ASA Direct® and CommonLine4 processing—School Enhancements
Based on valuable feedback we received from our school clients, ASA will be implementing some enhancements to ASA Direct and CommonLine4 processing effective Monday, April 16.
ASA Direct
- – The SCR Page will now display the entire lender code, including any lender branch codes.
- – School clients will be able to print certification confirmations after certifying individual loans on ASA Direct. Each printable confirmation will contain basic loan information:
- – Loan limits will increase on undergraduate and graduate Stafford Loans with a first disbursement on or after July 1, 2008 (see charts below). School clients will now be able to certify these increased loan amounts. Note that before certifying a Grad PLUS loan, you must determine the borrower’s Stafford loan eligibility and notify the borrower of the maximum Stafford loan amount he or she is eligible to receive. You must also provide a comparison of terms between Stafford and Grad PLUS regarding interest rates, when interest accrues, and when loans enter repayment. The increased loan limits are summarized below for dependent undergraduate students:
Student Subsidized/unsubsidized base amount Additional unsubsidized amount for loans first disbursed prior to July 1, 2008 Additional unsubsidized amount for loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2008 First year
$3,500
$0
$2,000
Second year
$4,500
$0
$2,000
Third year and after
$5,500
$0
$2,000
The Stafford aggregate loan limit increased from $23,000 to $31,000 for dependent undergraduate students, as well. However, please note that only $23,000 may be subsidized.
The loan limits have also been increased for independent undergraduate students or dependent undergraduates whose parents have been denied a PLUS loan as summarized below:
Student Subsidized/unsubsidized base amount Additional unsubsidized amount for loans first disbursed prior to July 1, 2008 Additional unsubsidized amount for loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2008 First year
$3,500
$4,000
$6,000
Second year
$4,500
$4,000
$6,000
Third year and after
$5,500
$5,000
$7,000
The Stafford aggregate loan limit also increased from $46,000 to $57,500 for independent, undergraduate students. However, please note that only $23,000 may be subsidized.
The annual and aggregate loan limit for graduate and professional students has not changed: it is still $20,500, of which up to $8,500 may be subsidized Stafford. In addition, origination fees on loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2008, will be reduced to an Origination fee of 1%.. - – Borrowers who e-Sign their Graduate PLUS on ASA Direct will now be authenticated through the Student Authentication Network (STAN), similar to ASA’s current Stafford e-Sign process.
- – School clients will now be able to view the distribution of their loan volume across lenders through a new custom report. The Loan Volume by Lender Report will list all approved, canceled, and disbursed loans for each lender code and any related branches.
CommonLine4
- – 3 application phase codes will be added for PLUS loans certified via CommonLine4 that are denied due to credit:
- – Application/Loan Phase Code (Field 133) = AGRJ
- – Lender Approved/Denied Date (Field 68) = Credit Check Date
- – Lender Approved/Denied Code (Field 69) = D
- – System upgrades will significantly reduce the time it takes to process CommonLine4 Change Transaction Send files.
We rely on your feedback in order to further improve the functionality of ASA Direct. If you have any suggestions for ASA Direct or questions about these enhancements, please contact me or ASA’s Call Center at 800.999.9080 and select Option 1. The Call Center’s hours of operation are Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. ET.
