Virginia Code 23.1-232: Office of the Qualified Education Loan Ombudsman established; duties
A. The Council shall create within the agency the Office of the Qualified Education Loan Ombudsman. The Office of the Qualified Education Loan Ombudsman shall provide timely assistance to any qualified education loan borrower of any qualified education loan in the Commonwealth. All state agencies shall assist and cooperate with the Office of the Qualified Education Loan Ombudsman in the performance of its duties under this article.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 23.1-232
- Council: means the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. See Virginia Code 23.1-100
- Qualified education loan: means any qualified education loan obtained specifically to finance education or other school-related expenses. See Virginia Code 23.1-231
- Qualified education loan borrower: means (i) any current resident of the Commonwealth who has received or agreed to pay a qualified education loan or (ii) any person who shares responsibility with such resident for repaying the qualified education loan. See Virginia Code 23.1-231
- Servicing: means (i) receiving any scheduled periodic payments from a qualified education loan borrower pursuant to the terms of a qualified education loan; (ii) applying the payments of principal and interest and such other payments, with respect to the amounts received from a qualified education loan borrower, as may be required pursuant to the terms of a qualified education loan; and (iii) performing other administrative services with respect to a qualified education loan. See Virginia Code 23.1-231
- State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245
B. The Office of the Qualified Education Loan Ombudsman shall:
1. Receive, review, and attempt to resolve any complaints from qualified education loan borrowers, including attempts to resolve such complaints in collaboration with institutions of higher education, qualified education loan servicers, and any other participants in qualified education loan lending;
2. Compile and analyze data on qualified education loan borrower complaints as described in subdivision 1;
3. Assist qualified education loan borrowers to understand their rights and responsibilities under the terms of qualified education loans;
4. Provide information to the public, state agencies, legislators, and other persons regarding the problems and concerns of qualified education loan borrowers and make recommendations for resolving those problems and concerns;
5. Analyze and monitor the development and implementation of federal and state laws and policies relating to qualified education loan borrowers and recommend any changes the Office of the Qualified Education Loan Ombudsman deems necessary;
6. Review the complete qualified education loan history of any qualified education loan borrower who has provided written consent for such review;
7. Disseminate information concerning the availability of the Office of the Qualified Education Loan Ombudsman to assist qualified education loan borrowers and potential qualified education loan borrowers, as well as public institutions of higher education, qualified education loan servicers, and any other participant in qualified education loan lending, with any qualified education loan servicing concerns; and
8. Take any other actions necessary to fulfill the duties of the Office of the Qualified Education Loan Ombudsman as set forth in this article.