Beyond Entrance and Exit Counseling

1. Beyond Entrance and Exit Counseling TASFAA October 2010

2. Hosted by: Debbie Bradford Consultant USA Funds deborah.bradford@usafunds.org (866) 3297673, Ext.0194

3. Agenda • A Few Questions. • Importance of Communication. • “What I Wish I Knew Then…” • Best Practices.

4. A Few Questions • What do you wish your students knew about their loans and money? • What are you doing now to help fulfill your own wishes?

5. Importance of Communication • Adopt a “life of the loan” philosophy. • Communicate and educate. • Again and again and again.

6. Importance of Communication • Utilize an ongoing communication tool. • How do you communicate? • Phone? • E-mail? • Text messaging? • Social networking? • Others?

7. Importance of Communication • Integrate financial literacy. • Wherever you can. • In any way you can. • What are you doing on your campus?

8. “What I Wish I Knew Then…” “I wish I would have known how destructive living without a budget was. It isn't about how much money you make – it's about how much you spend.” - Seth Source: Get Rich Slowly (getrichslowly.org/blog)

9. “What I Wish I Knew Then…” “I wish people had hammered home to live within my means. If I can’t afford to pay cash for it, I probably don’t need it.” - Jessica Source: Get Rich Slowly (getrichslowly.org/blog)

10. “What I Wish I Knew Then…” “The importance of an emergency fund. This is especially important as you transition to living independently, when every random expense is truly unexpected.” - Liz Source: Get Rich Slowly (getrichslowly.org/blog)

11. “What I Wish I Knew Then…” “Compound interest, compound interest, compound interest. Continue to live like a college student during the first post-college ‘professional’ job and stick the rest of your income into a 401k, 403b or Roth.” - Finally Frugal Source: Get Rich Slowly (getrichslowly.org/blog)

12. Best Practices • Create an institution-wide default prevention plan. • A successful plan: • Starts early and repeats messages often. • Involves peers throughout campus. • Educates and communicates with borrowers. • Offers financial literacy information. • Includes enhanced entrance and exit counseling. • Provides annual loan updates and repayment calculators. • Helps reduce the number of dropouts. • Works to ensure borrowers can repay their education loans.

13. Best Practices • Create a “money smarts” page or section on the school’s Web site. • Saving for the future. • Managing and reducing debt. • Using credit cards wisely. • Borrowing only what is necessary. • Making smart financial choices.

14. Best Practices • Prevent or reduce exposure to credit card vendors. • Work with administration to limit or eliminate vendors’ direct access to students. • If allowed, require vendors to provide an interesting and informative credit card management program for students.

15. Best Practices • Organize a speaker’s bureau. • Volunteer to present at meetings and activities students attend. • Get involved in on-campus groups. • Participate in dorm and residence life activities.

16. Best Practices • Provide “money smarts” training. • Cross-train others who have frequent contact with students. • Hearing information more than once makes a stronger impact. • Students more receptive hearing information from peers. • Residence assistants. • Work-study students.

17. Best Practices • Get buy-in from campus advisers. • Keep students informed and up to speed. • Student loan debt total. • Estimated potential monthly payments.

18. Best Practices • Create a cross-departmental student retention committee. • Involve faculty from various divisions. • Be sure to include students!

19. Best Practices • Invite recent alumni to attend informal meetings to share “real world” information. • Dorm meetings. • Campus organizations.

20. Best Practices • Take advantage of your former lenders/guarantor partners – while you can. • Loan counseling. • Higher Education Act technical amendments now allow former lenders and guarantors to perform entrance counseling. • Default prevention assistance. • Expertise of debt management consultants. • Student retention support.