The U.S. Department of Education’s decision to stand firm on its new, stricter credit criteria for families applying for Parent PLUS Loan (PPL) assistance to help their children through college is causing another year of frustration at many institutions, despite a department decision to reconsider all denied loan applications.
The government’s temporary denial reconsideration program has paid off for most who go the extra mile. Still, the significant decline in loan applications and the high initial rejection rate since the new credit rules took effect has many institutions worried that students are falling off the four-year college radar. For sure, at first glimpse, rejected families are not seeking reconsideration in large numbers.
Many institutions say they are working closely with the department in trying to follow up with families who have received denial notices. In the meantime, with final enrollment deadlines at hand, several institutions are scrambling for funds to help at-risk PPL students who are otherwise in good academic standing.
The loss of students is bad news in and of itself, if finances derail their college pursuits, school officials said. For the institutions, the loss of any students could impact enrollment at a time when institutions are under increasing political pressure to demonstrate progress in student retention and graduation.
“There are still a high number of people not being approved,” said Dr. William Hudson Jr., vice president of student affairs at Florida A&M University (FAMU), commenting on the university’s experience with families who applied for PPL for this fall. “It’s still high, still high,” said Hudson, echoing the sentiments of other administrators at several peer institutions aggressively trying to help students this fall.
FAMU, which lost nearly 500 tuition-short students last fall when their families’ PPL applications were denied, is working closely with the Department of Education to urge families denied loans this season to seek reconsideration, Hudson said.
