Enrollment Status Effective Date

FFELP* guarantors such as the MDHEWD use the data that schools report to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) on their Enrollment Reporting Roster Files (or as applicable, via ad hoc reporting) to update their systems and then transmit the updated information to lenders and student loan servicers. The most important element of the Enrollment Reporting Roster File is the Enrollment Status Effective Date. This date is critical for accurately servicing student loans because it determines:

Defining the Effective Date
Complete guidance regarding enrollment status reporting is provided by the U.S. Department of Education in the NSLDS Enrollment Reporting Guide. A brief summary of some of the status effective dates is below.

  • Enrolled students: For students whom the school considers enrolled at least half time at the beginning of a term or loan period, the status effective date is the date of the first day of class in the term, program, enrollment period, or loan period. It is not the first day a student begins attending class in his or her individual class schedule.
  • Graduating students: The effective date of the student’s graduation and corresponding out-of-school date (OSD) is the date the student completed course requirements, NOT the date a diploma or certificate was presented.

*Note: On March 30, 2010, federal legislation was signed into law removing the authority of FFELP guarantors like the MDHEWD to guarantee new loans after June 30, 2010. All federal student loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2010 must be made by the federal government through the Federal Direct Loan Program.