Service Obligation Requirement
All FLRP participants must sign a contract for a 2 year service obligation as a faculty member at an accredited eligible health professions college or university.  Duties must primarily consist of teaching in a classroom.

Participants are expected to complete their FLRP 2 year service obligation at their initial employing college or university.  Should a participant become unable to complete his / her obligation at the initial site, they must continue their service at another accredited eligible health professions college or university.  When a participant desires a transfer, written notification, including the reason for the transfer, must be submitted to and approved by the Division of Scholar and Clinician Support (DSCS) before the participant leaves his or her current site.  If a participant leaves his / her initial site without requesting and receiving approval for a transfer, he or she may be placed in default.

If a transfer is approved and there is no break in service between the initial site and a new service site, FLRP will continue to make loan repayments to the participant.  However, if the participant fails to resume service within 30 days of the stop-work date at the initial site, FLRP will stop all loan repayments.  Once the participant has commenced service at a new accredited eligible health professions college or university, loan repayments will be resumed as appropriate and the service end date will be extended to account for the entire service obligation period.

If a transfer is approved and the participant does not resume service at another eligible health profession college or university within 60 days after ceasing employment at the initial site, the participant may be recommended for default of his / her FLRP obligation.

Suspension / Waiver / Cancellation
The Secretary of Health and Human Services or his / her designee may suspend or waive, in whole or in part, a service or payment obligation. Requests for suspensions and waivers are processed and reviewed by Legal and Compliance Office (LCO).  In addition, the Secretary or his / her designee may cancel or terminate a FLRP contract under very limited circumstances.

Suspension:   A suspension of the FLRP obligation may be granted if compliance with the obligation would be 1) temporarily impossible or 2) would temporarily involve an extreme hardship such that enforcement of the obligation would be unconscionable.  The major categories of suspensions are set forth below.  Except as noted below, LCO will respond to the clinician’s request.  Periods of approved suspension will extend the service obligation end date.  Loan repayments will be stopped during the period of approved suspension.  Loan repayments will resume as appropriate and the service end date will be extended to account for the suspension period after the participant returns to work at the service site.

Suspensions for Medical and Personal Reasons
A suspension may be granted, for up to one year, if the participant provides independent medical documentation of a physical or mental health disability, or a terminal illness of an immediate family member, that results in the participant’s temporary inability to perform the FLRP obligation.  Upon receipt of the written suspension request, LCO will mail the participant instructions for documenting that request.

Maternity / Paternity / Adoption Suspensions
Maternity / Paternity / Adoption leave of 12 weeks or less should be documented on the six month employment verification form after the DSCS has been notified.  If the participant’s maternity / paternity / adoption leave will exceed 12 weeks during that service year, the participant must request a suspension from DSCS.  Suspensions may be granted based on documented medical need.  DSCS will forward the written request for a suspension to LCO.   LCO will mail the instructions for documenting that request to the participant. 

Call to Active Duty in the Armed Forces
FLRP reservists who are called to active duty will be granted a suspension, for up to one year, beginning on the activation date described in the order.  In addition to the written request for a suspension, a copy of the order to active duty must be submitted to DSCS.  The suspension will be extended if the applicable Armed Forces entity continues the period of active duty.  The period of active military duty will not be credited toward the FLRP service obligation.

Waiver:  A waiver may be granted if the compliance with the obligation 1) is impossible or 2) would involve extreme hardship and if enforcement of the obligation would be unconscionable.  A waiver request must be in writing and should specify the reason the waiver is being sought.  The participant will be contacted directly by DSCS regarding the medical and financial documentation necessary to process the waiver request.

Cancellation:  A FLRP obligation will be cancelled in it’s entirety in the event of the participant's death.

Requests concerning service obligation must be made in writing and mailed to:

Department of Health and Human Services
Health Resources and Services Administration
Bureau of Clinician Recruitment and Service
Division of Scholar and Clinician Support
5600 Fishers Lane
Room 8-15
Rockville, MD 20857

Participants with questions may call 1-800-221-9393 or email:  callcenter@hrsa.gov

Employing Institution

The employing institution must:

• Be an Accredited Health Professions College or University
• Complete an Intent of Employment Form that the applicant will serve as a faculty member for a minimum of 2 years, in one of the eligible health professions.
• Enter into an agreement with the participant to make loan repayments for the participant’s educational loans in an amount equal to the amount of such payments made by HHS to the participant under the 2-year FLRP contract (the maximum amount is $40,000 for 2 years) or request a waiver of this requirement.
• Payments made by the school for the repayment of the participant’s educational loans will be in addition to the pay that the individual would otherwise receive for serving as a member of such faculty.
• The FLRP Award amount cannot be considered when determining faculty salary.
• The Secretary may waive all or part of this requirement if the Secretary determines, based on documentation submitted by the employing institution, that the requirement will impose an undue financial hardship on the employing institution.  The following items are examples of documentation that would support a waiver request:
  • Documentation of diminished financial resources (e.g., consistent budget cuts, reduced earnings on endowments, and / or unexpected expenditures), such that payment of all or part of the matching loan repayment funds would impose an undue financial hardship.  This will be evaluated based on documentation provided for the last two to three years.
  • Documentation showing the institution is engaged in collective bargaining agreement(s) that either prohibits such differential compensation or that would require the institution to provide a similar dollar amount of support for faculty not covered under the FLRP.