New Online Courses Focus on Web Resources, Disbursement, Privacy, Credit-Card Counseling

USA Funds^® has released four new online-learning courses to help financial-aid professionals enhance their skills. The new courses cover the following topics:

• Online Resources for Financial-Aid Administrators introduces online resources that are frequently used by financial-aid administrators.
• Cash-Management and Disbursement Requirements outlines the most-important cash-management rules when dealing with Title-IV programs and also addresses required procedures for moving funds among schools, lenders and borrowers.
• FERPA and Confidentiality provides financial-aid professionals with a high-level overview of the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act and how it affects them.
• Counseling Students About Credit Cards reviews the advantages and disadvantages of students’ getting credit cards, offers guidance about selecting the best credit cards, and outlines ways you can help your students become credit-card wise.

All of the courses provide interactive exercises, realistic case studies, and pre- and post-course assessments to measure the mastery of the information.

Since their introduction in 2004, USA Funds’ online courses have recorded more than 7,280 learner-sessions, involving staff at 245 campuses. Based on pre- and post-course assessments, more than 80 percent of the learners have shown improvement in their knowledge of key financial-aid issues.

“The feedback about our online courses is overwhelmingly positive,” said Barb Thompson, USA Funds University manager. “Because the courses are written by experienced former financial-aid administrators, they accurately address the distinct training needs of the financial-aid office.”

USA Funds currently is developing additional online courses that cover topics such as FFELP repayment options, consumer-information requirements, private loans and identity theft. Six professional-development courses, specifically designed for financial-aid-office student-workers, will be available in the summer.

USA Funds online courses are available at no cost to USA Funds' school-customers. 

To register for the courses, log on to the USA Funds University online-training site. To find out more about becoming a USA Funds customer, contact your USA Funds Services representative.