June 9, 2009

Who's Who at OGSLP?

Name: Sherri Kidney
Title: Loan Services Specialist
Tenure with OGSLP: 3½ years

How do your daily duties directly impact OGSLP's customers?
I am the primary specialist for status changes in the Loan Services department at OGSLP. Some of the status changes I process include increases, decreases, cancellations, reinstatements and disbursement date corrections. I maintain the updates for students’ loans until they’re fully disbursed, and I work with lenders and schools to make updates to student accounts. My primary goal is to ensure the borrowers’ funds are received by the school and delivered to the students without delay. Giving students and schools great service is our top priority.

What advice would you give to someone in our industry who's new to working with student loans?
First, you must learn all you can about the industry. It’s important to take advantage of every training opportunity available and gain as much knowledge as possible. OGSLP's annual conference on June 25 is a great place to start. I’ll be there to give a presentation to help financial aid officers identify and resolve common errors on loan requests. This is an important topic, because it helps schools save time and energy by resolving errors quickly and providing funds to students as efficiently as possible. I hope to see everyone there!

The most important thing to remember is why we’re here – to make higher education a reality for all students and help them reach their goals.

What do you find most challenging about working with student loans?
Keeping up with the volume of changes that can impact the financial aid community is challenging. Fortunately, OGSLP is able to offer information and timely assistance to internal and external customers as the student loan industry evolves. If I ever need additional information about a certain topic, I know that one of my colleagues will be able to help me. I encourage our customers to take advantage of the incredible resource they have in OGSLP’s knowledgeable staff.

What are some of the unique services your department provides our customers?
The Loan Services department is responsible for helping our customers process FFELP loans for borrowers. Our department provides the high level of service and responsiveness that our customers expect and deserve. As I mentioned before, OGSLP is home to many folks with significant expertise in a variety of areas, and we’re excited to share that knowledge. It’s a great feeling to help schools and lenders stay informed and work beside them in serving students.

What are your hobbies or interests?
I love spending time with family and friends at the lake or just hanging out around the pool during the summer. I enjoy many different sports, but what I enjoy most is attending OU women’s basketball games and watching NASCAR races.