OHSU Alumni Newsroom
Stay up to date with news that impacts alumni across the OHSU Schools of Dentistry, Medicine and Nursing.
Important Limited-Time Changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program
In her role as manager of the educational debt counseling and personal financial management program, Janna McKay is a resource in financial literacy, budgeting and educational debt management for OHSU students and alumni.
According to McKay, on Oct. 6, 2021, the U.S. Department of Education announced a limited time change to the rules in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program as a result of the COVID-19 national emergency. Now, for a limited period of time, borrowers may receive credit for past periods of repayment that would otherwise not qualify for PSLF. For example, qualified borrowers may receive credit for:
- Periods of repayment on Direct, FFEL, or Perkins Loans
- Periods of repayment under any repayment plan will count
- Periods of repayment on loans before consolidation will count, even if they are on the wrong repayment plan
- Periods of repayment where your payments were made late or for less than the amount due will count
- Periods of repayment on loans before consolidation will count, even if paid late, or for less than the amount due
Here is where you can find more information about these changes.
In addition, during the temporary COVID-19 emergency, paused student loan payments do count toward PSLF as long as the borrower meets all other qualifications. Borrowers will get credit as if they have made monthly payments.
For those who believe they qualify for credit and wish to start the application process, here is where you will find the PSLF paperwork.
