May a school withhold an academic transcript requested by a student who has defaulted on a FFEL Program loan?
A. A school may withhold an official academic transcript, but must provide an unofficial copy if refusing to do so would prevent the student from exercising the right, under the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), to inspect and review his or her educational records. Source: Federal Student Aid Handbook, Institutional Eligibility and Participation, p. 2-278 Award Year Cross-Over (back to top) Q. A student was considered a dependent student for the 2003-2004 award year and an independent student for the 2004-2005 award year. Can the school process a loan for the student as an independent student based on the 2004-2005 Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR) data if the loan period crosses over award years? A. Yes. Schools may choose which year’s ISIR data to use for certifying a loan when the loan period crosses award years. The school is not required to use the same year’s ISIR data for every student, but should have a consistent policy for choosing which data to u
