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.
Create a process
Educating students on debt is a process that covers everything from selecting a lender to finding the best repayment strategy once students are out of school. Our “Smart Choices” financial literacy series was created to give you a wide range of lender-neutral educational materials you can feel comfortable giving to your students. Even if students don’t have loans with T.H.E., the series offers them informative, non-biased approach to making the best decisions when it comes to financing their education.
Below, you can find a chart of suggested resources and materials for students at every phase of their education:
| Resources/Materials | Step 1 – Before Entering School | Step 2 – First-Year Enrollment | Step 3 – In-School Enrollment | Step 4 – Last-Semester Enrollment | Step 5– Graduation and Beyond |
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| Blue Skies Brochure |  |
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| Blue Skies Online Tutorial | |
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| Consolidation Calculator | |
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| Consolidation Mythbusting Brochure | |
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| Economic Hardship Deferment Calculator | |
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| Electronic Loan Counselor | |
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| Evaluating a Lender (with T.H.E. Response) | |
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| In-School Budget Worksheet | |
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| Interactive Out-of-School Budget Worksheet | |
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| Monthly Payment Calculator | |
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| Ready, Set, Go | |
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| Repayment Ability Chart | |
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| Smooth Sailing Brochure | |
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| Smooth Sailing Tutorial | |
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| Solid Ground Brochure | |
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| Solid Ground Tutorial | |
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| Debt Management Presentations/Presenters | |
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You can view many of these tools and materials on the web. We also offer debt management presentations and corporate presenters. You can either download and facilitate presentations yourself or invite one of our knowledgeable and experienced corporate presenters to facilitate.
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| Erin Adams | Joe Pruden |
| Corporate Presenter | Corporate Presenter |
| Phone: 866.902.6038 Ext: 9258 | Phone: 866.902.6038 Ext: 9292 |
| E-mail: eadams@theloanprogram.org | E-mail: jpruden@theloanprogram.org |
To order any of the materials, just 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.