USA Funds’ Debt Management Tools Can Help as You Share News of Default Prevention Success

Bonnie Weaver, a USA Funds^® debt management consultant working with schools in Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico, discusses how USA Funds’ tools can help you as you communicate debt management and default prevention successes with others on campus.

Chances are that the staff members in your financial aid office and the students they assist know how hard your office works at preventing student loan defaults and helping students manage their debt.

But what about your peers throughout campus — the leaders of student retention efforts, enrollment managers, and student services and academic affairs personnel?

It takes more than the efforts of the financial aid office to help students complete their studies and graduate, repay their student loans, and succeed in life. Invite others on campus to join you in this journey. Communicate along the way so everyone knows the results of your efforts — and understands what resources you need to accomplish your goals.

So where do you start? And what do you share?

• It’s important for the financial aid office to develop a working relationship with departments throughout campus — from the president’s office, to student affairs, to academic affairs and others. USA Funds can help you and your team develop a joint set of default prevention and debt management goals that you’d like to accomplish. And we can show you tools that can make the job easier and provide information you can share with others to communicate your progress.
• USA Funds Debt Manager^® is a Web-based communication tool that helps you connect with borrowers and prevent student loan defaults. You can easily customize letters or e-mail messages to send each week or each month to students in various stages of delinquency.
  
  The tool allows you to see the number of borrowers you contacted who resolved their delinquencies — and you can share this news with others on campus.
• USA Funds Life Skills^® can help you improve the financial literacy of your students. The program helps you teach your students about how to manage their time and money wisely while they are on campus and after graduation. The curriculum is targeted for undergraduate, graduate and professional students and contains specialized sections for returning, medical, nontraditional and married students.
  
  You can offer this curriculum in the classroom or as part of a seminar or orientation. Share with others on campus the number of sessions you offer, how many students attend, and how those students respond on evaluations.
• Each year the federal government provides schools with their draft and final cohort default rates. Additionally, USA Funds offers the USA Funds Cohort Analysis Tool^SM, which can help you monitor your rate all year long and make adjustments to your debt management and default prevention plan if needed.
  
  With cohort default rate information at your fingertips throughout the year, you can regularly keep others at your institution informed about how well students are repaying their education loans.

USA Funds’ debt management consultants can provide individual consultations and advice. Please contact me by e-mail or by phone at (866) 497-8723, Ext. 5698. Or, you can contact your regional debt management consultant for more information.