Overview
The Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority (MEFA) was established by Chapter 803 of the Acts of 1982 and codified as Chapter 15C of the Massachusetts General Laws. MEFA is a not-for-profit, self-funded, state-chartered student loan organization. Its mission is to assist higher-education students by offering low-cost loans and tax-advantaged savings plans.
MEFA’s student loan customers are individuals, and families of individuals, who attend eligible nonprofit colleges or universities in the United States. MEFA offers student loan options with fixed interest rates for both undergraduate and graduate students. During the audit period, MEFA disbursed $421,748,381 of student loans to 29,963 borrowers. Each student loan must be certified by the student’s college or university before disbursement to ensure that the loan does not exceed the college’s or university’s cost of attendance. MEFA also works with parents, students, and school guidance counselors by providing various instructional opportunities through its advisory and outreach programs.
Headquartered in downtown Boston, MEFA employed 41 individuals during the audit period. MEFA contracts with the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA), also commonly known commercially as American Education Services, to provide loan servicing for borrowers. As part of its contractual obligations, PHEAA is responsible for processing borrower complaints and escalating complaints that cannot be resolved initially, known as high-profile complaints, to MEFA. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau also turns over borrower complaints to MEFA.
| Date published: | April 14, 2022 |
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