I tell the student it will only take 5 minutes for the conference call and go over with them what to expect for questions from DL and tell them to stay on the line when DL hangs up. I then discuss with the student while there loan is on hold it would be worth it to pay the money that is past due so when the loan repayment begins again they will be current. I also try to get them to speak to our placement office if they got their license or if they dropped to come back and finish. We are all here to help the student improve their situations.
As always, once I speak to a student I will let them know of the other options and tried to determine if deferments or another payment option is a possibility. Sometimes the students are not eligible for deferments nor can they make payments so the forbearance is the last resource for them. I let them know that they can begin making payments any time they are ready and also to remember deferments just in case they would qualify for one at a later date.
Bringing the student current is certainly the primary goal. Forbearance can often be used to quickly bring the loan current while the student borrower is applying for an alternate payment schedule or a deferment. It is important to process alternate payment schedule or deferments options if they qualify. Alternate payment schedules gets them in the habit of paying, which is in everyone's best interest. Income Based Payments are a great option. Deferments have interest subsidies for any portion of their loan that is subsidized, so these save the borrowers money in accrued and capitalized interest.
How do you get the student to stay on the phone long enough to do the conference call with Direct Loans? When I try the student will always say they are in a hurry and need to go.
I also send out letters. !st one is a month before they go into repayment with all contact information on it. I ask them to call me with updated info. and if they have any questions that I am here to help them. I call after they have missed 2 payments offering assistance and if I don't reach them I continue to try to talk to the student. When I get the student on the phone I will do a conference call with Direct Loans and the student and put them into forbearance or economic hardship, that seems to work the best and the fastest way to get results.
I send out delinquency letters too. My letters are a little more detailed. I give them four different options to bring their account current. First I give them the website for their servicer. Second I provide the telephone number and hours for their servicer. Third I provide them with a number for our third party servicer. The fourth and last piece of information I provide is a my assistance and a forbearance form if they want me to send it in for them. I have had great success with these letters. I also email and call which seems to work if I get the student on the line or they sent back an email response. However, I am always looking for different and better ways in which to contact and help the students.
I totally agree! Until recently, our Career Services worked only with students and graduates. We have since changed that policy and now allow Career Services to work with individuals who withdrew as well. Whenever I find out that a student loan borrower is unemployed or even under employed, I provide them with the Career Services contact information and encourage them to utilize this service. Our Career Services Department offers free webinars on various topics relating to getting a job and reaching career goals. I am interested in getting this information out to more than just those borrowers I actually come into contact with. I am currently brainstorming ways to make it known that any student or former student is welcome to work with Career Services to get assistance in managing their career. What are your thoughts?
Communication throughout the grace period is an excellent way to remind students of their obligations so they don't have the chance to become delinquent in the first place. It is also a great way to keep address information current on borrowers who move shortly after leaving school.
I am always monitoring the students account. I'm sending letters out a month before there repayment begins making sure that they know I'm here to help just in case.
I do a lot of one on one exit interviews. I think this helps with building rapport with the students. I let them know that if they ever need help I am here for them. Talking to them about reasons not to default. How building there credit helps them with future loans etc. I would like to find other ways besides skip tracing that might help me find the students who don't want to be found. Do you have any other ways of locating students?
One thing to remember when sending out delinquent letters is to keep them simple. A couple well worded sentences stressing the importance of repaying their loans will get their attention.
Also including forbearance and deferment forms or providing them a link to download them is always helpful.
We also send out monthly letters to delinquent students explaining the dangers of defaulting and listing their options. I just started to include the new federal guide to "Your Federal Student Loans - Learn the Basics and Manage your Debt"; they're available from FSA PUBS.
During Orientation we supply Enrollment Verification Forms & Deferment Forms for students to complete and return to the Registrar's Office. We verify all students that have loans prior to attending our institution and make sure one is submitted for each.
At the Exit we provide copies of the different types of deferment forms and explanations on how they can be used and when. Additionally, we give them our fin aid booklet that includes a timeline for all student loans after graduation which includes when and how to use deferments if needed.
I agree that sounds like a good plan. We could do something like that. I also like the Idea of the post cards on bright paper.
We also have an outside agency to assist us. And each of our campuses has someone to send letters to the borrowers that are delinquent with their payments. I do this every month. If a borrower stays on the delinquent list after a letter has been sent, I also send them deferrment and forebearance application forms. It seems to be working very well. I have even received calls from the borrowers thanking me for sending them the forms; that they have forgotten the options available to them if they run into financial problems.
This appears to be a perfect plan. One I'd like our school to try. Thanks
We have a default management team. What we do is send letters to former students that are deliquent with a deferment and forbearance application and instructions with the letter, this has helped many students and has proven to be a pretty good strategy.
At our school, we have someone in house who works with students who are about to enter default. I think it's good to have someone here they can talk to and can help them. Sometimes it can be intimidating to talk to someone, who is a stranger, over the phone regarding financial matters. Having someone you can talk to face to face I think helps a lot.
We receive weekly and monthly reports of deliquent students. Our practice is one a month we send a certified letter out and make a phone call to this deliquent student. If the students name is on the list for 2 or more months we will then send out a forbearence form to the student.This practice seems to work very well. There also is a company that contacts the student and lets them know they are deliquent and the consiqences of what will happen if they default.
The practice at our institution is the staff member that is in charge of Default sends a letter along with a deferment or forbearance form to the student in default, trying to get them into better standing.
