T.H.E. is excited to let you know of a few upcoming enhancements. Students applying online with their cosigner present during their online session will be able to obtain an instant credit decision for their cosigner. A Cosigner Addendum may then be printed so the cosigner may sign the document and send it in along with their income verification documentation.
Coming later this fall we anticipate electronic signature being in place for cosigners. This will help streamline the application process. If the cosigner is not present during their online session, the student may print the addendum and provide it to their cosigner for completion.
We also want you to be aware of regulatory disclosure requirements should a cosigner not meet our credit criteria. Regulations state that a lender must notify the applicant, in this case the student, of the specific reason(s) a cosigner was denied. A general statement such as “does not meet lender’s credit criteria” is not sufficient.
Due to this regulation, we are modifying our practices to clearly notify the cosigner that any reason for denial will be provided to the applicant. This is to ensure the cosigner is aware of the disclosure requirement before he or she agrees to be a cosigner. When the electronic signature process is in place, a separate login ID created by the cosigner will include language to inform the cosigner of this regulatory requirement.