College administrators share ideas for outreach, student retention, default prevention

USA Funds helps minority-serving institutions build collaborative strategies

INDIANAPOLIS — USA Funds^®, the nation's leading education-loan guarantor, has published a synopsis of a dialogue among administrators of minority-serving colleges and universities on three critical issues. The publication summarizes the discussion during the Building Collaborative Strategies symposium that USA Funds sponsored for administrators of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) and Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities.

A total of 130 representatives of 56 minority-serving institutions participated in the symposium, which included presentations about and discussion of access programs that strengthen student success, best practices in student retention and best practices in default management.

"Our sponsorship of the symposium is consistent with USA Funds' mission to support higher-education access, student success and the successful repayment of the loans that helped students finance their studies," said Carl C. Dalstrom, USA Funds president and CEO. "We're pleased to make this publication available to a wider audience that can benefit from the ideas and strategies generated during the symposium."

USA Funds' sponsorship of the symposium is part of its comprehensive initiative to promote preparedness for college, higher-education access and the successful completion of postsecondary education. Additional components of this initiative include USA Funds Unlock the Future^™, an early-awareness program for middle-school students and their families; USA Funds Life Skills^SM, a financial-literacy program for college students; and a program focusing on Best Practices in Student Retention.

The synopsis of the Building Collaborative Strategies symposium is available from the USA Funds Web site.