Gari,
I think getting the student's perspective after they finish school and enter repayment is a great idea--I like the thought of creating some sort of survey instrument to ask students if they feel that they had complete enough information from the school to successfully navigate the beginning of the repayment process. Their feedback certainly can help you refine your strategies for conveying student loan information.
Diana Mateer
School can be a transformative time for students...they may find themselves changing who they associate with and who they would stay in contct with if they ran into difficulties. So, confirming or obtaining new refernces throughout the program will ensure you are in touch with the most up to date circle of support.
There are several places throughout our program where we update personal contact info...however, not true for references. We have a mid-point in our program. Students have a short break then come back to finsh the last half of the program. It can feel like a fresh start and this would be the perfect time to obtain new reference. I also read and like the idea of getting addresses to send Graduation announcments.
Allison,
Taking advantage of your school’s mid-point is a great example of creating an opportunity to gather new information!
For schools that have shorter programs or do not have such milestones, verifying references during the enrollment process is even more important. If you will not have many opportunities to collect new data, making sure the initial references are valid is critical.
Cheryl Kesson
It is important to obtain reference information throughout the student's academic program to ensure that accurate information is on file.
As another poster mentioned, depending on the length of the student's program, the relationship one has with their references can change. We obtain references during admission, Entrance Counseling, orientation, as well as during Exit Counseling.
We also highly encourage students to update their contact information with us during their program.
I think it's a good idea for staff to confirm students address and phone numbers with student interactions. Not only for privacy concerns with student records, but this also helps with confirming student information for our records.
Social media (facebook/twitter) are good sources as well. Many times our students are connected to our social media accounts, and this helps when needing to reach out to them.
Carol,
We constantly stress the importance of getting references. Keeping them updated may seem difficult but asking students to provide them during different times can help you gather updated numbers and even new references they had not provided before. References are still our best tactic for contacting a "skip" borrower. Great work!
Cheryl Kesson
Carol,
Social media is a great tool for schools to utilize to help stay connected to their students and can be a useful tool in finding someone that you need to reach out to. In today's society the traditional means of contacting someone have changed and it's important to use some creativity when establishing relationships that will help you remain in touch with your students.
Cheryl Kesson
It is very important to obtain contact and reference information due to the fact that so we can keep in contact with student to educate them so they don't end up in default
Shelly,
Yes, keeping contact information current is important. Gathering updated information throughout the students enrollment will help ensure you have the most up to date records when they leave school. Good references also play a critical part in keping contact with the student.
Cheryl Kesson
We periodically have our students update their information. Also when they do their exit interview among the paperwork we require they have to fill out a reference form, this will provide theit latest information.
Thomas,
It's great to collect new references at the exit interview. So many things can change during a student's enrollment. Our recommendation is to try for at least 6. References continue to be one of the best way to reach a "skip" student.
Cheryl Kesson
Depends on the parent and student relationship. If the parent is not involved in the life of the student obviously this relationship is not something that will benefit the school or student. We must try to reach the student first before calling anyone else on the FERPA list, this is crucial to the students privacy. The student must list who and why a person can be called.
Samantha,
Thank you for this important observation. We never want to get so carried away by our enthusiasm for default prevention that we act against best practices or privacy laws.
We absolutely believe it is important not to make assumptions about family structure. Non-traditional or adult students, in particular, may not have the sort of support system that financial aid documents typically assume. This is why we advise against reference sheets that prompt for specific people such as ‘mother’ and ‘father’. Instead, we encourage the student to enumerate for us the important people in their lives that they can (presumably) rely on.
Cheryl Kesson
Sure it is beneficial. The more information we have, the better chance we have finding the student. Even though we collect information on the MPN, we do also on the school loan application, which every student has to fill out when asking for Stafford loans.
I understand that we can improve our student's and references' information gathering process locating information cards in "frequent traffic" areas at our Institution. We already have implemented the distribution of Student's Information Update Forms during the Enrollment period and this is helping us get up to date contact information.
I think that one of the most important tools is to establish a good means of communication. We have a good means of communication established with the student body.
Sergio,
Information collected can always be put to use when trying to find a student. I think it's great that you ask for additional information on a school loan application in addition to what's provided on the MPN. We suggest trying to obtain at least 6 references for each borrower.
Cheryl Kesson
Ileana,
This is great! Keeping things in plain sight will be a constant reminder to the student to keep their information updated and you are making it convenient for them to do so.
Cheryl Kesson
Maria,
I agree it is important to have good communication with your student body and for them to feel comfortable knowing they can find assistance with the staff.
Cheryl Kesson
Since we are an online institution it is sometimes difficult to reach our students if they have changed numbers or contact information and not notified us. By keeping up to date references it allows us to be able to hold our students accountable for not only their education but also following through on their Financial Aid obligations. Many times we find that once we reach the student they are grateful that someone has contacted them as they wanted the assistance but they were uncertain about how to obtain it.
