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- Department of Education administers PSLF and TEACH grants. Both programs are administered directly through StudentAid.gov, away from the MOHELA loan servicer.
- Processing pause: During the transition, there will be a temporary halt in processing PSLF and TEACH grant forms, impacting access to program progress and form submission.
- Advanced Digital Services: Following the transition, participants will benefit from expanded digital services, including a new dashboard and a PSLF help tool designed to simplify and speed up the submission process.
Beginning May 1, 2024, the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) and Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) grant programs will undergo significant operational changes.
The Ministry of Education announced that it would shift management of the programs in-house and away from MOHELA. However, your loans remain with a loan servicer who handles payment processing and other loan-specific administrative tasks.
Optimized PSLF management
With the goal of streamlining the administration of the PSLF and TEACH grant programs, the Department of Education is consolidating these services within StudentAid.gov.
Beginning in May 2024, applicants and current participants will be able to submit forms, track their program progress, and access support all in one place. This move to centralize operations should significantly simplify the application and administration process for both programs.
Currently, the programs are managed by MOHELA, but the Ministry of Education still needs to finalize and approve many things. For example, when borrowers reach 120 qualifying payments for PSLF, their loan information is sent from MOHELA to the Department of Education, which then signs the forgiveness and in turn sends the information back to MOHELA to process the forgiveness.
With in-house management, these steps will hopefully no longer be necessary.
Temporary stop of processing
A major impact of this transition is a temporary pause in processing PSLF and TEACH grant forms beginning May 1, 2024.
For PSLF participants, this means they will temporarily not have access to progress, certified employment, or payment counts on the previous MOHELA borrower portal. Participants are encouraged to download all required recordings from MOHELA by April 30, 2024, prior to the start of the break.
While this stop may be a temporary inconvenience, it is a necessary step towards a more integrated and efficient system.
Recommendations for the future
During the transition, loan payments will continue as normal and participants are encouraged to continue making payments to avoid default.
For those submitting PSLF forms during the pause, it is important not to resubmit them in July as this could delay processing. Additionally, loan management accounts may be transferred to a new platform or service provider following transition, and participants should remain informed of their account status via MOHELA's website.
The TEACH funding program will also experience significant improvements by autumn 2024 with the introduction of the TEACH form assistant and digital certification processes. These improvements are part of the Department of Education's broader initiative to make federal student aid more accessible and manageable for participants.
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Average Student Loan Debt by State in 2024. What is the SAVE Repayment Plan? Student Loan Forgiveness Programs (the full list)
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