USA Funds Update

USA Funds Helps Patients at Phoenix Children’s Hospital Keep Up With Schoolwork
To address the educational needs of school-aged patients who have acute illnesses or are isolated in their rooms, on March 16 USA Funds^® presented Phoenix Children’s Hospital with a prototype of a mobile classroom designed especially to allow hospitalized children to continue their studies. Read more.

Reminder: Three USA Funds Lender Forums Next Month
Three USA Funds Education-Lender Forums are set for April. The forums, which alert lender-customers of the latest developments in the ever-changing education-finance marketplace, will be in Orlando, Fla., on April 11; San Antonio, Texas, on April 12; and Jackson, Miss., on April 13. The events are part of a series of Education-Lender Forums that USA Funds is hosting in 2006. Learn more and register online for the April forums.

Profiles in Superior Customer Service: ‘Saving’ Borrowers From Default
Amber Fox’s efforts to help one education-loan borrower resolve his repayment problems prompted him to report that she “saved him.” USA Funds presented Fox, a default-prevention specialist, with a “There for You” award for her outstanding service. Learn more.

Operations Bulletin

Policy Frequently Asked Question: Holding Fixed- and Variable-Interest-Rate Loans
USA Funds’ policy staff addresses whether the upcoming change to fixed interest rates for Federal Stafford and Federal PLUS loans will mean that a single borrower may hold loans with both variable and fixed interest rates. Read more.

Stafford Master Promissory Note Approved Through February 2008
On March 22, 2006, the U.S. Department of Education announced that the Federal Stafford Loan Master Promissory Note has been approved with no changes through Feb. 29, 2008. Federal Family Education Loan Program participants are working with the Department to develop an MPN addendum that will explain changes to loan terms and conditions that are a result of the federal Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. The addendum will accompany the current Stafford MPN until the development of a new Stafford MPN that incorporates the changes required by the 2005 Deficit Reduction Act.

Reminder: Cohort-Default-Rate Appeals Due April 7
USA Funds reminds schools that appeals of draft 2004 cohort-default rates must be postmarked no later than April 7, 2006. The USA Funds Web site offers resources to help schools with cohort-default-rate appeals. Among the resources is a list of common errors to avoid during the appeal process. An additional resource is the Department of Education’s Cohort Default Rate Guide, Section 2.1. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to access the Department’s guide.

Debt-Management Perspectives

USA Funds Symposium Participants Learn to ‘Mine’ Data in Retention Efforts
Student-retention expert Lana Low believes that the use of data is key in schools’ planning and implementation of successful retention strategies. At the recent USA Funds Symposium, “Adopting the Plan — Models for Student Success,” Low shared her tips for “data mining.” Learn more.