Thomas,
It's great you are able to offer one on one time with your students. You are building relationships which will hopefully leave the student with a feeling of comfort and security because they know someone is there to help them.
I think one on one meetings are a great time to introduce studenst to NSLDS so they know where to check their loans information. It's also a good idea if you have the time to help them sign up for their servicer's website so they know where to go when they want to make a payment or explore other options.
Cheryl Kesson
Maggie,
I think having both lecture type and one on one is a good mix. Some people will feel more comfortable in a one on one situation and ask more questions. In groups however you may get someone asking questions that others have not thought of. There are benefits to both and having options for the students is helpful.
Cheryl Kesson
Maggie,
It's great that you are going into the classrooms for each module. Repetition is key to understanding!
Cheryl Kesson
Hi Mary Lyn,
Our financial aid team has brain-stormed, tested the ideas and implemented what works for our campus and students and here's what we do now:
1. Conduct a one-on-one overview about their rights and responsibilities should they need to borrow student loans.
2. Assist them in completing an online entrance counseling.
3. After the first week in school, we vsiit their classroom for 5-10 minutes handing out their funding awards and explaining to them when their tuition will be funded after 30 days and encourage them to start making payments towards their loans if they can -so that they will not accrue more interest than they should.
4. After they receive their first disbursement notice, we visit the class again to announce that their tuition has been partially funded and inform them that they may now start paying their loans if they can, especially those who would like to establish credit history, increase credit scores, or just to avoid paying more interest at the end.
5. We offer financial awareness counseling assistance in-house for those who are intimidated with the Internet, and allow those Internet savvy students to complete their financial awareness counseling at their own time and comfort.
6. After they receive their second disbursement notice, we visit their class again for another 5-10 minutes and conduct a powerpoint presentation regarding their rights and responsibilities and congratulate them because their tuition has been fully funded!
7. Finally, we conduct a group exit couseling session using powerpoint. We also make the session Q & A so that anything that they do not fully understand is addressed. After that, they have to complete either online or in-person exit counseling before we sign them off for graduation.
I know it sounds like we're having a default management class but we will do whatever it takes for our students to be well-educated and ready for repayment.
I love the idea!
We allocate time to help our third module students create accounts online with their servicers after they have obtained the information from nslds. I enjoy watching them navigate the site and explore their options because I know that when they leave the school, they know where to go and what to do.
Laura,
It's absolutely crucial that borrowers understand what they're getting into.
Asking them questions is also imperative to see if they have at least retained some information beforehand.
Way to go!
Merilyn,
Some sites can be tricky to navigate too! I think making sure the student has created an account and knows where to go on that site is really important. Great job!
Cheryl Kesson
Merilyn,
I love that this is so detailed and well thought out. Kudos to you and your team for such a comprehensive plan. You have a system in place to touch base with them throughout their entire enrollment and you offer options to complement how a student learns. Through repetition the students should be walking away with the knowledge they need to stay on track with their student loans and in addition you have cultivated a good relationship so they have somewhere to turn should they have questions in the future.
Thank you for sharing this.
Cheryl Kesson
We have both entrance and exit counseling at our campus. We feel that has been very effective in preventing default. I think that ED should require students to do counseling every year so that they are able to understand the process and how the interest is calculated. Maybe the students could have a type of counseling that is about the financial aspect of their loans.
We do both counseling sessions on-line. I think we should do group sessions which could bring great Q & A and also, do one-on-one sessions. If we were able to do this, it could help students understand financial aid better and help us get the most recent contact information.
We do personal and online counselings and provide the students with written material as well as with their loan servicers' contact information and loan total balances. I think it will help the student if in addition to the Entrance and Exit counselings, we also require the Financial Awareness Counseling which is available at the StudentLoans.gov. This is a great tool to help students get better understanding on how to manage their finances, prepare a budget, etc.
Maria,
A short financial literacy course during different periods of enrollment can be a good supplement to the entrance and exit interviews.
Cheryl Kesson
Sergio,
Offering different types of formats for counseling sessions can be very beneficial to students. Everyone learns in a different fashion and may be more comfortable in one situation vs. another and therefore able to retain more information.
Cheryl Kesson
Ileana,
I think any tool you can use that helps students understand how to budget and manage their finances in general can be of benefit in helping ensure they are paying back their loans. Great input!
Cheryl Kesson
One on one has proven to be the most efficient way to conduct exit interviews.
Julie ,
I think the one on one approach is an effective and personal way to complete exit interviews. It is good to hear this is working well for you.
Cheryl Kesson
We are working to establsih a more effective Exit Counseling process that will help the student understand not only the loan repayment process but also their options for consolidation. By communicating with the students earlier on in the process about the repayment options it helps to make the Exit Cousneling process less stressful on the student. It allows the student to be familiar with the information that is being presented to them, and even for them to possibly already have made decisions about how they are going to handle their student loan debt.
Jennifer,
Your focus on early intervention is fantastic! If we do not help students understand loan obligations and consequences until they finish school, we have missed the opportunity to help them make good decisions about borrowing and money management.
Kellee Gunderson
We can work on refining this process. Our FA person is now constantly reminding our students of their rights and obligations. Repition will help the student learn this information.
Dave,
I really love your use of the word “constantlyâ€! Repetition is essential since students are unlikely to retain or apply information given to them once in an entrance interview.
A previous participant made a suggestion I really liked: pop quizzes on financial aid rights and responsibilities. Others have found creative ways to remind borrowers about the dangers of delinquency and the help that is available, such as submitting FA news for inclusion in the campus newsletter, website, or social media account.
Kellee Gunderson
