10 Miss. Code. R. 687-1.1 - Nurse Retention Loan Repayment Program (NULR) Rules and Regulations
The Skilled Nursing Home and Hospital Nurses Retention Loan Repayment Program was established by the 2023 Legislature. These Rules and Regulations are promulgated to govern the program and are subject to change by the Mississippi Postsecondary Education Financial Assistance Board (hereinafter referred to as the "Board").
I.
GENERAL ELIGIBILITY
A. The
applicant must be a U.S. citizen and current legal resident of Mississippi.
Resident status for purposes of receiving NULR under this act shall be
determined in the same manner as resident status for tuition purposes as set
forth in Sections
37-103-1 through
37-103-29 of Ms. Code Ann., with
the exception of Section
37-103-17.
B. The applicant must have obtained a current
relevant Mississippi professional license.
C. First-time applicants must have gained
employment as a full-time licensed practical nurse or licensed registered nurse
at a skilled nursing home in the State of Mississippi or a general acute care
hospital in the State of Mississippi that is licensed by the Mississippi State
Department of Health.
D. Renewal
applicants must be employed as a full-time licensed practical nurse or licensed
registered nurse at a skilled nursing home in the State of Mississippi or a
general acute care hospital in the State of Mississippi that is licensed by the
Mississippi State Department of Health.
E. The applicant must work full-time as a
licensed practical nurse or licensed registered nurse at a single qualified
skilled nursing home or general acute care hospital in the State of Mississippi
for a period of not less than one (1) calendar year.
F. The applicant must have outstanding
qualifying educational loans. Qualifying educational loans include the
principal, interest, and related expenses such as the required interest premium
on the unpaid balances of government (federal, state or local) and commercial
loans obtained by the recipient for postsecondary educational expenses.
Perkins loans do not qualify for repayment under
NULR.
G. The applicant
must not have received funds from the Nursing Education Forgivable Loan Program
- BSN (NELB), Nursing Education Forgivable Loan Program - RN to BSN (NELR),
Nursing Education Forgivable Loan Program - MSN (NELM), Nursing Education
Forgivable Loan Program - RN to MSN (NERM), Nursing Education Forgivable Loan
Program - PHD/DNP (NELP), Nursing Teacher Stipend Forgivable Loan Program
(NTSP) or any other state forgivable loan.
H. The applicant must not presently be in
default or delinquent on any federal, state, local or commercial qualifying
educational loan.
II.
APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR LOAN REPAYMENT APPLICANT
A. First time applicants must:
1. Complete the Mississippi Aid Application
(MAAPP) online at www.msfinancialaid.org by the
deadline date of September 15 of the year for which the nurse is seeking loan
repayment.
2. Submit the following
documents to the Board by October 15 of the same year.
a) One form of proof of Mississippi
residency. A valid Mississippi Driver's License or Identification number
submitted during the online application process will fulfill this
requirement.
b) Proof of the
applicant's current practical nursing license or registered nursing
license.
c) A complete, executed
employment verification form documenting dates of full-time employment in a
qualified skilled nursing home or general acute care hospital in the State of
Mississippi.
d) A completed Loan
Data Verification form. (This form is completed as part of the online
application process.)
e)
Documentation from the lender or loan servicer for state, local, or commercial
loans that shows the loan's current balance, status (deferred, repayment,
etc.), type, and date of disbursement. (Additional documentation will be
collected only for private loans for which information is unavailable on the
National Student Loan Data System, NSLDS.)
B. Renewal applicants must:
1. Complete the Mississippi Aid Application
(MAAPP) online at www.msfinancialaid.org by the
deadline date of September 15.
2.
Submit the following documents to the Board by October 15.
a) One form of proof of continued Mississippi
residency. A valid Mississippi Driver's License or Identification number
submitted during the online application process will fulfill this
requirement.
b) A complete and
properly executed employment verification form documenting dates of full-time
employment in a qualified skilled nursing home or general acute care hospital
in the State of Mississippi.
c) A
completed Loan Data Verification form. (This form is completed as part of the
online application process.)
d)
Documentation from the lender or loan servicer for state, local, or commercial
loans that shows the loan's current balance, status (deferred, repayment,
etc.), type, and date of disbursement. (Additional documentation will be
collected only for private loans for which information is unavailable on the
National Student Loan Data System, NSLDS.)
III.
AWARD RECIPIENTS
A. Awards will be made to applicants with
outstanding postsecondary educational loans. Qualifying educational loans
include the principal, interest, and related expenses such as the required
interest premium on the unpaid balances of government (federal, state, or
local) and commercial loans obtained by the recipient for postsecondary
educational expenses. Perkins loans do not qualify for repayment under
NULR.
B. Recipients shall
be selected on a first-come, first-served basis of all eligible applicants and
shall be limited by available funding.
C. In the second and subsequent years of the
program, priority consideration shall first be given to renewal
applicants.
IV.
AMOUNT AND LENGTH OF LOAN REPAYMENT
A. Awards shall be up to six thousand dollars
($6,000) per year for a maximum of three (3) years.
B. The annual award amount shall never exceed
the outstanding balance of the qualifying educational loan.
C. Awards shall be granted annually, and
recipients shall have no obligation to seek a future award.
D. Awards shall be paid annually to the
recipient's lender/loan servicer and applied to the outstanding balance. Monies
paid on the recipient's behalf toward qualifying educational loans prior to
receiving a NULR award will not be eligible for repayment through the NULR
program.
E. Funds are provided for
the repayment of postsecondary education loans only. Funds are not provided for
the repayment of personal loans, even if the personal loan was used to pay for
postsecondary education.
V.
RECIPIENT RESPONSIBILITIES
A. The recipient must maintain a current
relevant Mississippi professional license while participating in the
program.
B. The recipient must be
employed full-time as a licensed practical nurse or licensed registered nurse
at a skilled nursing home in the State of Mississippi or a general acute care
hospital in the State of Mississippi that is licensed by the Mississippi State
Department of Health.
C. By July 31
at the conclusion of the recipient's employment year, the recipient must submit
to the Board an annual Employment Verification Form. The form must be received
for the Board to disburse the offered award amount to the loan
servicer.
D. While receiving funds,
the NULR recipient must at all times keep the Board informed of the recipient's
current, correct, and complete contact information. This information may be
updated via the NULR recipient's MAAPP account online.
Notes
State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compare.
No prior version found.