Health Professions Loans, Scholarships, and Reporting

1. Health Professions Loans, Scholarships, and Reporting EASFAA 2009 Annual Conference May 19, 2009 Scholarship and Loan Program Managers Health Resources and Services Administration Bureau of Health Professions Division of Student Loans and Scholarships Campus Based Branch

2. Today’s Presentation • Agency/Bureau Overview • Overview of Campus Based Branch Programs • Health Professions Student Loan (HPSL) • Primary Care Loan (PCL) • Loans for Disadvantaged Students (LDS) • Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students (SDS) • Nursing Student Loan (NSL) • Nurse Faculty Loan Program (NFLP) • Electronic Handbook • Annual Operating Report (AOR) Edit Errors

3. Bureau Overview BHPr Mission: Increase the population’s access to health care by providing national leadership in the development, distribution and retention of a diverse, culturally competent health workforce that can adapt to the population’s changing healthcare needs and provide the highest quality of care for all.

4. New Faces • Mary K. Wakefield, PhD, RN • Administrator, HRSA • Marcia K. Brand, PhD • Deputy Administrator, HRSA • Diana Espinosa • Acting Associate Administrator, BHPr • Sarah L. Richards • Director, DSLS • Maureen J. Williams • Chief Operating Director, DSLS

5. Bureau of Health Professions Office of Shortage Designation 2008 Reorganization

6. Primary Care Loan Requires: • Medical and osteopathic students who receive these funds to practice primary health care. • Institutions to make a 1/9th contribution based on PCL draw down of Federal funds.

7. PCL -- Requirements • Not less than 50 percent of the school’s designated graduates meet the criterion of either being in a primary health care residency training program or being engaged in the practice of primary health care; or • Not less than 25 percent of the school’s designated graduates meet the above criterion, and this percentage is not less than 5 percentage points above the percentage of such criterion for the preceding one-year period; or • The school in in the top 25th percentile of participating PCL schools relative to the proportion of designated graduates who meet the above criterion.

8. Health Professions Student Loan Program • Established to alleviate the shortage of health professionals and to assure that qualified students were not denied a health professions career due to lack of financial resources. • HPSL provides long-term, low interest loans to full time students with financial need pursuing a degree in health professions.

9. Health Professions Student Loan Program • Initially funded through appropriations from Congress is now maintained through a revolving Federal Capital Contribution (FCC). • Institutions must make a 1/9th contribution of Federal funds awarded.

10. Eligible Disciplines • Dentistry • Optometry • Pharmacy • Podiatric Medicine • Veterinary Medicine

11. Loans for Disadvantaged Students • Provides financial assistance for health professions students from disadvantaged backgrounds with financial need. • Funds are awarded to accredited schools of allopathic medicine, osteopathic medicine, dentistry, optometry, pharmacy, podiatric medicine, and veterinary medicine.

12. LDS – Eligibility Requirements • Eligibility requirements: • Recruit and retain disadvantaged students; • Recruit and retain minority faculty; • Provide adequate instruction regarding minority health issues;

13. LDS- Eligibility Requirements, Continued • Establish arrangements with clinics serving individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds; • Establish linkages with feeder schools; and • Offer mentoring programs to help individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds obtain health professions degrees.

14. Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students • Established along with LDS to provide scholarships to full-time students from disadvantaged backgrounds that show financial need and are enrolled in health professions and nursing programs. • Schools are responsible for selecting scholarship recipients, making reasonable determinations of need, and providing scholarships that do not exceed the cost of attendance (tuition, reasonable educational and living expenses).

15. Eligible SDS Disciplines • Allopathic Medicine • Osteopathic Medicine • Dentistry • Optometry • Podiatric Medicine • Veterinary Medicine • Chiropractic Medicine • Pharmacy (Baccalaureate or Graduate) • Public Health (Graduate) • Dental Hygiene (Baccalaureate & Graduate) • Medical Laboratory Technology (Baccalaureate) • Speech Pathology (Baccalaureate & Graduate) • Registered Dietician (Baccalaureate & Graduate) • Radiologic Laboratory (Baccalaureate) • Audiology (Baccalaureate & Graduate)

16. Eligible SDS Disciplines, Continued • Occupational Therapy (Graduate) • Physical Therapy (Graduate) • Clinical Psychology (Graduate) • Clinical Social Work (Graduate) • Marriage and Family Counseling (Graduate) • Rehabilitation Counseling (Graduate) • Gerontology Counseling (Graduate) • Mental Health Counseling (Graduate) • Associate Nursing • Baccalaureate Nursing • Graduate Nursing • Physician Assistant Training

17. SDS Performance-based Eligibility Criteria Schools are eligible if they can demonstrate: • 10% disadvantaged enrollment in Academic Year And 10% disadvantaged graduates in Academic Year. • In addition, must have economically disadvantaged students enrolled and graduated during the reporting year.

18. SDS Funding Priorities To receive consideration for larger amounts of funding, schools must have at least: • 50 percent of their graduates practicing in Primary Care, • 10 percent of their graduates serving in Medically Underserved Communities, or • A percent of underrepresented minorities that is above the national average for the discipline for which the school is applying.

19. Nursing Student Loan • Established to alleviate the shortage of nursing personnel and to assure that no qualified student was denied the pursuit of a nursing career due to lack of financial resources. • Provides long-term, low-interest loans to full-time and part-time students pursuing a course of study leading to a diploma, associate degree, bachelor’s degree, or graduate degree in nursing

20. Nursing Student Loan • The annual maximum amount a student may borrow is $2,500. For students enrolled in their last two years of study, the annual loan maximum is $4,000. The aggregate amount may not exceed $13,000 for all years of study. • Repayment of loan begins 9 months after leaving school.

21. NSL Programs – High Default Rates • In accordance with the Campus Based Branch loan program statute and regulations, schools are required to: • Meet a 5% default rate performance standard on June 30th of each year, and • Complete an AOR Report each year. • Failure to maintain the default rate below the 5% rate results in probation, suspension, and finally termination from program participation.

22. Probation • During the PROBATION period there are no restrictions on the normal activities of the fund. Rather, PROBATION puts your school on notice that the program has a default rate over the 5% threshold and that the school should work with its guarantor to make reductions toward an acceptable default rate • The school is generally given until December 31st of the same year to achieve a 5% default rate or reduce its ending default rate by 50%. If this default rate is not met by December 31st, the school’s status in the program will change from PROBATION to SUSPENSION, effective January 1st of the next year.

23. Suspension • Programs placed in SUSPENSION are: • Ineligible to receive new Federal Capital Contribution (FCC) awards; • Not authorized to draw down funds from the Payment Management System (PMS); and • Not authorized to make loan disbursements from the loan fund. • Programs placed in SUSPENSION as of January 1st must reach a 5% default rate or reduce their default rate by 50% by June 30th of the new year.

24. Termination • Programs in SUSPENSION, which fail to achieve the specified reductions, will automatically be TERMINATED on July 1st of the new year. • TERMINATED programs are barred from participation in the Federal Capital Contribution program. • The terminated program must remit funds back to the Federal government in accordance with the guidance procedures found in the Student Financial Aid Guidelines.

25. Nurse Faculty Loan Program (NFLP) - Strategic Goals Promotes recruitment of nursing students to become nurse faculty; Provides financial support for students enrolled in an advanced education nursing program to prepare qualified nurse faculty; and Retains loan recipients as nurse faculty by providing loan cancellation over a consecutive four-year period.

26. Accredited collegiate school of nursing or another entity within that institution that offers a graduate-level nursing degree program preparing qualified nurse faculty. NFLP- Eligible Entity

27. The NFLP fund may be used only: For the deposit of the FCC and ICC, or To make loans to students enrolled in a master’s or doctoral nursing degree program with an education component that will prepare the student to teach. NFLP Loan Fund

28. Student Requirements NFLP students: • Must enroll for a minimum of two consecutive terms/semesters for each year of NFLP loan support; and • Must complete the specified education component to prepare qualified nurse faculty prior to graduating from the program.

29. NFLP Loan Provisions Students may borrow a maximum of $30,000/year for no more than 5 years of support. NFLP* loans may be used to cover full/partial tuition, fees, books, laboratory expenses, and other reasonable education expenses. * NFLP is not a need-based program.

30. NFLP Loan Cancellation Following completion of the education program, NFLP loan recipients may cancel up to 85% of the total NFLP loan and interest over a consecutive four-year period while serving as full-time faculty at a school of nursing.

31. NFLP Loan Cancellation, continued NFLP loan recipients may receive cancellation of up to 85% of the loan principal and interest. 20% cancellation upon completion of each 1st, 2nd and 3rd year of employment as full-time faculty. 25% cancellation upon completion of the 4th year of employment as full-time faculty.

32. NFLP Interest Rates NFLP loans bear interest at an incentive rate of 3% per year, beginning three months after completion of the program.

33. NFLP loans bear interest at the prevailing market rate if the borrower: Ceases to be enrolled; or Does not establish employment as nurse faculty or ceases to be employed as nurse faculty over a consecutive 4-year period following the 9 month grace period. NFLP Interest Rates, continued

34. How to Apply • Grants.gov application submission (Phase 1) • SF 424 R&R • Checklist • EHBs application submission (Phase 2) • Program Specific Form • Abstract and Narrative • Assurances • Required Attachments/Documentation

35. Application for SDS • SDS • One Application per institution (campus) • Multiple Disciplines in one application • Separate subsection for each discipline • Application cannot be submitted until all disciplines are completed • Authorizing Official approves and submit all applications at one time

36. Application for NFLP • NFLP • One Application per institution (campus) • Authorizing Official approves and submits the application

37. Resources HPSL, PCL, NSL & LDS will still be handled through the WRS.

38. Reporting The Annual Operating Report (AOR) is used to monitor and evaluate institutional performance, and report expenditures for the funds. The AOR is submitted annually and covers the period from July 1st through June 30th.

39. Annual Operating Report (AOR) • Demonstrates how schools allocate and distribute loan funds to students during a particular academic year. • Provides accountability to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for schools managing HHS student loan programs. • Is available for annual submissions on July 1, and must be submitted annually by August 15.

40. AOR Edit Report Where do I find the current AOR Edit Error Report ? • Web Reporting System at: http://wrs.hrsa.gov • Main Menu

43. Where Are Common Errors? • Page 1: Student borrower data section. • Page 2: Cumulative and current year cash balances. • Page 3: Cumulative principal & write-offs. • Page 5: Default rate. • Page 6: Principal loaned & principal repaid totals.

50. SDS Performance/Progress Report (SDSPR) • Amount of disbursement • Recipients number and their racial/ethnicity breakdown • Recipients that graduated during the reporting year by racial/ethnicity