Students still enrolled at ULM recently received letters demanding payment for student loans due to a possible enrollment data technological issue.

Meagen Udkler, a senior medical laboratory science major, said she wishes that affected students had been notified through email.

Udkler received a letter at the end of October with a quick turnaround.

“I was confused that I had a payment of $99 due in a week and a half, and I hadn’t heard anything about it,” Udkler said.

Udkler said there is simple fix to the problem, but she said it was important that students open up the letter and discover the problem.

ULM’s Registrar’s Office transmits enrollment data to the National Student Clearinghouse  on a regular schedule. 

As recent legislation passed a “150 Percent Limit,” institutions are required to report more data elements to the NSC. The law restricts students from borrowing direct subsidized loans for more than 150 percent of the length of their educational programs.

Therefore, an issue with transmission of this required data after it left ULM might have caused some students to be considered withdrawn from the university to NSC, which informs lenders of student enrollment status. 

Ellucian, the company that owns Banner, and the Clearinghouse are working together to identify what issues might have occurred.

Anthony Malta, University Registrar, said the problem is not unique to ULM.  Malta said many other U.S. universities are also affected.  The issue was not isolated to one specific age group of ULM students.

Malta said students should not worry, as the technical issues will be resolved.

The Registrar’s Office completes various edit checks for mistakes before sending enrollment information, but it does not control it after it’s sent unless a patch designed to fix certain errors is required.

“Our data is as accurate as it can possibly be in terms of when a student comes through the application process all the way to the student status,” said Malta.

Malta said students should refer to Banner if they have any questions regarding their records and enrollment.

“Banner is the official student information system,” Malta said.

Ashlee Glass, a senior social work major, said she recently received a notice in the mail about a student loan payment due in December.  Glass learned that she had been considered withdrawn from the university despite the fact she is still enrolled.

“If I was shown withdrawn from the school, I should have known prior to three weeks before having to pay my student loans,” Glass said.

Students receiving this letter in error can ask the Registrar’s Office for official enrollment verification forms to send to their lenders.

Malta said students should check on documents they receive that they might be unsure about instead of throwing them away.

“Always air on the side of caution,” Malta said.