I think the most important thing an institution can do to prevent default on student loans is to spend an appropriate amount of time with each student to ensure that each student understands the financial aid process.
I'm not really involved in this part of the student's experience but it's been my experience in general that young people have little if no knowledge of how loans work, interest rates, defaults, etc. work. I'm glad many schools mandate a course in personal finance.
we have to be guilty of providing the right information at all times that allows the student to always be in the know !
Generational poverty must be addressed if the student wants to truely over come his position in life.
I think that being as clear and consice as possible about cost and payment and repayment options is a must.
We have a great team that work hard to educate all of our students and graduates about their loans and how to pay them back so that they don't fall in default.
I believe the suggestions made in the reading are valid and easy to accomplish. At our college, we incorporate that within our new student orientation. There is always exit counseling in the F/A office as well.
Our campus in my region has had higher 90/10 than the other campuses in my university. Because of that, the funding advisors do a great job of encouraging students not to take out more loan money than is needed for tuition. Of course it is the student's right to take out what they are eligible for, but the advisors do a great job of explaining the consequenses of doing so.
I think communication is the most imporant aspect of preventing default on student loans. Our officers meet with the students not only when they enroll but several times throughout their experience in order to make sure they have all the information they need to properly manage their loan debt.
go over ROI and line by line of cost estimate sheet and let them know what and how to plan for it
Educating our students at the beginning, middle and end of their time with us. Our FA department encourages students, to only borrow what they need so they do not take too much debt on. We have half-an-hour lectures about student loan debt twice a year for all students and of course, exit counseling.
I think it is important for the Admissions representative to thoroughly inform the student of the financial process and options to fund their education. I also believe the Student Financial Services department needs to inform the student what the appropriate steps are if they find themselves in a default situation.
I agree we must make our students aware of the importance of keeping their loans current and the importance of their credit. I think we should make them note to care about their future financial plans (credit)as well as their education. We don't want our youth drowning in education debt after they have worked so hard to earn their degree.
I think it would also be helpful if an online post graduate loan budget program was given and also 1:1 counseling to help with how to work the loans into their monthly budget.
I liked the suggestion of having a conducting a workshop at the school for students on how to form a budget. Not only for student loans, but all financial responsibilities. One would think that such a budgetary course would be taught in HS "Home Economics" class, but since it is not, post HS educators should offer this free service to lower their default rates as well.
I think it is of utmost importance for a school to make sure that a student is aware of how Financial aid works, what can happen to the loan status after a student leaves the school or graduates, and makes sure that each student goes through the proper entrance and exit counseling.
I strongly believe that schools should take their time in explaining how student loans work and give a clear understanding of what it means to go into default, and should give them steps to take to prevent it. They should go over student loans in detail of what deferment or forbearance is. When the school addresses potential issues in the front end, it can help students stay out of default in the future.
The most important thing an institution can do to prevent default on student loans is to educate the student before they start school and during school about student loan and debt management. Videos about loan and debt management can be shown to students as part of their orientation and periodically during their studies. We currently have mandatory career workshops for our online students. We could implement mandatory Loan and Debt Management workshops as well.
Make sure that the student understands what their responsiblity is when taking out loans and the importance of paying them back.
My school does the loan counselling with our students prior to starting and then again before they graduate. I think this is great because a lot of the students we work with that come from other schools do not know about life time limits on borrowing, what they have already borrowed, and sometimes they have no clue what they have already borrowed.
