Diksia.com - If you have federal student loans that were serviced by Great Lakes Educational Loan Services, you may have noticed some changes in your account recently. That’s because Great Lakes has transferred its entire portfolio of federal student loans to Nelnet, another student loan servicer, and is no longer in the business of servicing student loans.
This transfer was authorized by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and has posted a notice about it at StudentAid.gov/greatlakes. Your loan was not sold. ED will continue to own your loan; however, Nelnet will manage your loan and assist you on ED’s behalf as your federal student loan servicer.
This change will not impact the existing status, terms, conditions, interest rate, or available repayment plans of your federal student loan. However, there are some things you need to do and know to ensure a smooth transition and avoid any issues with your loan repayment.
In this article, we will explain what Great Lakes and Nelnet are, why the transfer happened, what you need to do after the transfer, and how to contact Nelnet for any questions or concerns. We will also provide some tips and resources to help you manage your student loans effectively and achieve your financial goals.
What are Great Lakes and Nelnet?
Great Lakes and Nelnet are two of the nine companies that ED contracts with to service federal student loans. They are responsible for handling the billing, payment processing, customer service, and other administrative tasks related to your student loans.
Great Lakes and Nelnet have been part of the same company since 2018, when Nelnet acquired Great Lakes for $150 million. However, they operated as separate entities until 2023, when Great Lakes decided to exit the student loan servicing business and transfer its loans to Nelnet.
Nelnet is one of the largest student loan servicers in the country, with more than 40 years of experience and over $500 billion in student loans under management. Nelnet also offers other products and services related to education, such as tuition payment plans, online learning platforms, and scholarship search tools.
Why did the transfer happen?
The transfer of Great Lakes student loans to Nelnet was part of a larger overhaul of the federal student loan servicing system that ED initiated in 2020. The goal of this overhaul was to improve the customer experience, increase accountability, and reduce costs for borrowers and taxpayers.
As part of this overhaul, ED announced that it would not renew its contracts with the existing student loan servicers, including Great Lakes and Nelnet, and instead award new contracts to five companies: Edfinancial Services, F.H. Cann & Associates, MAXIMUS Federal Services, Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority (MOHELA), and Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation (Trellis Company).
These new contracts were supposed to take effect in December 2020, but they were delayed due to legal challenges, technical issues, and the COVID-19 pandemic. In the meantime, ED extended its contracts with the current servicers until December 2021, and asked them to prepare for the transition of their loans to the new servicers.
However, Great Lakes decided to opt out of the extension and transfer its loans to Nelnet instead, citing operational and financial reasons. Great Lakes said that it wanted to focus on its core mission of helping students access and afford higher education, and that it would continue to provide other services such as grant administration, financial aid counseling, and college access programs.
What do you need to do after the transfer?
If you had Great Lakes as your student loan servicer, you should have received a notice from Great Lakes and Nelnet informing you about the transfer and what you need to do.
Here are some of the most important steps you should take after the transfer:
- Register for online access by creating an account at Nelnet.com. You will need to use a different username and password than your Great Lakes account. Once you have an account, log in and enter the authorization code that was sent to your email or phone number. This will verify your identity and link your loans to your account.
- Update your contact information and preferences. Make sure that Nelnet has your current email, phone number, mailing address, and communication preferences. You can also sign up for paperless statements and notifications to reduce clutter and save the environment.
- Review your loan details and repayment options. Check that your loan balance, interest rate, repayment plan, and payment due date are correct and match your records. If you want to change your repayment plan, apply for deferment or forbearance, or consolidate your loans, you can do so through Nelnet’s website or by contacting them directly.
- Set up automatic payments or make manual payments. If you had automatic payments set up with Great Lakes, you will need to re-enroll with Nelnet. You can do this online or by calling Nelnet. You can also make manual payments online, by phone, by mail, or through the Nelnet app. You can choose to pay more than the minimum amount or target specific loans to pay off faster.
- Contact Nelnet if you have any questions or issues. Nelnet’s customer service representatives are available by phone, email, chat, or social media. You can also visit Nelnet’s website for FAQs, guides, calculators, and other resources to help you manage your student loans.
How to contact Nelnet
If you need to contact Nelnet for any reason, here are some of the ways you can reach them:
- Phone: 1-888-486-4722 (Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET)
- Email: [email protected]
- Chat: Log in to your account and click on the chat icon
- Social media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube
- Mail: Nelnet, P.O. Box 82561, Lincoln, NE 68501-2561
You can also visit Nelnet.com/contact for more information and options.
Conclusion
Great Lakes student loans have been transferred to Nelnet, the new servicer, as part of a larger overhaul of the federal student loan servicing system. This change will not affect the terms and conditions of your loans, but you will need to take some steps to ensure a smooth transition and avoid any issues with your loan repayment.
You will need to register for online access with Nelnet, update your contact information and preferences, review your loan details and repayment options, set up automatic payments or make manual payments, and contact Nelnet if you have any questions or issues.
Nelnet is committed to providing you with excellent customer service and helping you successfully manage your student loans. You can also visit StudentAid.gov for more information and resources on federal student loans and repayment options.
