Perkins Loans

Loan Information

Perkins Loan Overview

The Federal Perkins Loan is a need-based student loan that is contingent on the availability of funds at the time of awarding. It is interest-free as long as the student is enrolled at least half time at any eligible institution. Repayment of the principal plus 5% interest begins 9 months after graduation or when you leave the university.

PLEASE NOTE: The Federal Government has allowed the Federal Perkins Loan program to expire. As of October 1, 2017, no new Perkins Loans can be awarded. For those students with a Federal Perkins Loan balance, no payments are due and no interest accrues on the loan until 9 months after leaving school or dropping below half-time enrollment status (6 credits for undergraduates and 5 for graduate students).

Perkins Grace Period Information

The initial grace period ends 9 months after departure from the university. Once the initial 9 month grace period is used any subsequent grace periods follow school departure or deferments is a 6 month period. Specific details can be found on your Federal Perkins Promissory Note.

Borrower Rights

Statement of Rights and Responsibilities

This is only a summary of your rights and responsibilities. For more detailed information, consult your Federal Perkins Loan promissory note or the holder of your loan.

It is important for you to read and fully understand the specific language of the master promissory note you have or will sign electronically. By signing the promissory note and accepting the funds referred to in the note, you are agreeing to repay the loan in full. You are also obligated to apply the proceeds to educational expenses. Your note explains what you have agreed to do by accepting the loan. It is your responsibility to become familiar with all information in the note, especially the following provisions:

The Federal Perkins Loan Program Extension Act of 2015 permits colleges and universities across the country to resume offering Federal Perkins Loans to eligible students through September 30, 2017.
The annual simple interest rate is 5% during the repayment period.
The Perkins Loan does not collect interest while you are attending school half-time or more.
At UW- Stevens Point, the typical Perkins Loan is $2,000 (or less) for an academic year. The federal program limits are $5,500 per year for undergraduate students and $8,000 per year for graduate students, with cumulative limits of $27,500 for undergraduate loans and $60,000 for undergraduate and graduate loans. However, many schools do not have sufficient funds to award the Perkins Loan at the annual maximums.
The principal amount (amount you were loaned) will be sent to you in a disclosure notice.
The Perkins Loan is a desirable student loan because special cancellation features apply. You must apply to obtain cancellation benefits each year. Refer to your promissory note for postponement and cancellation provisions.

A portion of your loan will be cancelled for each complete academic year you are a full-time teacher of special-needs children or a full-time teacher in a designated elementary or secondary school that serves low-income students.
You may also qualify for cancellation if you are a full-time 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.
A portion of your loan will be cancelled for each year of full-time work in specified early intervention services providing services to infants and toddlers with disabilities. After the seventh year, your loan will be totally cancelled.
Cancellation provisions are available for law enforcement/correction officers. To qualify you must be employed by an eligible local, state, or federal agency engaged in crime prevention or law enforcement.
Cancellation benefits are available for nurse and medical technicians and individuals employed with a public or nonprofit child or family services agency and are providing or supervising services to high-risk children and their families from low-income communities.
Up to 70% of your loan can be cancelled for service as a Peace Corps or VISTA volunteer — 30% during the first two years and 40% for the next two years.
If you enter the U.S. Armed Services after receiving your loan, you may qualify for partial cancellation — 12% per year for up to four years. Eligibility is limited to those serving in an area of hostility and receiving special pay under Section 310 of Title 37 of the United States Code. You must serve under these conditions for 12 consecutive months for each cancellation.
You are responsible for submitting the appropriate cancellation paperwork on time. You may lose your right to receive cancellation benefits if your account is defaulted and your loan has been accelerated.
Other cancellation opportunities are available. Contact the Perkins Loan Office for more information.

Perkins Loans are reported to a credit bureau or credit reporting agency beginning as soon as you accept your first Perkins Loan. Your loan will also be recorded in the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) and will be accessible to guarantee agencies, lenders, and institutions authorized to use the data system.

Failure to submit your cancellation forms by the due dates may result in reporting past due information to the Credit Bureau on our Federal Perkins Loan.

Repayment of a Perkins Loan begins nine months after you cease to be enrolled at least half-time, at which time interest will begin to be charged.
The minimum monthly payment is $40, paid monthly, and the maximum timeframe within which the loan must be repaid is 10 years.
The total cumulative balance and estimated monthly payment figures are available from the Perkins Loan Office upon request. You may calculate your estimated monthly payment by multiplying the total Perkins Loan amounts borrowed times .0106067. Keep in mind that you will have to pay at least the minimum payment (as mentioned in #9)
Payments on the loan will be made to the servicer of your loan:
UW-Stevens Point L9,
C/O ECSI
P.O. Box 1287 Moon Township, PA 15108
You may repay the loan at any time without penalty. You may also be eligible to have your payments deferred for a number of reasons. The Perkins Loan also provides you with an opportunity to cancel all or part of your loan for certain types of employment or service. Refer to your promissory note for deferment and cancellation provisions. (See #6)
If you fail to make a loan payment when it is due, your loan is considered to be in “default”. This designation has serious consequences. Default will cause you to lose your deferment and cancellation benefits. Furthermore, your loan will be accelerated and referred to a collection agency which means that the entire principal balance, interest, late charges and collection costs will be due upon demand. A default classification will also prohibit you from receiving federal student aid in the future should you decide to return to school.
You also have the option of consolidating your student loans. A Consolidation Loan is designed to help borrowers simplify loan repayment by allowing the borrower to consolidate several types of federal loans into one loan. However, there are some consequences to consolidating different types of loans together: the interest rate of a consolidated loan may be a weighted average of the different loans’ original individual interest rates. Also, if you consolidate your Perkins Loan, you will forfeit the special cancellation features of the loan (see #6). Consolidation Loans can be obtained through participating lenders, guarantee agencies and, under certain conditions, through the federal government.

You may contact Perkins Loan Office at 715-346-2118 for any clarification regarding your rights and responsibilities.

Student Loan Disclosure Statement

UWSP is required to provide the borrower an annual disclosure statement. This disclosure statement details the disbursement activity and status of your Federal Perkins Loan.

UWSP Federal Perkins Loan disclosure statements are handled by Educational Computer Systems Inc. (ECSI), our contracted billing servicer. Please visit ECSI, our billing service website to access your disclosure statement.

Instructions for Accessing Your Disclosure Statement

Navigate to ECSI’s website
Select Sign In or Register in the top right corner of the page
Enter your credentials to sign into your account

Create a new profile using the 'Register' side of the page
Once logged in, select 'Connect An Account'
Enter your Key (provided in the disclosure agreement email notification) and select 'Connect'
Note: If you do not have your Key, you will need to contact ECSI at 888-549-3274

Once logged in, select Schools on top menu bar and University of Wisconsin from the drop down menu
Under Student Loans and Receivables, select View Account
Select the Documents Tab
Select View under the Disclosure Agreements Tab

Current Borrower Information

Master Promissory Note

Before You Complete Your Perkins Master Promissory Note

You will need the following information:

Your Social Security Number
Two Personal References (excluding parents) including address and phone number for each

To Sign Your Master Note Online

Log-On to ECSI's Website
Read and review the details displayed
Click 'Get Started'
Complete all seven steps

You will receive a confirmation letter via your student email upon completion.

Note: If you are unable to complete your Master Note online, refer to the Federal Perkins Loan email with instructions for manually completing a printed off Master Promissory Note. Completed manual copies can be returned to the UWSP Perkins Loan Office.

Contact Information

UWSP Perkins Loan Office

1108 Fremont St Room 003 SSC

Stevens Point, WI 54481

Phone: (715) 346-2118

E-mail: Student.Financial.Services@uwsp.edu

Office Hours: 8:00-11:45am; 12:30-4:30pm, Monday-Friday

FAQ's

The electronic signature process will not let me continue after entering my personal information. What am I doing wrong?

It's possible you aren't doing anything wrong. ECSI uses a third-party servicer to validate your identity. Most likely, you do not have an adequate transaction history for the third-party to validate your identity.

What company is being used to validate my identity?

ECSI uses LexisNexis as a third-party servicer to validate your identity.

Federal Loan Consolidation

What is Federal Loan Consolidation?

A Consolidation Loan is designed to help simplify loan repayment by allowing the borrower to consolidate several types of federal loans into one loan.

What interest rate will I pay on a Consolidation Loan?

The interest for a Consolidation Loan is fixed for the duration of the loan. The Consolidation Loan's interest becomes the weighted average (rounded up to the nearest 1/8th percent) of the interest rates on the individual loans being consolidated.

Where can I get a Consolidation Loan?

Consolidation Loans can be obtained through participating lenders, guarantee agencies, and the Federal Government under certain conditions.

Under what circumstances should I not consolidate my Perkins Loan?

If you are eligible for Perkins Loan cancellation, you should not consolidate your Perkins Loan.
Areas eligible for cancellation are: elementary/secondary/head start teachers, military personnel, peace corps/visa personnel, law enforcement/correctional officers, qualified professional providers of early intervention, employees of child or family service agencies, nurses, or medical technicians. More information can be found in the Forms section.

Exit Information

Before You Complete Your Exit Interview

In order to complete your exit interviews, you will need to provide the following information:

Key assigned to you by ECSI (provided in your exit notification email)
Two personal references (excluding your parents), including address and phone number for each reference

Instructions for Completing Exit Interviews

Visit ECSI's Website
Hover over 'Students and Borrowers' and click 'Sign In or Register Now'
At the top of the page, click 'Sign In or Register'
Create a new profile using the 'Register' side of the page.
Once logged in, select 'Connect An Account'
Enter your Key and select 'Connect'

Note: If you do not have your Key, you will need to contact ECSI at 888-549-3274

Select 'View Account'
Select the 'Documents' tab
Select 'Exit Interview'

If you experience issues during this process, contact ECSI for guidance, 888-549-3274

Payment Information

Check Payments

Checks should be made payable to UW-Stevens Point.

Please send checks to the address below:

UW-Stevens Point (L9)
C/O ECSI

P.O. Box 1287

Moon Township, PA 15108

Please include your Student ID number with your check payment.

Credit Card and E-Check Payments

Credit card payments can be made online, using your ECSI account.

Contact ECSI

The processing and billing of the UW-Stevens Point's Federal Perkins Loan Program is handled by Educational Computer Systems, Inc.

Phone: 1-888-549-3274

Fax: (412) 494-5626

Email: webcservice@ecsi.net - Customer service (borrower) issues

webmaster@ecsi.net - Web/Internet related issues

Deferment and Cancellation Forms

Student Deferment

Once you leave UWSP, you may be eligible for periods of deferment, during which time interest does not accrue and repayment of principal is not required.

Visit ECSI's website for a printable ECSI form and details regarding this deferment.

Note: The school code for UW-Stevens Point is L9.