# Presentation: 062455

## Slide 1

## NSLDS Data Conflict Resolution

## This Session Will

- Provide an introduction to NSLDS
- Define conflicts
- Demonstrate how the Data Correction Process functions
- Explain how to resolve conflicts
- Share feedback

## What is NSLDS? 

- National Student Loan Data System
- National database of federal loans & grants awarded under Title IV of the Higher Ed Act of 1965, as amended
- Data loading began in 1994
- School online access granted in 1996
- Web access available in 1999

## NSLDS Goals

- Reduce burden, costs, and errors in aid administration
- Minimize abuse within aid programs
- Create central database of highly reliable, accessible data
- Plan and budget
- Program coordination and control
- Research

## NSLDS Content

-  51,824,865  Students
- 174,485,638 Loans (FFEL, Direct, Perkins)
-  39,987,662  Pell Grants (1993-current)
-  45,293,719  School Branches
-         18,407  Schools
-         31,376  Lenders
-                60 Guaranty Agencies
****As of 06/30/2004***

## Slide 7

## Timing of Data Feeds

**Daily:**
- 		Pell
- 		PEPS
- 		CPS Demographic
- 		School Data
- 		Lender Data
**Flexible**** ****Schedules****:**
- 	Guaranty Agencies

**Weekly:**
- 		Debt Collections
- 		Direct Loan
**	**
**Monthly:**
**	****	**Perkins Schools

## NSLDS Users

- Colleges, universities, and trade schools
- Students and borrowers
- ED
- Lenders
- Guaranty agencies
- State agencies
- ED contractors
- Other Federal Government agencies

## Data Correction Process

**Established in November 2001**
- Reduce burden for FAAs
- Central location for resolving data conflicts
- Responsible for negotiating with data providers
- In some cases, allowing NSLDS to become the data provider of last resort

## How It Works

- School reports conflict to the NSLDS Call Center to research
- School provides acceptable documentation
- The NSLDS Call Center negotiates with data providers
- Notification is made of resolution

## Defining a Conflict

**Discrepancies that affect aid eligibility**
- Incorrect identifiers in NSLDS
- First name
- Date of birth
- Social Security Number
- Incorrect statuses
- Incorrect amounts
- Duplicated records

## What is NOT a Conflict?

- Current year Pell issues
- Incorrect middle or last name
- Incorrect information in history
- Loan status that has recently changed
- Loan status that does not affect eligibility
- Such as CA status
- Aggregate determination for Consolidations

## Example of Duplicated Record

## Slide 15

## Requesting Removal of Duplicate Loan

- _Loan to nullify_:
- Loan Type
- Loan Date
- Loan Amount
- OPEID on loan
- Sep. Loan Ind.

- _Loan to "keep"_:
- Loan Type
- Loan Date
- Loan Amount
- OPEID on loan
- Sep. Loan Ind.

## Example of Name History

## Slide 18

## Slide 19

## How Does a Conflict Occur?

- Examples:
- Typo
- Incorrect FAFSA
- Fraud or identity theft
- Rejected record
- Loan assigned incorrectly

## Reporting a Conflict

- Call 1-800-999-8219 and select option #3
- Email **nslds@Pearson.com**
**Experts available 8:00-9:00 Eastern**
**For Financial Aid professionals only**

## FFEL Consolidation Loans

- NSLDS Determines Aggregates
- NSLDS Newsletter #6
- Available at **www.ifap.ed.gov** under NSLDS Reference Materials
- Dear Colleague Letter Gen 96-13
- Available at **www.ifap.ed.gov** under archived publications
- Questions #52-#55

## Students

- Can go to www.nslds.ed.gov
- Must have valid PIN
- www.pin.ed.gov (PIN Request)
- Identifier conflicts will prevent viewing

## When Students Contact the NSLDS Call Center Directly

- They will be:
- Referred to their current school
- If no current school is available they are referred to www.nslds.ed.gov or Federal Student Aid Information Center (800-4FEDAID) for Current Loan Holder
- If the loan holder is closed they are referred to Ombudsman Office (877-557-2575) as a last resort

## Documentation Requirements

- Verification of correct data
- Fax or email doco to NSLDS:
- Fax: 785-838-2154
- Email: _**nslds@Pearson.com**_
- NSLDS tracking number required

## Acceptable Documentation

**Incorrect Social Security Number**
- Social Security Card
- Current driver’s license
- W-2 form
- Payroll check or check stub
- Current U.S. Military ID
- State ID

## Acceptable Documentation

- Incorrect date of birth
- Birth certificate
- Current driver’s license
- Passport
- Current Military ID
- State ID
- Alien registration card
- (Form I-551 or I-151)

## Acceptable Documentation

- Incorrect first name
- Social security card
- Current driver’s license
- Birth certificate
- U.S certificate of naturalization
- Court order
- Marriage certificate
- Divorce decree

## Acceptable Documentation

- Incorrect first name –*continued*
- W-2 Form
- Passport
- Current U.S. Military ID
- State ID
- U.S. Military discharge papers
- U.S. Certificate of Citizenship
- Alien Registration Card
- Adoption paperwork

## Exceptions

- Direct Loan Name Change
- Must provide court decree proving name change
- Will not accept SSN card, requires birth certificate to change name to real name
- Certification of Naturalization
- Cannot have “AKA” prior to name

## Acceptable Documentation

- Incorrect status or amount
- Letter from loan/overpayment holder
- Paid in full promissory note
- Cancelled checks and/or money order receipts are not acceptable

## Resolution Takes Time

- Waiting on documentation
- Negotiations
- Closed data providers
- Backlog of cases
- Dependent on data provider’s submittal schedules and cooperation

## Awarding Students

- Dear Colleague Letter GEN 96-13
- Available at **www.ifap.ed.gov** under archived publications
- Question #26
- Question #37

## Resolution Time Reduced

- Online updating for guaranty agencies
- Increase of submittal frequency
- Templates for guaranty agencies
- Overpayment online updating for DCS
- Data provider of last resort

## Proactive Data Integrity Gets Results

- Benchmark reports for Data Providers
- Data Integrity Alerts for FFEL Data Providers
- Special assistance and schedules when Data Providers need to make corrections to data

## Proactive Data Integrity Gets Results

-      Our goal is to find the problem, research the problem and prevent the problem from occurring again.
- In 2002:
- 90,000 FFEL duplicates cancelled
- 1,300   DLSS duplicates cancelled
- 11,000 DCS duplicates cancelled
- 30,000  Perkins duplicates nullified
-  In 2003
- 25,000 FFEL duplicates cancelled
- 49,000 Perkins duplicates nullified

## Reduction in ISIR Code #138

- No code sent if no relevant data in NSLDS
- No code sent if CPS sends NSLDS 0’s for Date of birth
- Resulting in a 75% reduction in #138 codes
- 2000-01  147,872 codes sent
- 2001-02    78,419 codes sent
- 2002-03    38,450 codes sent
- 2003-04    39,563 codes sent

## Progress

- Over 2000 different schools have called in a case to the NSLDS Call Center
- The Data Correction Process has corrected 11,284 individual borrower or Pell recipient records.

## Feedback

**Tara Jackson,**
**Financial Aid Coordinator – Loans**
**Kent State University**

## More Feedback

**     “****I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the outstanding service I received recently from the Customer Care Contract to resolve an issue effecting Title IV Eligibility.   I began working on this issue in July and there was not any resolve to the problem until the CCC department became involved on 9/13/02.  Today (9/18), I was able to verify the issue had been resolved and NSLDS properly updated to reflect correct status of borrower's loans. I will definitely call upon CCC in the future to research and resolve issues updating NSLDS loan status which I am unsuccessful in resolving. Thanks.”**
**	****Mary Ammons ECPI College of Technology**

## “I am the Regulatory Compliance Manager for the Keiser Collegiate System in Florida.  I have been in the financial aid profession for over 25 years and have had many opportunities to speak with various agencies about problems with students and their financial aid.  I speak to someone on the staff at the NSLDS Conflict Resolution Department quite frequently, which is the reason for this e-mail.  I wish I remembered the names of the two people I have spoken to within the last week but I don't.  However, today I spoke with Regina, who was extremely helpful in solving a problem we had with one of our prior students whose financial aid at his current school is being held up because of a reporting error on our end.  We have been trying to get the problem resolved with OSFA and the University of Phoenix with no luck until I called and spoke to Regina. Within 20 minutes, she had called OSFA and gotten the problem resolved resulting in a very happy and relieved student.This is not an unusual occurrence when dealing with your department.  I have never had a complaint about anyone on your staff and I never hesitate to call NSLDS because you always help us resolve our problems.   The staff members that I have spoken to in the past have always been courteous, cooperative and helpful.  Please relay our thanks to your department and let them know that their work is truly appreciated by those of us at the other end of the phone. ”Carol ClaremontRegulatory Compliance Manager, Office of the ChancellorKeiser College

**More Feedback**

## Contact Information

- 1-800-999-8219 Option #3
- Fax: 785-838-2154
**nslds@Pearson.com**
**w****ww.nsldsfap.ed.gov** for professionals
**www.nslds.ed.gov** for students

## Discussion and Questions