.

Death

Upon receipt of a CERTIFIED COPY OF DEATH CERTIFICATE, the unpaid balance of the loan, including interest will be cancelled. Regardless of the repayment status of a loan, the school that was the lender must cancel the unpaid balance of the loan, including interest, upon receipt of proof of the borrower's death .

Total and Permanent Disability (Effective 7/1/02)

New standards and procedures for granting total and permanent disability write off are in effect as of July 1, 2002. The Loan Discharge Application for Total and Permanent Disability must be completed. It is important to read “Section 4: Instructions for Completing the Form”.

If St. Cloud State University Student Loan Service Center determines that the borrower meets the criteria for a disability discharge, it must assign the loan to the Department of Education’s Disability Discharge Unit. The Department reviews all assigned loans with discharge applications to affirm that the borrower meets the criteria for a discharge. If the Department is in agreement, the loan is placed in a conditional discharge status for three years. During this conditional discharge period, the borrower is not required to make payments and interest does not accrue.

The Department will monitor whether the borrower has been able to work and earn money or has received a new Title IV loan in order to ensure that the borrower continues to qualify for the total and permanent disability discharge. At the end of the conditional discharge period, the Department will make a determination that the borrower has met the definition of total and permanent disability if he or she has not had annual earnings from work during the conditional discharge period in excess of the poverty level for a family of two, and has not received any new Title IV loans during the period. If these conditions are met throughout the conditional discharge period, they will grant a final discharge.

In some cases, a borrower may have become totally and permanently disabled, as determined by a physician, three or more years before the loan is assigned. In these cases, the initial determination of eligibility- based on the borrower’s medical documenation- and the final determination of eligibility- based on the borrower’s earnings and subsequent Title IV loan activity- will be conducted at the same time and the Department may immediately grant a final discharge.

Return to Top

Forms

The following forms may be used to request a change in status. You may print out the form(s) on your printer or request a copy to be sent to you. Fill in the information COMPLETELY and mail it back to us or use our FAX number. Thank you.

Telephone: 320-308-4214
Fax: 320-308-5113

Mail:
St. Cloud State University
Student Loan Service Center
720 Fourth Avenue South as 122
St Cloud, MN 56301-4498

Email: federalperkins@stcloudstate.edu

Forms are available as PDF files and can be downloaded using Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Deferments

Perkins Loans received prior to 7-1-93

For all Perkins Loans:

For Nursing Student Loans

  • Student Status (must be at least half-time in continuing nursing education)

Partial Cancellation

Total Cancellation

Return to Top