(SANTA ANA, Calif. January 11, 2007) David L. Boyd, President of William Howard Taft University announced today that as a result of legislation passed in 2006, Taft University students are now eligible to defer repayment of existing federally insured student loans during their enrollment period with Taft and may be entitled to special income tax benefits. 

   “The University filed an application with the Department of Education on the effective date of the new law and was approved late last year,” Boyd said. The new law requires that an institution be accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the Department of Education and meet certain other requirements before it can be approved. 

    The approval also means that students may qualify for the Lifetime Learning Credit or special deductions on their 2007 federal income tax returns.

    Mere approval of a school by a state agency will not qualify its students for these benefits, Boyd noted. “It is our understanding that we have the only distance learning law school that has achieved eligibility status with the Department of Education and the Internal Revenue Service which allows us to provide these benefits to our students.”