UHEAA Announces New Edit to Assist Schools

The Utah Higher Education Assistance Authority (UHEAA) is pleased to announce a new system edit to help schools monitor annual loan limits. The new edit, which was developed in consultation with a group of Utah financial aid officers, is now in place and is designed to prevent potential over awards.

As explained in the examples listed below, the edit scans the UHEAA database for loan periods which overlap. If an overlapping loan period is discovered, the system calculates the borrower’s remaining eligibility for the new loan by subtracting the prior loan amount from the applicable loan limit. Using a $100 threshold, applications will be processed as follows:

If certifying the new loan will cause the total amount guaranteed for the academic year to exceed the maximum allowable amount by more than $100 - -

the application is placed on hold and UHEAA will contact the school to discuss possible adjustments to keep the borrower within the maximum allowable amount for that academic year.

If certifying the new loan will result in a guaranteed amount that is equal to or less than $100 over the maximum - -

the system will automatically reduce the amount guaranteed to the maximum allowable amount.

The following examples illustrate how the system edit works:

EXAMPLE A: ABC School certifies a loan in the amount of $5,000 for John, a third-year student, for the loan period August 1997 to March 1998. UHEAA’s system identifies a prior loan for John in the amount of $6,000 certified by XYZ School covering the same loan period. John’s annual loan limit is $10,500, thus John’s remaining eligibility is only $4,500. Because the difference between the requested amount ($5,000) and John’s remaining eligibility ($4,500) is more than $100, this edit will cause John’s application to be placed on hold pending resolution with ABC School. John’s application can be guaranteed only if UHEAA enters a reduced school certified amount, or processes a transaction to reduce the amount of a prior loan after consultation with the school.

EXAMPLE B: ABC School certifies a loan for John in the amount of $5,000 for the loan period August 1997 to March 1998. UHEAA’s system identifies a prior loan for John in the amount of $5,550 covering the loan period August 1997 to December 1997. John’s remaining eligibility is $4,950, because the difference between the requested amount ($5,000) and John’s remaining eligibility ($4,950) is less than $100. The edit will cause John’s loan amount to be automatically reduced to $4,950. UHEAA believes this edit will help schools in their important responsibilities to monitor borrower loan limits. If you have any questions regarding this edit, please contact Teri Vig, Manager of Loan Delivery Services, at (801) 321-7223.