I think the FA personnel should go over in detail what there loan payments will be after they graduate. Some students have no idea what this will mean
Our student loan specialist focuses on doing exit counseling and contacting students on a weekly basis.
I think a complete disclosure of all pertinent information relating to the pertinent career field is helpful.
Meet with the FA department multiple times before the enrollment process.
Our institution helps new students understand what their payments will look like upon graduation. Funding advisors also look at earning potential and help the student understand how much they will be making vs how much they will need to pay in loan debt. Helping students understand that borrowing just for the cost of tuition instead of taking out excess funds that may not be needed is helpful in reducing loan debt which gives the student a better opportunity to pay their loans back.
Providing workshops and being upfront with students when they are completing entrance and exit counseling is important to assist students with default management.
We have added a course that students are required to take that deals with personal financial planning and financial responsibility as well as exploring career opportunities.
I believe the best way to help prevent a student from defaulting on their student loans is to make sure they understand the responsibilities that they have when taking out student loans. Also, as part of their orientation, the student is provided with information about how to prevent a default from happening and also required to learn about financial responsibility and money management as they prepare for their futures after college. Our institution also provides required exit counseling with members of our financial aid department as a means to help the students understand what will be happening with their loans upon graduation. This has seemed to help the students and prevent defaults from happening.
We implemented a full time default manager to combat the issue.
making sure the right people are answering the question is the most important. Also, making sure the those people are well educated with that information. We have a department that is specific to loan managment and repayment.
It is important to remember that many career college students have not had to be loan responsible thorugh their lives. With that said, a constant sprinkling of the importance of loan responsibility and budgeting throughout their educational process is the most effective route. A one time training won't do. It has be be an item of importance and be discussed reguarly.
At my school, the admissions dept works closely
with financial aid to discuss and counsel students
before thy enroll, during school, and after graduation. We assist them in securing state assistance for education, gas, food and housing
costs. This can reduce their financial aid
responsibility.
We so a two hour long event to teach students and parents about FA.
Our departments do an excellent job of educating our students in regards to FA from enrollment all the way through to graduation. This is done by providing workshops, asking the difficult questions and holding our students accountable.
The most helpful thing a school can do is educate students and encourage responsible borrowing. Taking out only the amount of loans needed to cover tuition should be encouraged.
Our school has a person dedicated to following up on our students to ensure they know their different options in the event they are having difficulty repaying their loans.
But the best way to insure repayment, is enrolling qualified students who have a clear understanding of the demands of the field they are trying to get into.
I don't delve into this are very much accept when asked to call a student which is rare. I think the information that you have provided here as far as consequences of defaulting should be posted in the school somewhere as well as discussed with the student. Is that something we are allowed to post? I am thinking our job center is a great place to put it.
I think its just a matter of discussing student loans in detail and making sure they are comfortable with the amount that they might acrrue through the program. We discuss in detail what is available for them and make sure everyone is on the same page. We also have a loan specialist here who contacts the students prior to graduation to go through all their loans and set them up with a payment plan that will work for them.
The best thing we can do as a school is to provide good loan counseling at the time of school completion. This has helped our student over the years immensely.
Setting the proper expectations for the student up front is key. The student should understand exactly how student loans work and what is expected of them when they take federal aid.
