We attempt to utilize every contact with the student to verify and obtain contact information. If a student is in the business office to make a payment, they verify address and telehpone number, if a student comes to finance we will verify email addresses. We have such a transient population, that it is vital to obtain correct information if we expect to have contact with the students in the future. All to often we come across a scenario that we need some information from a student, we attempt to contact them with the information that was provided to us, and then come to find out that information is now obsolete. Believe it or not, the students actually get frustrated and act as if it is the schools fault for not getting correct information.
I think is very important to always keep a up to date reference sheet.. It helps us out in the future and in the present time. We constantly have students that change their numbers every other months.
Many young adults, but especially the one's that attend career schools tend to move often and have less stability than older individuals or those with a good college support structure. Keeping track of all those changes takes a team effort and numerous check points.
A couple of ideas from this section we can use are requiring current e-mails for grade distribution and changing references to be more varied than just emmediate family members. I like the idea of just having the individual think of the first 6 people he can. The hard is keeping current contact information on these individuals as it becames a resource issue.
You are right is is very important to ensure it is a team effort. Everyone from Admissions to Career Placement need to know that they play an important part in default prevention.
I have found that students' personal information can change several times during their educational process. Placing change of address and status cards through out the school is helpful. But, having the teachers announcing the importance of keeping information current gets more response.
Since the students develop a relationship with their instructors I agree that it is very important to have the teachers involved with gathering new information.
I like the idea of sending successful completion letters at graduation time. Students are usually feeling very proud of their accomplishments at this time and usually want to share it with others. I will share this with my school. Thanks.
The conact information may be all you have to work with after the student graduates, so the better, more accrate the informatiion, the more likely you are to keep the repayments coming. As a student moves through the process, the more likely it is that the conacts will change, so keeping current is most vital. Steps that can be taken would be to solicit changes by regularly either meeting with the studen to review their status or by e-mail seeking their participation and giving them new up dates of both their situation and possible opportunities.
You are correct that keeping contact information up to date is crucial. I like the idea of keeping in touch via email to keep them updated as well as a way of gathering new information from them.
Obtaining this information is vital now more than it ever has been. With the new generation of students and technology, it is difficult to have accurate information after a month. Cell phones are one of the best examples where it is not uncommon for a student to change the number at least once a month.
My campus collects this information many times throughout the year. We strive to obtain verification of 100% on all students. In addition, we constantly review the information with the students when they come to any of our office locations to make sure that the information is current.
Verification of references has become critical. That is a great proactive step you are taking in keeping contact with your students.
We usually meet with the students that are graduating as a group and go over what to expect after graduation, explaination of forbearance, deferment, default prevention and etc. We also make sure we provide students with our contact information as well as the lender contact information and we give them a packet with forms they need to complete and return to financial aid prior to graduation. We go over the information again with each student individually when the forms are submitted.
I agree and that is why we obtain the reference information at the beginning. I explain to students that it is very important to keep their contact information updated and accurate and to make sure they read any correspondence received from the school and the lender.
This is one of the most vital points during their academic career. We chase current students down for updated information. Each month we receive returned mail with bad address. Our campus now places the students account on hold and they cannot pass go without updating their information. We make bad address list and flag students while in class to update their info. It is crucial to have correct information in their file. If you have bad info then most likely the Student Loan lenders have the same info. Updating this prior to graduation can be very helpful in contacting student after graduation.
Repitition is key and it seems like you have that covered well!
I think it is also important when you provide them your contact information to let them know: If you forget anything we have covered here please call and we will help you through it.
Collecting references throughout their enrollment is also important as their information can change as often as the students.
That is a great practice! Keeping on top of them while you have them right in the classroom is perfect. I really like the idea that their accounts are flagged and placed on hold so that they have to update their information. Great work!
You are correct, we have some students whose address change monthly.Having good references in the file can be very helpful
I think its beneficial to obtain borrowers contact & references because if they change phone # or address we have other information so we can contact the student. I think steps that can help us all is updating reference for the students before they graduate.
Obtaining borrower contact and reference information throughout the student's academic career will definitely contribute to the success of keeping accurate student information. This will allow us to keep in contact with the student at all times. Always having the extra references and updating contact information will allow us to keep a better record of our students.
