The Request for Information (RFI) or Request for Proposal (RFP) process is quickly becoming an industry standard for schools. This year will prove to be interesting, thanks to the legislative changes creating uncertainty in the industry. Over the next several months, we will provide you with insight to the RFI/RFP process. This article, the first part of the series, deals with timing your RFI/RFP process.

When asked to provide terms for the upcoming 2008/2009 academic year, keep in mind that most lenders may not know what their terms will be yet. In an effort to provide a timely response to a school’s RFI/RFP, lenders may provide information that is “subject to change.”

We are proud to add Nancy Harvey as a School Relations Director for the Southeast (SASFAA) region.

Bringing more than 16 years of experience in the industry, Nancy joins T.H.E. from another lender, where she worked with schools in eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Nancy also brings firsthand knowledge of T.H.E.’s benefits for schools and students: while with a previous employer, she promoted T.H.E.’s nonprofit loan programs and savings to schools in the Northeast.

“I’m excited to join the team,” says Nancy. “T.H.E. has a great reputation for serving its customers and saving students a lot of money. I look forward to helping them pursue their mission.”

Taige Thornton, president and CEO of NorthStar, which developed the T.H.E. Loan Programs, is excited to add her to the School Relations team. “Nancy’s been in the financial aid community for 16 years, so she understands how the industry has changed and is changing. She has the experience needed to help our customers adapt and find new ways to meet their goals.” Nancy Harvey can be reached at 1-866-902-6038, extension 9321. Her e-mail address is nharvey@theloanprogram.org.

A grant by Northstar Education Finance/Total Higher Education helped launch I Make It Happen.org, a website that helps Minnesota students get into college. Minnesota has one of the worst guidance-counselor-to-student ratios in the nation, says the St. Paul Pioneer Press. The goal of I Make It Happen.org is to reach students in grades seven to nine who otherwise wouldn’t have access to a guidance counselor and educate them about the steps they need to take to get into college. The site includes an online counselor feature that allows students to submit questions to a guidance counselor.

Since its launch in April, the site has received about 14,000 visits and 130 questions from students, states the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Other sponsors of the project include The University of Minnesota and the Minnesota Department of Education.

T.H.E.’s offices will be closed in observance of the following holidays:

• Nov. 22 and Nov. 23 — Thanksgiving
• Dec. 24 and Dec. 25 — Christmas
• Dec. 31 — New Year’s Eve
• Jan. 1— New Year’s Day

Our three most popular brochures – Smooth Sailing, Blue Skies, and Solid Ground – are getting an update. After being integrated into the new “Smart Choices” financial literacy series, the brochures will feature the lender-neutral stamp and will no longer carry the T.H.E. logo. We will still acknowledge the brochures as being printed and produced by T.H.E.

You can view the updated versions of these brochures here:

• Smooth Sailing offers students practical ways to organize their money and manage their expenses.
• Solid Ground breaks down basic credit concepts and highlights what students need to know about credit scores in easy-to-understand terms.
• Blue Skies covers what questions students should ask a lender before they sign for a loan and explains what’s behind the different incentives lenders offer.

To order any of these brochures, go to our Tools and Resources page and enter your order. Once the e-mail automatically generates, simply provide the name of the resource(s), the quantity desired, due date, shipping address and contact information. We’ll do the rest.

Become an educator

As student debt continues to climb, are schools responsible for educating students about debt management? With new laws, direct-to-consumer marketing and the Internet, students are now arranging for their own loans and skipping the financial aid office. This leaves them vulnerable to terms and conditions they don’t understand or are not even aware of – full disclosure is not always required on the part of lenders until the promissory note has been signed, says Business Week.

Although recent legislation has tied the hands of financial aid officers in many ways, it is vital that schools provide students with the tools necessary to make a sound financial decision. According to Business Week, students need to realize that education is an investment with risks as well as benefits, and it’s up to the schools to make sure this message gets across.