1. Package Title IV loans
  2. How SFP handles Title IV loans

3How SFP handles Title IV loans

Oracle Student Financial Planning (SFP) automatically handles eligibility determination, fund status updates, and award year selection for crossover payment periods.

Determines Direct Loan eligibility

If the student passes general Title IV eligibility requirements for a Direct Loan, the student is packaged with the appropriate funding. Direct Loan eligibility requirements are evaluated per award year. SFP determines if the student has exceeded the annual or aggregate loan limits, or if the student had a prior loan discharged due to disability or total and permanent disability.

SFP evaluates the student's program type (for example, graduate, or undergraduate) and determines which type of Direct Loan the student is eligible to receive.

When SFP receives loan period information, it determines if the loan period is for the past, present or future.

For undergraduate students, the dependency status from the student’s Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR) is considered to determine if the student is eligible for the Dependent or Independent unsubsidized loan limit.

Updates the Direct Loan fund status

SFP automatically prevents funds from progressing to 'Estimated' if the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) received date falls outside the configured window. Institutions can configure the allowable age of NSLDS data using the 'Days_Between_FAH_File_Requests' setting including an additional five-day buffer.

During packaging, SFP updates the fund status from estimated or projected to awarded when the fund meets the configured awarding criteria.

After the status changes to awarded, it doesn't change back to estimated or projected unless the ISIR status changes from valid to invalid. If that happens, SFP updates the fund status from awarded to projected. If a student has already been awarded and the eligible fund amount changes, the fund status stays awarded. However, SFP adjusts the award amount, and the fund requires acceptance when needed.

The Financial Plan Outbound (FPO) message is generated when the student's packaging status changes. The message lets the student know whether the packaging status is projected, estimated, or awarded.

Determines the award year used for Direct Loan awards for a crossover payment period

You can use the Direct_Loan_Crossover_LP_AwY_Selection (Direct Loan Crossover Loan Period Award Year Selection) field in the Package Schedule Attributes Guide to select the aid year to use for Direct Loan awards for the crossover payment period. If you don't configure the Direct_Loan_Crossover_LP_AwY_Selection field, SFP defaults to the predefined aid year selection rules per fund code.

When no ISIR is received for the loan period award year, and:
  • An ISIR is received for the prior aid year only, SFP packages the Direct Loan fund as projected.
  • An ISIR received is for the future year only, the student is ineligible for Direct Loans.

Determines the current and projected awards for Direct Loans

Using the US Department of Education's (ED) annual and aggregate loan limits, the application determines the maximum projected award amount for the current and all future loan periods in the student's program. This gives students a clear picture of how much they can receive for their entire program.

When determining the student's maximum projected Direct Loan awards for a loan period, the application considers the student's:

  • Financial need
  • Subsidized loan limit
  • Unsubsidized loan limit
  • Grade level loan limit
  • Prorated loan limit
  • Remaining overlapping loan limit
  • Remaining loan eligibility based on NSLDS annual limits and overlapping loans
  • Remaining loan eligibility based on NSLDS aggregate limits, if applicable

Manages loan limit exceptions

SFP lets institutions configure interim exception processing so eligible students can receive prior Direct Loan limits, those that applied before One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB), for a limited time. The interim exception period is based on the student's expected time to credential, which is the lesser of 3 years or the student's remaining time to credential (up to the published program length).

Borrowing from any of these Direct Loan types qualifies a student for interim exception treatment across applicable Direct Loans: DUNSUB, DUNSUB:Medical, PLUS, and GPLUS. This applies to award year 2026–27 and later.

Here's how SFP handles the interim exception processing:

  • Sets the 'Loan Limit Exception Indicator' using ED data when it's available. SFP uses the latest value by received date.
  • If ED data is unavailable, uses the OB3InterimException document IsEligible value, if present. Otherwise, SFP defaults to N.
  • Applies continuing eligibility constraints based on optional OB3InterimException metadata. For example, continuous enrollment, program Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code, credential level, program attendance begin date, and published program length indicator.
  • Limits interim exception application to the interim period, up to 3 award years. For award years after 2028–2029, the indicator is set to N.

SFP applies this term application and freeze logic:

  • The 'Loan Limit Exception Indicator' is set per term. It's evaluated at the award-year level and applied to terms in that award year.

  • SFP doesn't update the indicator for terms where the system date is after the term end date or terms with disbursed disbursements.

  • Only current (undisbursed) and future terms may be updated.