The Compliance Department

The NHHEAF Compliance Department's role is to help protect the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) by providing regulatory guidance to our lending, servicing, and school partners.

The Compliance Department also conducts periodic reviews of our lending partner's loan portfolios that are guaranteed by NHHEAF as required by regulation in 34 CFR 682.410(c).

What's New

2008-2009 - Volume 4 - FSA Handbook: Processing Aid and Managing Federal Student Aid Funds - April 14, 2008 - The U.S. Department of Education has released Volume 4 - Processing Aid and Managing Federal Student Aid Funds of the 2008 -2009 FSA Handbook.

2008-2009 - Volume 6 - FSA Handbook: Managing Campus-Based Programs - March 10, 2008 - The U.S. Department of Education has released Volume 6 - Managing Campus-Based Programs of the 2008 -2009 FSA Handbook.

2008-2009 - Volume 5 - FSA Handbook: Overaward, Overpayments & Withdrawal Calculations - March 3, 2008 - The U.S. Department of Education has released Volume 5 - Overaward, Overpayments & Withdrawal Calculations of the 2008 -2009 FSA Handbook.

2008-2009 - Volume 2 - FSA Handbook: School Eligibility and Operations - March 3, 2008 - The U.S. Department of Education has released Volume 2 - School Eligibility and Operations of the 2008 - 2009 FSA Handbook.

2008-2009 - Volume 1 - FSA Handbook: Student Eligibility - February 8, 2008 - The U.S. Department of Education has released Volume I - Student Eligibility of the 2008 -2009 FSA Handbook.

Revised Stafford Addendum - January 9, 2008 - The U.S. Department of Education has released a revised Stafford Addendum that reflects the changes to the FFEL Program due to the passage of the The College Cost Reduction and Access Act that are effective for loans disbursed on or after July 1, 2008.  If you have a supply of Master Promissory Notes with the previous Stafford Addendum stuffed in them, please discard the old Addendums and replace them with the revised Addendums.

Revised PLUS Addendum - January 9, 2008 - The U.S. Department of Education has released a revised PLUS Addendum that reflects the changes to the FFEL Program due to the passage of the The College Cost Reduction and Access Act that are effective for loans disbursed on or after July 1, 2008. If you have a supply of Master Promissory Notes with the previous PLUS Addendum stuffed in them, please discard the old Addendums and replace them with the revised Addendums.

NSLDS Update #3 - May 15, 2007 - School's instructions for researching identifier errors, specifically with regards to Comment #138 on the ISIR.

Dear Colleague Letter FP 07-04 - March 30, 2007 - The U.S. Department of Education reminds institutions of the regulations regarding students' choice of lender and/or guarantor.

2007-2008 FAFSA Correction - February 15, 2007 - This announcement makes a correction to the FAFSA instructions, resulting from a change in the final version of the 2006 IRS Form 1040EZ & 1040EZ Instructions.

Deter, Detect & Defend - The NHHEAF Network Organizations, in partnership with the Federal Trade Commission, presents a new brochure designed to educate students on the necessary steps to preserve their credit while in-school and after graduation. You can order this brochure, and other materials in our Borrow Responsibly campaign, from the Postsecondary Administrators Request Form.

Variable Interest Rates for 2006-2007 - Please note that this chart covers variable rate FFELP and TREE^SM loans that change annually on July 1st. 

HERA? COA? EFA? SOS!!! - Changes made by the Higher Education Reconciliation Act of 2005 may affect the amount of money students may borrow. This article breaks down those changes and what part of a student's Cost of Attendance or Estimated Financial Assistance may be reduced or expanded.

NSLDS Newsletter #14 - January 2007 - This Newsletter covers phase II of changes made as a result of the HERA.  The first topics covered in this Newsletter are Phase II HERA related changes. Secondly, ISIR and Transfer Student Monitoring /Financial Aid History (TSM/FAH) processes and batch file layout changes are described. Finally, enhancements made to NSLDS in general.

NSLDS Newsletter #13 - June 2006 - This Newsletter discusses changes as a result of the HERA.  Specifically, the reporting structure for the new PLUS Graduate Loan and Military Deferment, new Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG) and National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent (SMART) Grant programs and Hurricane Relief Efforts.

NSLDS Newsletter #12 - June 2006 - This Newsletter discusses changes announced to the student aid community regarding the use of "real-time" data from source databases to resolve student eligibility issues related to NSLDS reported loan defaults and loan limit issues.

NSLDS Newsletter #11 - February 2006 - This Newsletter discusses changes implemented in January 2006 that provide for a more accurate determination of a student's Federal Student Aid eligibility.

Higher Education Reconciliation Act of 2005

Below are several documents to help you navigate the changes to FFELP provisions under the Higher Education Act as a result of the passing of the Higher Education Reconciliation Act of 2005.

HERA FAQs - Frequently Asked Questions about the Higher Education Reconciliation Act of 2005

Dear Colleague Letter GEN 06-10 - June 20, 2006 - Implementing Provisions of the HERA for the 2006-2007 Award Year

E-Announcement - June 20, 2006 - Protect Against Identity Theft and Other Scams

PowerPoint Presentation put together by NHHEAF regarding the changes outlined in Dear Colleague Letter GEN 06-02.

Dear Colleague Letter GEN 06-02 - March 10, 2006 - Passing of the HERA

Dear Colleague Letter FP 06-05 - April 25, 2006 - Promissory Notes and Plain Language Disclosures

Dear Colleague Letter GEN 06-05 - April 27, 2006 - Institutional and Borrower Eligibility

If you would like an e-mail notification regarding updates to this page, please click here.

If you would like to be removed from this e-mail list please click here.

Ask Compliance

Do you have a FFELP related question or situation you would like Compliance to research for you?  Just fill out the form below - click "submit" and we'll look into it!

Please note: This tool is NOT secure, please do NOT send personally identifiable information, such as SSNs, through Ask Compliance.  If the question involves a specific student that we need to research, please note that in the question and we will contact you for the person's information.

Manuals

The Integrated Common Manual contains guarantor guidance to lenders and schools on the FFEL Program.  The periodic guarantor Bulletins are contained in the Integrated Common Manual, underlined text will be added and stricken text will be removed in the next printing of the manual.

2007-2008 FSA Handbook is written and maintained by the U.S. Department of Education as a resource for schools.

The Blue Book provides guidance to school business office personnel who handle fiscal recordkeeping, accounting, and reporting functions for federal Title IV student financial aid programs authorized by the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended.

Student Financial Aid Handbook for Foreign Schools is written by the U.S. Department of Education to to help participating foreign schools achieve manageable, student-friendly administration of the United States’ (U.S.) Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program.

The 2007-2008 Expected Family Contribution Formula Guide provides guidance on calculating the amount a family can be expected to contribute toward a student’s college costs.

NHHEAF Ombudsman

An ombudsman resolves disputes from a neutral, independent viewpoint.  

The NHHEAF Ombudsman will informally conduct impartial fact-finding research about borrower's issues and where appropriate, recommend solutions.  

The Ombudsman will research a borrower's problem and determine whether they have been treated fairly. If the student loan complaint is justified, we will work with the borrower and the company involved in the problem. On the borrower's behalf, we will contact the lender and the servicing agency or firm collecting the loan.

If the borrower's complaint is not justified, we will take the time to explain how we reached this conclusion.

The NHHEAF Ombudsman can be contacted at (603) 227-5380.