Administrative Funding
Preferences – objective factors that are
used to place an applicant ahead of others
without the preference on a list of applicants
recommended for funding.
Approved Graduate Training
– Approved graduate training means those programs
of graduate training in medicine, osteopathy,
dentistry or other health professions which
(a) lead to eligibility for board certification
or which provide other evidence of completion,
and (b) have been approved by the appropriate
health professions body as determined by the
Secretary.
Commercial Loans
– Commercial loans are defined as loans made
by banks, credit unions, savings and loan
associations, insurance companies, schools,
and other financial or credit institutions
which are subject to examination and supervision
in their capacity as lenders by an agency
of the United States or of the State in which
the lender has its principal place of business.
Default – An individual
who does not begin or complete the entire
2-year service obligation will be in default
of the FLRP contract and liable to repay funds
to the United States. See Section F.
Division of Applications
and Awards (DAA) – A division of the Bureau
of Clinician Recruitment and Service, Health
Resources and Services Administration.
Eligible Disciplines
– Individuals in the following disciplines
are eligible to apply for FLRP awards: medicine,
osteopathic medicine, dentistry, optometry,
pharmacy, podiatric medicine, veterinary medicine,
nursing (RN only), public health, allied health
(baccalaureate or graduate degree programs
of dental hygiene, medical laboratory technology,
occupational therapy, physical therapy, radiologic
technology, speech pathology, audiology, and
registered dietitians), and graduate programs
in behavioral and mental health (clinical
psychology, clinical social work, professional
counseling, and marriage and family therapy).
Eligible Health Professions
Schools – Participants must serve as faculty
members at accredited schools of medicine,
osteopathic medicine, dentistry, optometry,
pharmacy, podiatric medicine, veterinary medicine,
nursing, allied health, public health and
schools offering graduate programs in behavioral
and mental health.
Faculty Loan Repayment
Program (FLRP) – The FLRP is authorized
by Section 738(a) of the Public Health Service
Act, as amended. Under the FLRP, eligible
individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds
provide service as a faculty member at eligible
health professions schools in exchange for
funds for the repayment of their qualifying
educational loans.
Fiscal Year (FY)
– The Federal FY is defined as October 1 through
September 30.
Government Loans
– Loans which are made by Federal, State,
county or city agencies which are authorized
by law to make such loans.
Health Resources and
Services Administration – An operating
agency of the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services.
Holder – The commercial
or Government institution that currently holds
the promissory note for the qualifying education
loan (e.g., Sallie Mae, PHEAA, etc.).
Individual from a Disadvantaged
Background – An individual who has been
certified by a school as having come from
a “disadvantaged background” based on environmental
and/or economic factors. As defined by the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS), an individual from a disadvantaged
background is one who comes from an environment
that has inhibited the individual from obtaining
the knowledge, skill, and abilities required
to enroll in and graduate from a graduate
or undergraduate school.
Economically Disadvantaged
– the applicant must come from a family with
an annual income below a level based on low-income
thresholds according to family size published
by the U.S. Bureau of the Census, adjusted
annually for changes in the Consumer Price
index, and adjusted by the Secretary, HHS,
for use in health professions and nursing
programs.
Environmentally Disadvantaged
– includes, but is not limited to the following
types of factors: 1) the individual graduated
from (or last attended) a high school from
which a low percentage of seniors receive
a high school diploma; 2) the individual graduated
from (or last attended) a high school at which,
based on most recent data available, many
of the enrolled students are eligible for
free or reduced price lunches; 3) the individual
comes from a family that receives public assistance
(e.g., Aid to Families with Dependent Children,
food stamps, Medicaid, public housing); 4)
the individual comes from a family that lives
in an area that is designated under section
332 of the Public Health Service Act as a
Health Professional Shortage Area, a Medically
Underserved Area, a Dental Health Professions
Shortage Area or a Mental Health Professions
Shortage Area; 5) the individual participated
in an academic enrichment program funded in
whole or in part by the Health Careers Opportunity
Program, authorized by section 739 of the
Public Health Service Act; 6) high school
drop-outs who received AHS diploma or GED
and from a rural area or through public assistance;
7) an individual who comes from a school district
where 50% or less of graduates go to college
or where college education is not encouraged;
8) an individual who is the first generation
to attend college who are from a rural area
or on public assistance; 9) an individual
who has a diagnosed physical or mental impairment
that substantially limits the person’s participation
in the educational experiences and opportunities
offered by the college; 10) an individual
for whom English is not their primary language
and must take a Test of English as Foreign
Language (TOEFL) before entering health professions/nursing
school; or 11) an individual who was accepted
to the program after academic reassessment
at the completion of remedial courses.
Lender – The commercial
or Government institution that initially made
the qualifying loan (e.g., Department of Education).
Qualifying Educational
Loans – Qualifying educational loans are
Government and commercial loans for actual
costs paid for tuition and reasonable educational
and living expenses related to the undergraduate
or graduate education of the participant prior
to his or her receipt of the health professions
degree being utilized by the FLRP. Such loans
must have documentation that is contemporaneous
with the education received. Participants
will receive funds for repayment of qualifying
educational loans that are still owed. If
the applicant has consolidated otherwise qualifying
educational loans with any other debt or consolidated
his/her loans with loans of another individual,
the consolidated loan is ineligible. Residency
relocation loans are not eligible. Pursuant
to the Right to Financial Privacy Act of 1978,
the applicant authorizes the government or
financial institution named in the Loan Information
and Verification Form (see page 27) to release
financial records relating to the education
loan identified to the HHS and/or it’s contractors
for the purpose of assessing and verifying
the amount and eligibility of the educational
loan for payment under the Faculty Loan Repayment
Program. The authorization is valid for 3
months from the date of the applicant’s signature
on the form and may be revoked in writing
at any time before the applicant’s records
are disclosed. A statement of customer rights
under the Right to Financial Privacy Act of
1978 on page 28.
Reasonable Educational
Expenses – Reasonable educational expenses
are the costs of education, exclusive of tuition,
such as fees, books, supplies, clinical travel,
educational equipment and materials, which
do not exceed the school’s estimated standard
student budget for educational expenses for
the participant’s degree program and for the
year(s) of that participant’s enrollment.
Reasonable Living Expenses
– Reasonable living expenses are the costs
of room and board, transportation and commuting
costs, and other costs which do not exceed
the school’s estimated standard student budget
for living expenses at that school for the
participant’s degree program and for the year(s)
of that participant’s enrollment.
State – As used in
this Bulletin, State includes the 50
States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth
of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands,
Territory of American Samoa, Territory of
Guam, Republic of Palau, Republic of the Marshall
Islands, and Federated States of Micronesia.
Suspension – A suspension
of the service or payment obligation may be
granted if the individual has a temporary
physical or mental health condition that temporarily
prevents the individual from fulfilling the
obligation (e.g., surgery and chemotherapy,
motor vehicle accident). See Section G.
Waiver – A waiver
of the service or payment obligation may be
granted if the individual has a permanent
physical or mental health condition that permanently
prevents the individual from fulfilling the
obligation (e.g., terminal illness). See
Section G.
