Perkins Loan Repayment
Learn about the Perkins Loan
Important Information About the Student Loan Interest Freeze
The student loan interest freeze implemented by the President of the United States only applies to loans that are directly held by the Department of Education. If you make your loan payments to UW-Eau Claire, your loan is NOT directly held by the Department of Education. Therefore, an interest freeze and an automatic forbearance will not be applied to your student loan(s). You are required to continue making your student loan payments as scheduled.
If you are experiencing financial hardship, you may be eligible for an Economic Hardship Deferment, Unemployment Deferment or Forbearance for your Perkins loan(s) depending on your circumstance. Please contact Loan Services for further details at loans@uwec.edu.
If you would like to take advantage of the loan interest freeze benefit and currently have a Federal Perkins loan serviced by the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire, you may consolidate your Federal Perkins Loan into a Direct Consolidation Loan held by the Department of Education. Please note that you may lose certain loan benefits if you consolidate a Federal Perkins Loan. For more information about Direct Loan Consolidation go to: https://studentaid.gov/app/launchConsolidation.action.
Perkins Loan Services Information
NOTE: After the 2017-2018 academic year, we can no longer offer Perkins Loans as part of a student's financial aid package. We will, however, continue to service existing Perkins Loans.
To access your Perkins loan account online: https://loanservices.apps.uwec.edu. For assistance accessing your account contact loans@uwec.edu or 715-836-4817 .
Perkins Loan Exit Interview
If you received a Perkins Loan while enrolled at UW-Eau Claire, you must complete an exit interview when you become enrolled for less than half-time credits at UW-Eau Claire. If this status is a result of graduation from UW-Eau Claire, you will be sent an email during the last month of your graduating semester explaining how to complete your exit interview online.
If you withdraw from UW-Eau Claire, transfer to another school, or drop below half-time credits (from UW-Eau Claire) for any other reason, you must complete an exit interview. Stop by Blugold Central and ask for Loan Services in Vicki Lord Larson, room 1108, to inform us of this status change. If you cannot come to our office contact us at loans@uwec.edu or 715-836-4817 and we will provide instruction for completing your exit interview online.
Once you leave the university we will place a hold on your account preventing future registration and records requests until you complete the exit interview.
General
- Applicable Law. All sums advanced under this note are drawn from a fund created under Part E of Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (hereinafter called the Act), and are subject to the Act and the Federal regulations issued under the Act. The terms of this note shall be interpreted in accordance with the Act and Federal regulations, copies of which are to be kept by the Institution.
- Procedures for receiving deferment, cancellation, or forbearance. I understand that to receive a deferment, cancellation, or forbearance, I must request the deferment, cancellation, or forbearance in writing from the Institution, and must submit to the Institution any documentation required by the Institution to prove that I qualify for the deferment, cancellation, or forbearance. I further understand that if I am eligible for deferment, cancellation, or forbearance under Articles VI through XIV, I am responsible for submitting the appropriate requests on time. I further understand that I may lose my deferment, cancellation, and forbearance benefits if I fail to file my request on time.
Interest
Interest shall accrue from the beginning of the repayment period and shall be at the ANNUAL PERCENTAGE RATE OF FIVE PERCENT (5%) on the unpaid balance, except that no interest shall accrue during any deferment period described in Article VII.
Repayment
- I promise to repay the principal and interest that accrues on it to the Institution over a period beginning nine (9) months after the date I cease to be at least a half-time regular student at an institution of higher education, or at a comparable institution outside the United States approved for this purpose by the United States Secretary of Education (hereinafter called the Secretary), and ending ten (10) years later, unless that period is [shortened under paragraph III (5)], or extended under paragraphs III (4), III (7) (extensions), VII (1), or VII (3) deferments.
- Upon my written request, the repayment period may start on a date earlier than the one indicated in paragraph III (1).
- I promise to repay the principal and interest over the course of the repayment period in equal monthly, bimonthly, or quarterly installments, as determined by the Institution. I understand that if my installment payment for all the loans made to me by the Institution is not a multiple of $5, the Institution may round the payment to the next highest dollar amount that is a multiple of $5.
- Notwithstanding paragraph III (3) (A), upon my written request, repayment may be made in graduated installments in accordance with a schedule approved by the Secretary.
- Notwithstanding paragraph III (1), if I qualify as a low-income individual during the repayment period, the Institution, upon my written request, may extend the repayment period for up to an additional ten (10) years and may adjust any repayment schedule to reflect my income.
- If the monthly rate that would be established under paragraph III (1), or the total monthly repayment rate of principal and interest on all my Federal Perkins Loans, including this loan, is less than $40 per month, I shall repay the principal and interest on this loan at the rate of $40 per month (which includes both principal and interest).
- If I have received Federal Perkins Loans from other institutions and the total monthly repayment rate on those loans is less than $40, the $40 monthly payment established under subparagraph III (5) (A) includes the amounts I owe on all my outstanding Federal Perkins Loans, including those received from other institutions. The portion of the $40 monthly payment that will be applied to this loan will be the difference between $40 and the total of the amounts owed at a monthly rate on my other Federal Perkins Loans.
- The Institution may permit me to pay less than the rate of $40 per month for a period of not more than one (1) year where necessary to avoid hardship to me unless that action would extend the repayment period in paragraph III (1).
- The Institution may, upon my written request, reduce any scheduled repayments or extend the repayment period indicated in paragraph III (1) if, in its opinion, circumstances such as prolonged illness or unemployment prevent me from making the scheduled payments. However, interest shall continue to accrue.
Prepayment
- I may, at my option and without penalty, prepay all or any part of the principal, plus any accrued interest thereon, at any time.
- Amounts I repay in the academic year in which the loan was made and the initial grace period has not ended will be used to reduce the amount of the loan and will not be considered a prepayment.
- If I repay amounts during the academic year in which the loan was made and the initial grace period ended, only those amounts in excess of the amount due for any repayment period shall be considered a prepayment.
- If, in an academic year other than the award year in which the loan was made, I repay more than the amount due for installment, the excess will be used to repay principal unless I designate it as an advance payment of the next regular installment.
What if I have concerns about the terms of my loan that cannot be resolved by talking to my lender?
The Department of Education has established an ombudsman to work with student borrowers to informally resolve any loan disputes or problems. If you have concerns about the terms of your loan that cannot be resolved by talking to your lender, you are encouraged to contact the Ombudsman Customer Service Line at 1-877-557-2575.
You must enroll for a minimum of 6 credits per semester to be eligible to borrow during that semester. If you indicate on your award notification that you will be a full-time student (12 or more credits) you should remain a full-time student for that semester. If you indicate that you will be part-time (6 or more credits), then you should remain at least part-time. If you do not enroll as indicated on your award notification your loan may be reduced or canceled.
You must begin to repay for Perkins loan nine months after you graduate, leave school, or drop below half-time. No payments are required and no interest will accrue during this nine-month grace period. Your minimum monthly payment will depend on the size of your debt, but it will be no less than $40 a month. You are given up to 10 years to repay your debt.
Your loan can be canceled if you die or become totally and permanently disabled. You may also qualify for up to 50% cancellation if you served in the Armed Forces in a hostile or dangerous area, and up to 100% cancellation under certain conditions such as:
- Full-time teacher in a low-income community or in a field short on teachers
- Full-time special education teacher
- Full-time provider of early intervention services for the disabled
- Full-time law enforcement or corrections officer
- Full-time nurse
- Full-time staff member in a Head Start Program
- Volunteer with VISTA or Peace Corps
For every full, consecutive, uninterrupted year of full-time employment, in any of the eligible professions listed below, you may qualify for cancellation benefits on your Federal Perkins Loan. You must file a deferment form at the beginning of each full year of employment and a cancellation form at the end of each full year. Cancellation percentages are processed as follows: 15% for each of the 1st and 2nd years, 20% for each of the 3rd and 4th years, and 30% for the 5th year. It is possible to have 100% of your loan cancelled over a five year period.
Eligible Teaching Related Positions
- Teacher in a low-income school eligible for funding under Chapter 1 of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act of 1981.
- Teacher of handicapped students, including teacher of infants, toddlers, and children or youth with disabilities in a public or non-profit school or agency.
- Teacher of mathematics, science, foreign languages, bilingual education, or any field of expertise determined by the state education agency to have a shortage of qualified teachers.
- Teaching service in a school or location, operated by an education service agency, that has been determined to have a high concentration of students from low-income families
Additional Information
- If borrower teaches at a school that does not qualify as a low-income school in a subsequent year, the borrower remains eligible for loan cancellation as long as the borrower continues to teach full-time at the school.
- Infants, toddlers, children and youth with disabilities are defined in Section 602(a)(1) and 672(2) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
- It is the borrower's responsibility to notify the lender of shortage areas recognized by their state.
- Upon making a properly documented written request to the holder of the loan, you are entitled to have up to 100% of the original principal amount of your Federal Perkins Loan cancelled for qualifying teaching service that includes August 14, 2008, or begins on or after that date, in a school or location, operated by an education service agency, that has been determined to have a high concentration of students from low-income families. An official Directory of the designated low-income schools and locations operated by educational service agencies is published annually by the Department.
For every full year of full-time employment as a Head Start member you are eligible to have 15% of your loan cancelled. You must file a deferment form at the beginning of each year of employment and a cancellation form at the end of each year. You may be eligible for cancellation of 100% of your loan.
Upon making a properly documented written request to the holder of your loan, you are entitled to have up to 100% of the original principal loan amount cancelled for qualifying service that includes August 14, 2008, or begins on or after that date, as a full-time staff member in a Pre-Kindergarten or Child Care program that is licensed or regulated by the State and that is operated for a period comparable to a full school year in the locality if your salary is not more than the salary of a comparable employee of the local education agency.
This information is to be used for reference only. If you have any questions regarding a particular cancellation benefit, please call 715-836-4817. Loan Services will provide you with a copy of the Federal Regulations as printed by the Department of Education.
Yes. If you received a Perkins Loan while enrolled at UW-Eau Claire, you must complete an exit interview when you become enrolled for less than half-time credits at UW-Eau Claire. If this status is a result of gradation from UW-Eau Claire, you will be sent a letter during the last month of your graduating semester, inviting you to attend a group meeting to complete your exit interview. The exception to this is during the summer graduation term, at which time we mail the material to you rather than have a formal meeting.
If you withdraw from UW-Eau Claire, transfer to another school, or drop below half-time credits (From UW-Eau Claire) or any other reason, you must complete an exit interview. Stop by Blugold Central in 1108 Vicki Lord Larson, and ask for Loan Services, to request an exit interview. If you cannot come to our office, call us at 715-836-4817 to arrange for the material to be mailed to you.
The Perkins Loan Exit Interview is considered complete once you have signed the repayment schedule and questionnaire provided to you at the time of the exit interview.