IMPACT OF COVID-19: STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENTS DEFERRED FOR 120 DAYS

Thousands of Student Borrowers Will Benefit

In response to the COVID-19 crisis, the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education is deferring scheduled repayments through its No-Interest Loan Program (serviced by Heartland-ECSI) for a period of four months. Students will next receive a bill in the middle of July 2020 with the next payment due on August 1, 2020. Approximately 40% of the students who have borrowed funds to finance their college educations and have begun to repay their loans will benefit from the deferment.

“We know this is a time of great uncertainty and anxiety for students,” said Dr. Clantha McCurdy, DHE’s Senior Deputy Commissioner of Access and Student Financial Assistance. “This plan will allow us to address the concerns of those who may be experiencing sudden changes with regard to their personal finances, while at the same time safeguarding the program for future borrowers.”

A letter released to student borrowers informs them of the following:

• All Massachusetts No Interest Loan accounts that are currently in repayment with ECSI will automatically be placed in a deferment from April 2020 through July 2020.  This deferment will not count towards the 36 months of a deferment a borrower may receive under the program.
• If a student has already made a payment for April, the payment will be applied to his or her outstanding balance and will not be refunded.  While accounts are in a deferment status, ECSI will continue to accept payments for borrowers who wish to maintain regular monthly payments.
• Accounts will not be charged late fees from April 1, 2020-July 31, 2020.
• ECSI reports to the credit bureau the last day of each month.  DHE has updated all credit bureau reporting from March 31, 2020 to July 31, 2020 to reflect accounts are in a deferment status.  Regular credit bureau reporting will resume at the end of August 2020.
• Accounts that are currently 120 days past due will not be placed into collections until August 2020.  Borrowers who are currently past due should apply for a deferment or establish a payment arrangement.

Over the life of the program, 18,000 Massachusetts borrowers have received No-Interest loans. Students with questions or concerns regarding their NIL accounts are advised to contact DHE’s Office of Student Financial Assistance at 617.391.6070 or Heartland-ECSI at 888.549.3274.  Borrowers may view their account at www.heartlandecsi.com.