February 26, 1999
Volume 99 - Issue 13

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) recently issued a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) GEN-99-07 announcing the extension of eligibility for increased unsubsidized loan amounts due to the phase out of the Health Education Assistance Loan (HEAL) Program. Additional references regarding the procedure for increased annual loan amounts for health professions students can be found in  DCL GEN-98-18,  GEN-97-14, and GEN-97-04 (see UHEAA Bulletins: Volume 98 - Issue 94, Volume 97 - Issue 49, and Volume 97 - Issue 15.)

The DCL also announces the Department of Health and Human Services' decision to relax the parental signature requirement for certain health professions students applying for aid in the 1999-2000 academic year. Independent students applying for aid at health profession schools participating in Title VII campus-based programs (HPSL, LDS, PCL, SDS) will not be required to obtain a parent signature. The DCL makes the following distinction: collecting parent financial information, for purposes of determining student need, is required; obtaining a parent signature is not required.

A copy of this DCL is available on ED's web site at http://ifap.ed.gov. If you are unable to access ED's web site and would like a copy of this DCL, please contact Lynda Reid at (801) 321-7211. Any questions regarding this bulletin can be directed to the UHEAA Policy and Training Department at (801) 321-7166.