Southern Oregon University is a qualifying employer for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. As an employee of Southern Oregon University, you may qualify for this program.
****Limited PSLF Waiver Expires 10/31/2022 ****
The “limited PSLF waiver” refers to the time-limited changes to Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program rules that allow borrowers to receive credit for past periods of repayment that would otherwise not qualify for PSLF. This opportunity ends on Oct. 31, 2022. Refer to the US Department of Education's Federal Student Aid website for details.
What is the PSLF?
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program is administered by Federal Student Aid, an office of the U.S. Department of Education. It is not an SOU-administered program. SOU employees who have Federal Direct Loans and have made 120 payments on the Federal Direct Loans (after Oct. 1, 2007) may be eligible for the remaining loan balance to be forgiven.
How do I qualify?
- Must be employed by a U.S Federal, state, local or tribal government or not-for-profit organization (Federal service includes U.S. military service);
- Work full-time (30 hours per week) for a qualifying employer;
- Have Direct Loans (or consolidate other federal student loans into a Direct Loan);
- Repay loans under an income-driven repayment plan; and
- Make 120 qualifying payments and loans must not be in default to be forgiven.
How do I apply?
- Complete the Public Service Loan Forgiveness application;
- Participants are encouraged to also utilize the PSLF Help Tool from the Department of Education to get in their digital queue;
- Place the completed application in the SOU HR Secure Inbox, fax it to 541-552-8508, or hand-deliver it to 1250 Siskiyou Boulevard, Churchill Hall - Room 159, Ashland, Oregon. Please do not pre-populate the social security number field if emailing is the preferred method of delivery (hrs@sou.edu) for HR certification;
- SOU HR will complete the employer section and return the certified form via a secure digital location or it can be picked up in person; and
- Send the completed form to the U.S. Department of Education, MOHELA using one of the methods indicated in Section 7 of the PSLF application (page 4).
Savi - PSLF Support
The Savi program was established to be an advocate and concierge for your student loan debt journey and can help users more easily attain public loan forgiveness through the PSLF program. The program is available to employees and their dependents through the Oregon Public Universities Retirement Plans (OPURP), which manages our Tax Deferred Investment (TDI) 403(b) voluntary retirement savings program and our ORP mandatory retirement program, in partnership with TIAA, one of the retirement investment vendors available through OPURP. Savi is a free program and you do not have to have a TIAA account to participate (a premium paid Savi service may also be utilized, allowing Savi to submit documents and communicate on your behalf). The Savi program will give you access to a powerful tool that helps strengthen your financial footing in the short term, and helps position you for student loan forgiveness. Perks of the program include:
- Caps your payment based on your income and more;
- Frees up funds that can be directed towards other goals;
- Removes the complexities of the forgiveness program;
- Savi users can even see whether their paperwork has been submitted by logging in and viewing the Savi dashboard.
For information to see how Savi can help you work through the PSLF program, go to the Savi webpage for Oregon University System employees. If you have any questions about signing up for Savi, please email Crystal Farset from OPURP at cfarset@uoregon.edu.
Where can I get more information?
- For information, visit the Federal Student Aid webpage at https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service or visit their PSLF FAQ page.
- For support with navigating the PSLF program, please refer to Savi. Savi helps employees and their dependents more easily attain public loan forgiveness through the PSLF program. Details about Savi can be found below under the Savi heading.
