NFLP Overview

Name & Address Changes

The loan borrower is responsible for keeping the University current on any address changes. The “local address” maintained by the Registrar’s office will be used for mailing. Failure to receive correspondence or monthly statements does not remove the borrower's responsibility for providing required documentation or from making payments on time.

If the borrower's last name changes, contact our office to add the new name for mailing purposes without changing their official name with the University.

For address changes, update this information through UT Direct, indicate the new address on the next payment coupon, or contact our office. When moving, be sure to complete a "Change of Address" form with the U.S. Post Office.

Communication

Borrower's may designate another individual to handle the affairs of their NFLP loan but they must first provide written authorization. To do this, complete this authorization form and return it to our office.

Disputes

If a borrower disputes the terms of their loan in writing and the institution does not resolve the dispute, they may contact the HRSA loan repayment and scholarship program customer care center for assistance.

Exit Interviews

All students that have borrowed under the Nurse Faculty Loan Program are required to complete an exit interview after leaving the University. This applies to all graduating seniors, students that drop below full-time, and students that withdraw during a semester. If a student’s enrollment drops below full time or the student drops out of the program, the student must contact our office as soon as possible.

An exit interview packet will be mailed shortly after leaving the University. This packet will include a truth-in-lending statement, a statement of rights and responsibilities, NFLP loan guidelines, loan repayment information, and information about the postponement and cancellation provision for teaching. The exit interview process will provide the borrower with valuable information that will help to understand repayment of their loan. 

As part of the exit interview, the borrower will be guided through a brief description of the provisions in the Nurse Faculty Loan Program as they apply to them. Refer to the promissory note(s) given by the School of Nursing for a more detailed description. The last step in the exit interview process is a truth-in-lending statement. This disclosure indicates how much was borrowed, how much the loan will cost in interest and when the first payment is due. 

The exit interview forms must be completed, signed, and returned to the Student Accounts Receivable office. Borrowers are urged to keep copies of these forms for their records. All information gathered in the exit process is strictly confidential and is not shared with the University community.

Loan Repayment

Repayment of the Nurse Faculty loan begins when the grace period ends. Loan payments are due on the first day of each month; the monthly payment amount will depend on the amount borrowed. The repayment period of the loan may not exceed 10 years.

The University of Texas at Austin sends monthly statements to loan borrowers. Non-receipt of statements is not a valid defense for nonpayment; it is the responsibility of the borrower to pay the bill.

Payment Options

Defaulted Loans

NFLP loan payment is due on the 1st of each month. However, we do not consider the payment late until after the 14th of each month. It is important to contact our office as soon as possible if you are unable to make a scheduled payment. When loans are one month past due, a monthly late fee of $2.00 is applied to each loan. As long as there is a past due principal balance, there will be a monthly late fee charge.

The University reports to the three major credit bureaus monthly. A late payment will have a detrimental effect on your credit history. For more information, please see the Credit Bureau page. If your loan(s) goes into default and you are eligible for a deferment, your credit history will be updated to reflect the deferment but negative history will not be removed.

Deferments

The University may, based on its policies and in compliance with HRSA guidance and HHS grants regulations, place a borrower’s NFLP loan service obligation in deferment. (For example, a NFLP borrower who graduated and decided to return to a graduate nursing education program to further their preparation as nurse faculty can be placed in a deferment status.) 

Borrowers must submit a Deferment Request Form (use the Exhibit H Form) to the University at least 30 days before the beginning of the activity that makes the borrower eligible for deferment (or the repayment period (i.e., the due date of the first payment) if the borrower is beginning the activity during the grace period) in order to be placed in deferment status. A deferment status may be granted for a under the following conditions:

1. For a period of up to three years during which the borrower is either in:
   1. Active duty as a member of a uniformed service (Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps), or
   2. Service as a volunteer under the Peace Corps Act
2. For a period of up to ten years during which the borrower is pursuing a full-time or half- time course of study at a school of nursing leading to an additional graduate degree in nursing, another degree or is otherwise pursuing advanced professional training in Nursing (e.g., post-doctoral program/fellowship).

During periods of deferment, interest on the loan continues to accrue at the current market rate but repayment is not required until the deferment ends.

Deferment periods are excluded from the 10-year repayment period. For example, a borrower who has used three years of deferments still has a total of 10 years, not seven years, to repay the NFLP loan.

Employment Cancellations

Postponement

A borrower who is employed full-time as nursing faculty at an accredited school of nursing may request a postponement of installment payments by completing a Postponement of Payment Form. The form must be submitted 30 days before repayment begins or as soon as possible thereafter and must be submitted annually.  No payments will be billed, but interest will continue to accrue monthly at a rate of 3% per annum.  At the end of a complete year of employment, a request for partial cancellation must be submitted. When a cancellation is processed, the interest bills will be reversed.

Changing jobs during a postponement period will not disrupt the postponement if the time off between jobs is not more than 15 working days or 21 calendar days. A new postponement form must be submitted for the new job to cover the remaining time necessary to qualify for cancellation.

Periods of postponement are not followed by a grace period. Repayment will begin immediately following a period of postponement. If a borrower fails to apply for partial cancellation by the end of a year of postponement, all accrued principal and interest payments become due and payable. The interest rate will change from 3% APR to the current market rate and the remainder of the loan will be paid by the borrower as outlined by the promissory note.

Cancellation

Borrowers may request a partial loan cancellation each year while employed as full-time nurse faculty at an accredited school of nursing over a consecutive 4-year period. To receive loan cancellation, the borrower must submit the Request for Partial Cancellation of Loan Form to the University at the end of each complete year of full-time employment as faculty at a school of nursing. For each complete year of employment as a nurse faculty, a percentage of the loan principal and the accrued interest will be canceled at the following rates:

• 1st year, 2nd year, and 3rd year – 20% for each year on the principal balance unpaid on the first day of unemployment.
• 4th year – 25% of the principal balance unpaid on the first day of employment

If the borrower takes a break from full-time employment as nurse faculty during the year, the borrower is not eligible for loan cancellation and must begin repayment of the NFLP loan, unless the borrower is approved and eligible for NFLP loan deferment or forbearance.

Forbearance

The University may place a borrower’s NFLP loan in forbearance when extraordinary circumstances such as poor health or hardships temporarily affect the borrower's ability to make scheduled loan repayments. Forbearance is limited to situations in which the borrower clearly intends to repay the NFLP loan obligation but is temporarily unable to comply with the existing repayment schedule. Forbearance periods may be up to 6 months each. The University may grant a borrower no more than 2 forbearance periods and then must obtain approval of HRSA (Health Resources and Services Administration).

During periods of forbearance, the borrower's obligation to make payments for interest and principal may be either reduced or eliminated. Interest on the loan continues to accrue (at the current market rate) but is not required to be paid during this period; however, when the forbearance ends, the borrower must repay the interest that has accrued. Once the forbearance period(s) have ended, a borrower will no longer be eligible for postponement or cancellation benefits and their loan will enter repayment. Interest on their loan will continue to accrue at the prevailing market rate.

To apply, borrower's may complete the forbearance form and return it to our office.

Leave of Absence

If a borrower is temporarily unable to continue their studies, they may request a Temporary Leave of Absence (LOA) from the Nurse Educator Program. 

In order to obtain a leave of absence, the student must provide a written, signed, and dated request that includes the reason for the request prior to the leave of absence. The student should then send the LOA request to their Graduate Program Coordinator and copy the Dean of the School of Nursing for review. (If unforeseen circumstances prevent a student from providing a prior written request, the school may grant the student's request for a leave of absence retroactively if the school documents its decision and collects the written request at a later date.) A leave of absence granted by the school is not considered to be a breach of the NFLP Promissory Note by the borrower.

The leave of absence will only be granted if there is a reasonable expectation that the student will return to the program and resume their studies. If the student does not return to the program, the loan will go into repayment at the current market rate.