January 20, 2010
We’ll Help You Win in 2010
Our industry has experienced many changes over the last few years, and we’re facing more challenges in 2010 and beyond. For OGSLP, the new year represents a continuation of our commitment to serve students, borrowers and our industry partners by providing outreach, financial literacy, early assistance and default prevention services.
Enhancing Your Outreach
Our outreach efforts include participation in a variety of college fairs, campus events and community workshops across the state. We reach thousands of students and parents each year through conversations about financial aid, scholarships and grants and through our flagship publications, Are You Looking for Money? and Are You Looking for Grants and Scholarships? Our latest and greatest endeavor has been the rollout of our UCanGo2 college access and outreach program, which provides valuable resources like the popular FAFSA 101 CD packages and tools for middle and high school counselors.
We’ll also partner with you to host campus events throughout the year. In fact, it’s not too late for your campus to host a UCanGo2 College Countdown event in February! College Countdown is a series of events we’re coordinating as a more flexible alternative to past College Goal Sunday activities. Contact your School/Lender Support Services Specialist to register a College Countdown event, request assistance with other upcoming campus events or order publications. Visit the Publications page on our Web site to view and order our materials online.
Promoting Financial Fitness
Oklahoma Money Matters (OKMM), OGSLP’s financial education program, teaches students strong budgeting and debt management skills, conducts training at freshman orientation events and provides instructional materials and teaching support for campus workshops. OKMM also provides customized personal finance content for campus Web sites and newsletters and publishes Your Bottom Line,a bi-monthly newsletter with useful information for students, parents, educators, and community partners. Contact OKMM to discuss campus financial literacy goals and explore the many ways we can help you get there. Learn more about our free workshops in the service article in this issue. OKMM can help your students become financially fit!
Preventing Default
Like most guarantors, OGSLP has a default prevention department - but we take these important efforts a step further with our early assistance program, through which we counsel borrowers up to 60 days before repayment begins. Our combined Early Assistance/Default Prevention (EA/DP) department educates borrowers about the available repayment schedules and non-payment options to help them avoid or resolve delinquency. EA/DP also offers a number of services to our schools. For example, to fulfill exit interview requirements, we can calculate your average borrower indebtedness and create a straightforward PowerPoint presentation to help you make the most of the exit interview process. Additionally, we can estimate how your school’s recent cohort default rates would be impacted by the calculation change from a 2-year to 3-year period. For your current cohort draft or final backup data, EA/DP is able to provide a thorough analysis and help you identify trends in your defaulting population. To help you contact your delinquent students, EA/DP offers the Default Prevention School Tool (DPST), which works with an online delinquency report to target specific students for automated letters and calling campaigns. To take advantage of these free services, contact the Early Assistance/Default Prevention department at 405.234.4328, 800.358.5460 (toll-free) or WeCanHelp@ogslp.org.
As we enter 2010, remember - OGSLP remains committed to helping you help Oklahoma’s students!