I think the most important thing we can do as schools is educate the students. They need to know when payments will start, the amounts and the duration. Just delivering the entrance and exit counseling is often not often and you may need to og into further detail with students.
Communication is key. Staying in contact with the student during and after they complete the progrsm is something that can help to avoid financial aid issues. If you know in advance that the student is possibly going to run into issues with the loan they have, you can help them avoid default by getting them in contact with the correct person.
I feel that the student loan counseling helps and just letting the student or prospective student know their responsiblilties and loan amounts in attending the school. Always be honets and give correct information.
At our school every financial aid appointment for estimate or enrollment will also have a visit with our Director of Financial Aid. Our loan retention specialist has an open door policy for students and we practice early intervention after identifying high risk students. Although I am in Admissions I let every prospective student know that we will answer all their questions. There are daily and weekly meetings regarding the status and needs of our students.
I think it would be a great idea for our campus to have a person dedicated to default prevention.
I am a part of a school that have not had the opportunity to work with school loans and them being in default.
I agree it is important to remember that many career college students have not had to be loan responsible. With that said, a constant sprinkling of the importance of loan responsibility and budgeting throughout their educational process is the most effective route.
fully disclose student responsibilites and compensation levels of entry level employees.... with a plan, budget and some sacrifice our students can get an foothold in the middle class.
most students default because they dont understand the options that are afforded to them during the repayment process.
Making sure the prospective student understands completely the nature of the student loan repayment process and the consequences of default and the priority of budget management once they seek employment in the field of their degree.
I feel that individual time spent with finacial aid representatives to offer counselling is essential to a students understanding of their obligations. Once this counselling takes place, our admissions representative "cools down" the appointment to ensure that the information made sense, did not overwhelm, and was acceptable. The default consequences are clearly discussed to ensure students are responsible, and communicate with their lender.
I belive one of the most important things would not only have students complete entrance and exit counseling but also specialized workshops in regards to default management discuss their rights as well as their responsibilities.
I believe every institution provide students financial counseling and consequence loans provide which equal an education leading to gainful employment. It's kind of like a financial investment the student has to manage over a period of time to reap the benefits of "ROI" return on investment.
First, I think its beneficial to always advise our students to stay in communications with their Financial Aid Representative if they have any questions or concerns. Second, I suggest to students if you are having financial challenges to utilize the representative to help assist with any options or ideas to help with payment arrangements of plans to avoid default situations.
first we should try to help the student from withdrawing and then if it is a last resort then talk to them about ALL the options and explain everything to the student and what all the conseqences will be.
I think that there should be some type of financial councling on loans and overpayments so that the student is completely aware as to what to expect once they have left school
Perhaps the most important thing an institution can do is reduce the debt load the student will accrue. Our school has recently developed a program to provide increased scholarship opportunities to students who are succeeding academically. In the long term this program can shave years of repayment off these students or greatly reduce the amount they pay monthly. There is much to be said for making them aware of how to plan as well, but I think lessening the burden is overlooked too often.
I think it's important for the institution to have loan counseling disclosures prior to enrollment and exit interviews with the students so that they are reminded of their financial commitments. There should also be an emphasis on retention by the institution to prevent early program drops which ultimately negatively impact and penalize the student's who have taken out loans.
I think that offering an accessible career services department to our students that helps them with resumes, interviewing skills, as well as cover letters and cteating job fairs and nerworking opportunities are very important to help students transition into the job market is paramount to helpming them become successful and gainfully employed thus curbing default rates on students loans from graduates.
The most important strategies is to provide student with advise on how to manage their funds and along with direct contact to reps that assisted them even after graduation.
I think stressing the default loan issue should be number one priority for the financial aid advisor when discussing their financial aid with the student. I think there should be student loan counseling within the FA appointment. Also giving them examples of what happens when you default on student loans can hopefully make the student understand the significance of the situation.
