Perkins/nursing loans  

Perkins repayment information

Be aware that:

  • Perkins loans have a zero percent interest rate while you are enrolled in college at the half-time level or above and during a nine month grace period after you leave school
  • repayment begins at the end of the grace period and lasts for a period of ten years, during which interest is charged at a fixed 5 percent
  • all Perkins loans must be repaid within ten years
  • there is no penalty for paying off the loan early
  • when the borrowers repay the loan, the money goes directly back into the Perkins Loan Fund; the money is then redistributed to current students as new loans.

Eligibility

Please visit Office of Student Financial Aid to find out if you are eligible to receive a Perkins.

Entrance interviews
Exit interviews
Loan contact information
Other helpful links
Deferment
Forbearance
Cancellation 

Entrance interviews

If awarded a Perkins Loan by the Office of Student Financial Aid, you must complete two steps in order to receive the loan:

  • complete entrance counseling online
  • sign a Master Promissory Note

The steps for completing the Entance Counseling and Master Promissory Notes are available to students on their LOUIE online student center under the To Do List.  Please allow a 24 hour period between signing the promissory note and completing entrance counseling for LOUIE to update your To Do List. 

Please e-mail perkins@nau.edu with any questions regarding this process. You will not receive the Perkins loan without completing this process. 

Exit interviews

Federal regulations require that all Perkins loan borrowers complete an exit interview if any of the following occur:

  • student graduates from Northern Arizona University
  • student drops below six credit hours for the fall or spring semester
  • student withdraws from Northern Arizona University at any time
  • student transfers to another university/college

Graduate students who drop below six credit hours and are enrolled in thesis or dissertation coursework will have their Perkins loan deferred. Failure to complete an exit interview will result in a hold being placed on your transcript records and your diploma.

To start, go to Perkins exit counseling. 

After reviewing the terms of Perkins loans in general, you will be given a quiz and asked to enter information about yourself. We will then mail you information about your particular loan, along with a loan disclosure statement, which you must sign and return.

Note that the exit counseling required for the Perkins loan is separate from the exit counseling required for William D. Ford Direct Loans (Subsidized and Unsubsidized Stafford Loans).

If you have questions regarding loan repayment or the exit counseling procedure, e-mail  perkins@nau.edu.

Loan contact information

Borrowers not currently enrolled at Northern Arizona University may contact:


Student and Department Account Services
Northern Arizona University
401 S. Knoles, Gammage Bldg
PO Box 4079
Flagstaff, AZ 86011 

Telephone: 928-523-3122 
Fax: 928-523-1126

Questions, correspondence, and benefit forms regarding your loan may be directed to:

Educational Computer Systems, Inc (ECSI)
181 Montour Run Road
Coraopolis, PA  15108

Telephone: 1-888-549-3274
Fax: 1-866-291-5384

At ecsi.net, you will be able to: 

  • view the status of your loan account
  • schedule online payments and have your statement sent electronically
  • set up automatic withdrawal of payment with ESCI
  • download forms for:
  • deferment
  • forbearance
  • cancellation
  • financial arrangements

Remember: If you do not receive a statement, you are still responsible for making your payment.  Make your check payable to Northern Arizona University with your account number in the memo section of your check.

Mail payments to: 

Northern Arizona University
c/o Educational Computer Systems, Inc.
181 Montour Run Road
Coraopolis, PA 15108-9408

Other ways to contact ECSI:

Voice:  

888-549-3274
412-788-3900

E-mail:  

webcservice@ecsi.net- Customer Service (Borrower) issues
webmaster@ecsi.net- Web/Internet related issues

Online: 

Live Customer Service 

Other helpful links

Federal Student Aid - Click on repaying your Federal loans

US Department of Education - Click on "repaying" in the "financial aid" block

Ombudsman - Contact the Student Loan Ombudsman if you have a dispute with a lender or a Federal student loan (877-557-2575)

National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) - View all of your Federal loans, lenders and Title IV grants

National Service Trust/Corporation for National Service - Ameri-Corps Loan repayment information for AmeriCorps volunteers

Free Annual Credit Report - This official, central site allows you to request a free credit file disclosure, commonly called a credit report, once every 12 months from each of the nationwide consumer credit reporting companies: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion

Deferment

Deferment allows the borrower to cease making payments on a Perkins loan. Interest on the loan does not accrue during the deferment period. Deferments are available for borrowers who are:

  • enrolled and in attendance as a regular student in at least a half-time course of study in an institution of higher education
  • enrolled and in attendance as a regular student in an approved fellowship program or approved rehabilitation training program for disabled individuals (this does not include a medical internship or residency program, except a residency in dentistry)
  • engaged in services which are eligible for cancellation benefits

If you qualify, complete the online form. 

E-mail questions to perkins@nau.edu.

Forbearance

Forbearance allows the borrower to cease making payments on a Perkins loan.

Interest on the loan accrues during the forbearance period. Borrowers may pay this interest during the forbearance period, or in a lump sum at the end of the forbearance period.

Borrowers are eligible for a forbearance if their monthly Title IV loan burden is over 20 percent of their total monthly gross income, or if they are unemployed and unable to find a job.

Borrowers who are unable to make their regular payments due to a disability may also be eligible for either a forbearance or a reduction in their payments.

Forbearances are renewable at intervals of up to 12 months for periods that collectively do not exceed three years.

If you qualify, complete the online form.

E-mail questions to perkins@nau.edu.

Cancellation

Borrowers who perform services in certain occupations may be eligible to have all or a portion of their Perkins loan canceled. Please contact perkins@nau.edu if you have been employed in the following occupations after graduation:

  • full-time teacher in an elementary or secondary school with a high concentration of students from low income families
  • full-time special education teacher in an elementary or secondary school
  • full-time teacher in an elementary or secondary school in the fields of:
    • mathematics
    • science
    • foreign languages
    • bilingual education
    • any other field of expertise that is determined by the State Department of Education to have a shortage of qualified teachers
     
  • full-time qualified professional provider of early intervention services in a public or nonprofit program
  • full-time law enforcement or corrections officer
  • full-time nurse or medical technician
  • full-time employee of a child or family service agency
  • full-time staff member in the educational component of a Head Start Program
  • member of the Armed Forces in an area of hostilities
  • volunteer under the Peace Corps Act or Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973