Demonstrations of USA Funds Debt Manager scheduled for NASFAA conference

USA Funds unveils new default-prevention tool

INDIANAPOLIS — USA Funds^®, the nation’s leading education-loan guarantor, announces the introduction of a new Web-based tool to help postsecondary institutions prevent education-loan defaults. USA Funds Debt Manager^SM gives schools easy access to their borrowers’ information and permits them to design their own strategies for contacting their borrowers by mail or telephone.

“Regular contact with borrowers is a proven default-prevention method,” said Carl C. Dalstrom, USA Funds president and CEO. “USA Funds Debt Manager makes it easy for postsecondary institutions to stay in contact with their borrowers to promote successful repayment and curb loan defaults.”

Schools that use USA Funds Debt Manager automatically have access to their borrower data, which is updated weekly from servicing systems that support USA Funds’ guarantee. Using the online tool, schools can determine which borrower groups to contact and when and how to contact them. In addition to customized letter and telephone campaigns to education-loan borrowers, the tool supports customized reporting on a school’s loan portfolio.

Financial-aid professionals who have tested the product find that it saves time and helps them more effectively apply limited resources to enhancing their default-prevention efforts.

“Many institutions similar to ours are concerned about default prevention and debt management, but they don’t have a lot of resources to dedicate to these issues,” said Jonathan C. Roberts, director of financial aid at Harding University in Searcy, Ark., which was one of 14 postsecondary institutions that pilot-tested USA Funds Debt Manager. “Here is a product that produces gains with very little effort by the institution. We have the capability to produce reports at no cost. It’s a win-win for us.”

USA Funds will provide demonstrations of the features and benefits of USA Funds Debt Manager at its booth during the annual conference of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators in New York City July 3-6.

“USA Funds Debt Manager is an important addition to the comprehensive array of products and services that USA Funds offers postsecondary institutions to prevent loan defaults,” Dalstrom said.