Monitor Cohort Default Rates Year Round
InceptiaFree Cohort Default Rate Reporting Tool Provides Real-Time Data
Sue Downing, Public Relations

As financial aid administrators process the impact of their newly released 2- and 3-year cohort default rates from the U.S. Department of Education, Inceptia is making its proprietary Cohort Activity Report freely available to any school that wants to monitor their default rate.

Administrators can use this report to receive updated data on open cohort default years and monitor borrowers so that they can actively help student borrowers while lowering their default rate.

"The Cohort Activity Report gives schools the power to see what’s happening right now with their borrowers," said Dave Macoubrie, Inceptia vice president of repayment solutions. "By proactively addressing the cohort of student defaulters, they can take steps to remove them from the list and make a positive impact on the trajectory of their school’s cohort default rate helping to save those student borrowers from default."

Sign up for the Cohort Activity Report by visiting www.Inceptia.org/CDR-tracking.

Once registered, upload your School Portfolio report to the Cohort Activity Report system. The data from the School Portfolio report will be analyzed and organized into a simplified report for you to gain updated insights in real time.

This report can be used to monitor:

• number of borrowers in repayment
• number of borrowers in default
• impact one default borrower has on their rate
• number of rescued borrowers needed to reduce the rate by one percent
• open and closed cohort year comparison data

You may also download a list of loan details on each defaulted borrower.

With cohort default rates on the rise, schools need to proactively monitor cohort default rates year round in order to gain the knowledge required to lower their rate and help student borrowers. The details in this report can help you closely monitor default borrowers so that you can proactively work to correct defaulted loans prior to closing years.

ons, that may be as few as five borrowers. But lowering the rate over time can have a significant impact on a school and is good for student borrowers.

"We want to show every school the impact they can have on their rate, simply by lowering it by even one percentage point," Macoubrie said. "For some institutions, that may be as few as five borrowers. But lowering the rate over time can have a significant impact on a school and is good for student borrowers."

Inceptia’s goal is to help students borrow wisely, resolve their delinquency issues and guide them to successfully repay their student loan obligations; while also helping schools reduce their cohort default rates. Find out more about Inceptia’s default prevention services by contacting Inceptia at 888.529.2028.

ABOUT INCEPTIA

Inceptia, a division of National Student Loan Program (NSLP), is a non-profit organization providing premier expertise in default prevention and financial education. Since 1986, we have helped more than two million students achieve their higher education dreams at 5,500 schools nationwide. Annually, Inceptia assists more than 150,000 delinquent borrowers in repaying their student loans. By using practical tools of cohort analysis, financial education and repayment outreach, Inceptia educates students on responsible personal finances and loan repayment counseling and provides default prevention strategies and services to schools. More information at Inceptia.org.

It is with a heavy heart that I inform you of the loss of one of our colleagues.  Clyde Walker, a long time TAFSAA member and friend to many, passed away suddenly today, September 23, 2013.  Please keep his wife, Joanie, and their family in your thoughts and prayers.  We will provide details of the arrangements as soon as they are available. 

A Memorial Service for Clyde Walker will be held at 5PM, Saturday, September 28th at Gateway Community Church, 584 Franklin Rd. Franklin, TN 37069.  A reception will follow at the church.

Please continue to keep Joanie and the rest of the family in your thoughts and prayers.

Jeff Gerkin

 

 

 

 

Perfecting your Policies and Procedures Manual Your Policies and Procedures Manual is crucial to being in compliance with Title IV regulations. A well-crafted manual can ensure you are meeting administrative capability requirements, help you prepare for an audit, and assist in staff training. This session makes sure your office has well-defined policies and procedures in place. Register now for September 18 at 11 a.m. Central or October 1 at 2 p.m. Central. Student Loans and Credit Reports The choices borrowers make with their student loansundefinedboth positive and negativeundefinedare reflected on their credit reports. This session will help you counsel borrowers, whatever their statusundefinedin school, in repayment, or in default. Register now for October 3 at 11 a.m. Central. Trends in Student Aid and College Pricing 2013 This webinar, presented by the College Board and their Trends research team, will help you understand the most recent data available on aid and college pricing by region and sector. Attend this webinar to learn critical updates to aid and pricing data during the past year and how your institutional aid and pricing policies compare to other schools. Register now for October 30 at 11 a.m. Central.

This is a reminder of the upcoming deadline for submitting the Fiscal Operations Report for 2012-2013 and the Application to Participate for 2014-2015 (FISAP) for the Federal Perkins Loan (Perkins Loan), Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), and Federal Work-Study (FWS) programs. As announced in the Notice of the 2013-2014 Award Year Deadline Dates for the Campus-Based Programs, published in the Federal Register on March 7, 2013 (78 FR 14776), the date by which a school must submit the FISAP and the required Signature Pages is Tuesday, October 1, 2013.

All schools that wish to request funding under the Campus-Based programs for the 2014-2015 Award Year and all schools that had Campus-Based expenditures or Perkins Loan activity for the 2012-2013 Award Year are required to electronically submit a FISAP via the eCampus-Based (eCB) Web site. This includes schools that closed during the 2012-2013 Award Year and are required to complete and submit a final FISAP to report 2012-2013 Campus Based Program expenditures. The eCB Web site allows a school to complete and submit its FISAP online, receive real-time validation edits, and access prior-year data to assist in completing the FISAP. For information about accessing the FISAP on the eCB Web site, refer to the July 18, 2013 Electronic Announcement posted to the Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) Web site.

The deadline for electronic submission of the FISAP is 11:59 P.M. (ET) on October 1, 2013. Transmissions must be completed by 12:00 midnight.

Important Notes

• Critical Program Deadline – Submitting the FISAP by the October 1, 2013 deadline is a critical program requirement. To comply with this program requirement and ensure Campus-Based funding for the 2014-2015 Award Year, a school must 1) electronically submit its FISAP via the eCB Web site and 2) mail the signed hard copy of the combined certifications and signature pages for its FISAP to the Department of Education (the Department) as instructed on the eCB Web site.

• Click "Submit" – Remember that saving data into the FISAP online is not the same as submitting the FISAP. To meet the deadline requirement, the FISAP must be submitted by 11:59 P.M. (ET) on October 1, 2013. Transmissions must be completed by 12:00 midnight. Data can be entered and saved as a school works through the form, but it is not actually submitted until the school user clicks on "Submit" located on the left side of the page.

• Consequences for Failing to File the FISAP – 2012-2013 funding will be reduced to zero ($0) for a school that received Campus-Based funds for 2012-2013 but fails to file the FISAP by the deadline. Any 2012-2013 program funds that have been drawn down in G5 will be required to be returned to the Department. This includes schools that closed during the 2012-2013 year and drew Campus Based funds for that year from G5. Additionally, 2014-2015 program funds may not be awarded to schools failing to file the FISAP.

• Updated School Contact Information Required – All Campus-Based program notifications are sent via e-mail. It is important for the timely receipt of these notifications that a school ensures the accuracy of its contact information, including its e-mail address. A school can update its contact information when submitting the FISAP or by selecting "Setup," then "Contact Info" on the eCB Web site. However, be aware that all changes or corrections to contact information must also be updated in the school’s Program Participation Agreement at http://eligcert.ed.gov.

• Additional Information Required for Underuse Penalty Waiver Application – If a school is returning more than 10 percent of its 2012-2013 Campus-Based allocations, the school’s allocation for 2014-2015 will be reduced by the unexpended amount.

• A waiver for the underuse of funds may be requested in Part II, Section C, Line 6 of the FISAP. A written explanation of the circumstances which caused the underuse must be provided on the "Additional Information" page. Instructions for providing the Additional Information are provided in 2014-2015 Instructions for FISAP on page II-2.
• The deadline to request a waiver of the underuse penalty is February 7, 2014. However, the deadline for submitting the FISAP is October 1, 2013.

• Consistency Helps Avoid Negative Balances – Make sure the information reported for expenditures of 2012-2013 award amounts are consistent with the amounts drawn in G5. For example, if a school's FWS authorized amount was $50,000 and the school reported an expended amount of $40,000 on the FISAP, the school's award will be closed out at the expended amount of $40,000. If the school has a different amount in G5, we will assume that the correct expenditures are the amounts certified by the Chief Executive Officer in Part I, Section B of the FISAP and deobligate the difference. In some cases this results in a negative balance which is required to be returned by the school to the Department.

• Edit Corrections through December 13, 2013 – Once a FISAP is submitted, the working copy is available for correction by the school until 11:59 P.M. (ET) on December 13, 2013. Any corrections must be transmitted by 11:59 PM on December 13, 2013. Data can be entered and saved as a school makes corrections. If corrections are made, remember to submit them. Note: After the December 13, 2013 deadline for submitting corrections, approval of FISAP change requests is limited.

• Online Help is Available 24/7 – If additional help is needed, the eCB Web site has several documents that can be accessed online as well as a series of frequently asked questions and answers (Q&As).

• 2015-2015 FISAP Desk Reference
Q&As 2014-2015 FISAP Instructions

Contact Information

If you have any questions about the FISAP submission deadline, contact the Campus-Based Call Center at 877/801-7168. Customer service representatives are available Monday through Friday from 8:00 A.M. until 8:00 P.M. (ET). You may also e-mail CBFOB@ed.gov.

Beginning in May 2013, FedLoan Servicing held an At-Risk Delinquency Resolution Contest for schools.  Participating schools were provided with a listing of delinquent borrowers, serviced by FedLoan Servicing, who would impact their 2011 or 2012 Cohort Default Rate, if their delinquency was not resolved.  The contest ended on August 28, 2013.  Here are some highlights:

• •·         350 Schools Participated (6 Tennessee schools)
• •·         7,356 Cured Delinquencies (28 from Tennessee schools)

Congratulations to all participating schools in the winning region – WASFAA! Schools within the Western region cured 31% of their loan delinquencies.

FedLoan Servicing extends a special thank you to all participating schools for the assistance provided to your alumni! Winning schools were provided a customized poster, congratulatory letter, and the option to participate in our FedLoan Servicing FiveStar Training webinar on default prevention or a spotlight in an upcoming FedLoan Servicing Quarterly Bulletin.

Congratulations to the winners!!!!

Tiers	Winning School	Sector	% of cures
NATIONAL WINNERS
< 50 borrowers	Bryan College (CA) Plaza College (NY)	Proprietary	100%
51 – 250 borrowers	Howard Community College (MD)	Public	53%
> 250 borrowers	Herzing University (WI)	Proprietary	37%
PUBLIC SECTOR WINNERS
< 50 borrowers	City College of Chicago (IL)	Public	80%
51 – 250 borrowers	Howard Community College (MD)	Public	53%
> 250 borrowers	University of North Texas (TX)	Public	31%
PRIVATE SECTOR WINNERS
< 50 borrowers	Resurrection University (IL) Sharon Regional Health System (PA)	Private	100%
51 – 250 borrowers	Robert Morris University (IL)	Private	45%
> 250 borrowers	Keiser University (FL)	Private	29%
PROPRIETARY SECTOR WINNERS
< 50 borrowers	Bryan College (CA) Plaza College (NY)	Proprietary	100%
51 – 250 borrowers	Vista College (TX)	Proprietary	43%
> 250 borrowers	Herzing University (WI)	Proprietary	37%
GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL SECTOR WINNERS
< 50 borrowers	Assemblies of God Theological Seminary (MO) Eastern Virginia Medical School (VA)	Graduate	100%

Nelnet has put together a PDF file to reference all the 2013-2014 Interest Rates for student loans signed into law by the president. Feel to read more about it or take a look at their chart.

Submitted by Dave Bowman, Regional Marketing Director
Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation and Affiliates

We’re partners in helping students borrow responsibly, complete their education, and find repayment solutions that work for them. Providing loan servicers with valid contact information for your students is a vital step in making sure your students receive the assistance they need from their servicer throughout the life of their loans. 

Communicating contact information that changes rapidly as students transition to a new phase in life is one of the best ways to help your students succeed in life beyond campus. When loan servicers can’t connect with your students, it’s difficult to help them. There are several ways you can help. 

• •·         Encourage your students to stay in contact with you to provide their current contact information, as well as their enrollment status, as necessary. If you have current contact information, you should share it with loan servicers, which can usually be done easily online.
• •·         Encourage your students to sign up for an account on their loan servicer’s website, where they can access important account informationundefinedand many other useful resourcesundefinedand easily make updates to their contact information to make sure it is current.
• •·         Help students understand who their loan servicers are so that they can watch for and respond to important timely information they receive about their loan obligations and options. Students are often inundated with information and may not know how to differentiate their loan servicer from other organizations and companies.  

Whether it’s the spring graduates entering repayment in the next few months or the new students enrolling this fall, make sure you’re connecting them with the help they need. While we can’t always control the obstacles students face, solid relationships and clear communication provide the pathway to success.

Dave Bowman is Regional Marketing Director with Great Lakes, serving schools in Kentucky and Tennessee. You can reach Dave at (888)685-1604, or by e-mail at dbowman@glhec.org. Additional information about Great Lakes can be found online at www.mygreatlakes.org/web/FAP

 

One of the most valuable services you can provide for students is guidance on how to manage debt. That’s because the actions students take now can set a pattern for a solid financial future. Use these tips to advise your students as they begin to manage credit and debt.

New TSAA awards for 2013-2014

With the revisions and certification rosters submitted to date, TSAC is able to make awards to an approximately 1,900 students. This means the Completion Date has been extended to February 11th. You may view the new students on your Activity Report by selecting Grant-Eligible Students Report and then selecting Chronological by Eligibility Change Date. Your new recipients will be at the end of your report with the date of 08-26-2013.

If you have not yet completed your fall certification roster please do so by October 31st so the funding level may be reviewed again. In order to utilize all TSAA funding, it is very important to complete certification of the fall term as soon as possible.

As in the past, letters will not be mailed to students. Therefore, we encourage your students to create an account on the TSAC Student Financial Aid Portal on TSAC’s web site to view their awards.

If you have any questions please contact Naomi Derryberry at (615) 253-7478 or Naomi.derryberry@tn.gov.