THE Today

NorthStar suspending federal and private loan applications

2009-05-19T20:21:17Z

It is with great regret that I make the following announcement: As of today, May 20, 2009, NorthStar Education Finance, Inc., will suspend accepting new federal and private applications under the T.H.E. Loan Program. President, NorthStar Education Finance, Inc. ]]>

Department of Education clarifies hardship deferment changes

2009-05-06T16:36:04Z

not be eligible__ to enter into the same EHD as the other loans. [linkOne]: http://www.nchelp.org/elibrary/index.cfm?parent=61]]> Unfortunately, this policy is the opposite of what has been the process in the past and what has been our understanding up to this point. Last month we shared a contradictory message with our school partners through the T.H.E. Today and with some T.H.E. borrowers who called our customer service help line. Now that we have clarification from the DOE, however, we want to make sure you have the facts — and that students can make informed choices about their loans entering repayment. So what does this mean for borrowers? In the simplest terms, borrowers who have loans with a grace end date post-7-1-09 will have to either postpone them separately or enter repayment. We’ll be happy to work directly with your T.H.E. borrowers to find a workable alternative. They can call our loan counselors at 1-866-562-6672. Included below is NCHELP’s guidance on this issue. For more information about the new EHD requirements, refer to NCHELP’s complete April 27 document, available online at [www.nchelp.org/elibrary/index.cfm?parent=61][linkTwo]. __From the NCHELP Q&A:__ __Q2.__ A borrower requests and is eligible for an economic hardship deferment based on the 20/220 criterion on loans that are already in repayment. The deferment period begins prior to July 1, 2009. However, the borrower also has Stafford loans that are in grace. Can the economic hardship deferment be applied to the loans that are in grace once the grace period expires, thereby allowing all of the borrower’s loans to be deferred? The deferment for all loans would expire on the same date – 12 months after the loans in repayment entered the deferment period. For example, a borrower has both Grad PLUS and Stafford loans. He graduates on May 16, 2009 and opts out of the post-enrollment deferment available for his Grad PLUS loans. Therefore, his Grad PLUS Developed by the NCHELP Program Regulations Committee and Student Loan Servicing Alliance (SLSA) 2 loans automatically move from an in-school deferment to repayment status beginning on May 17, 2009. However, his Stafford loans are eligible for grace through November 15, 2009. The borrower applies and is eligible for an economic hardship deferment based on the 20/220 criteria beginning May 17, 2009. The lender would grant the economic hardship deferment on the Grad PLUS loans from May 17, 2009 through May 16, 2010. Can the lender then apply the deferment to the borrower’s Stafford loans from November 16, 2009 through May 16, 2010? __A2.__ No. This question was pursued with the Department, and it was confirmed that an economic hardship deferment may not be granted to a borrower based on either the 20/220 or the working less than full-time criteria on loans that have not entered repayment prior to July 1, 2009. One of the underlying requirements for obtaining a deferment is that the loan must be in repayment status, which means any applicable grace period must expire first. In this example, the Stafford loans do not enter repayment (grace does not expire) until November 15, 2009, which is after the trigger date of ‘deferment requests received by the lender on or after July 1, 2009 for deferment periods that begin on or after that date’ for the new economic hardship criteria. Therefore, even though the borrower’s Grad PLUS loans could be deferred based on an 20/220 criterion, the borrower may not be granted an economic hardship deferment based on the 20/220 or working less than full-time criteria on his or her Stafford loans because any deferment period granted on the Stafford loans cannot commence until after July 1, 2009. [linkTwo]: http://www.nchelp.org/elibrary/index.cfm?parent=61

Timing of hardship deferments causing confusion

2009-04-10T16:54:38Z

Refer to May 6 article for updated information. Students confused about when their loans can enter hardship deferment? We’ve heard that some borrowers may have received information that was contrary to what T.H.E. has been sharing. Our customer service reps have talked to callers who heard that their Stafford loan would not be covered by the same hardship deferment as their GradPLUS or consolidation loan (if the deferment began at graduation). Rather, they were told that they would have to treat their Stafford loan separately in order to postpone its repayment, meaning they might have to apply for another deferment or consider forbearance, income-based repayment plans or other options. ]]> Refer to May 6 article for updated information.

A new way to evaluate lenders’ customer service

2009-02-13T19:32:50Z

If you can't see, smell, taste or feel something, how do you judge it? Many colleges and universities are working to figure out this exact problem when it comes to evaluating lenders based on their customer service. As the pricing differences of FFELP loans has become “vanilla” in many scenarios, customer service has certainly become the center of attention with many institutions. So how do you measure it? Will lender responses to questions typically used in the past, or a third-party scoring model, accurately represent the specific customer service experience that your school desires from a lender? Or might there be another way? During previous years, colleges and universities worked to quantify customer service items like abandonment rates and the amount of toll-free numbers a lender offered. For some, however, this method did not produce the anticipated results in the level of customer service that they received from their lenders. The answers received did not reflect the 08-09 actual customer service experience of schools and borrowers. Many schools had a goal in mind of reducing the amount of time spent on loan processing through great customer service. Instead, many found that lenders in general fell short of providing the customer service experience that schools had come to expect in previous years. We believe that we can now help you with this issue! And this same process could be used by your students when they make their own determination on a lender to work with. For the past year, T.H.E. has been working on a new concept to judge a lender based on customer service. Using an approach less numbers-oriented and more tailored to your experiences, it’s designed around the specific needs of your financial aid office and your students. If your institution is currently looking for a new way to evaluate a lender's customer service, please feel free to give your School Relations Director a call for more information. If you are unsure whom to contact regarding this program, please send an e-mail to sales@theloanprogram.org and someone from our team will get back to you.

Forget the Valentines — Send us your RFP!

2009-02-13T18:34:50Z

If you have an RFI/RFP or need an update of T.H.E. information for 2009-2010, please remember to send your request our way. T.H.E. is eager to respond and will complete your request as thoroughly as possible. Due to the continued unrest in the financial markets, T.H.E.’s private loan terms for 2009-2010 are anticipated to be announced at the end of first quarter 2009.

Speaking of RFPs…

2009-02-13T17:35:59Z

As you develop and refine your RFPs, you may want to ask lenders if and how they are helping borrowers in these tough economic times. For example… * Did you know that some lenders charge borrowers $50 to request forbearance? At T.H.E., we don't penalize borrowers for requesting help. * Did you know that some lenders have chosen to tighten their PLUS and Grad PLUS credit criteria? At T.H.E., we continue to comply with the Department of Education’s adverse credit guidance on all PLUS loans. * Did you know that some lenders’ only point-of-contact or outreach regarding repayment strategies occurs after a student graduates and becomes delinquent? At T.H.E., our students receive a clear strategy for repayment before graduation through our proactive outreach or when talking to one of our knowledgeable customer service representatives. So go ahead. Why not ask your lenders?

Federal Loans Available

2008-11-26T18:00:19Z

T.H.E. continues to fund Stafford, PLUS and GradPLUS loans without delay through the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008. The Department of Education recently announced the program’s extension into the 2009-2010 school year. We intend to continue to use this program until financial markets recover.

Private Loans Available

2008-11-26T17:54:12Z

T.H.E. also continues to offer undergraduate and graduate private loans for in-school borrowers through an association with Discover Bank. Health Professions students seeking a private loan are encouraged to call us at 888-843-0004 to learn more about our current financing options available through this program.

MedR and LawB Applications Suspended

2008-11-26T17:52:37Z

Unfortunately, effective November 19, 2008, T.H.E. will no longer be accepting applications for the Medical Residency (MedR) loans and Bar Prep (LawB) loans. Previously submitted applications will be processed, however, and loans with pending disbursements will continue to be made. On November 17th, NASFAA President & CEO Dr. Phil Day sent letters to Secretary of Treasury Henry Paulson and Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings to seek confirmation of the Administration’s intent to use a portion of the $700 billion economic stimulus package to support private student loans. "The private student loan market is in a very troubling condition," Day wrote. "Nearly two-thirds of the 60 top lenders no longer offer loans." Students who are ineligible for federal student aid or who still lack funds even after exhausting other forms of aid will be most hurt by the floundering private student loan market, according to Day. "These students cannot attend college without private educational loans. Without government intervention and correction of this aberration, countless students will be denied the financing they need to reach their higher education goals." We’ll continue to seek funding from other sources, including any programs supported by access to government funds. As new information is available on funding we will update our web site. ]]>

Good news for students: T.H.E. is making loans again

2008-10-06T12:40:37Z

We at Total Higher Education are very pleased to announce that we’ve secured the interim financing necessary to participate in the Department of Education’s loan program. Last month, we received a line of funding from Educational Credit Management Corporation (ECMC), a higher education finance company. Without this interim financing solution from ECMC, we probably would not have met our schools’ student loan financing demands for this academic season. In these difficult times, it’s certainly good to know there’s a financial entity willing to help its colleagues — and eager to help students get the money they need to pay for school. We’re grateful to ECMC for its timely contribution. We’re also grateful to the schools and students who waited patiently to get their loans from T.H.E. And we look forward to welcoming back those who had to look elsewhere during for the 08-09 school year.

Undergrads have a new private loan option

2008-10-05T10:34:25Z

As more and more lenders have been forced to cut back or suspend their private loan offerings, many students – especially undergrads – are having a hard time figuring out how to cover the cost of their education. To help close that gap, T.H.E. is partnering with Discover Student Loans to offer a new private loan geared specifically for undergraduate students in four-year programs. The T.H.E./Discover Student Loans are designed to help students fill the holes in their financing plan while giving them the same high-quality, high-touch service that has been the hallmark of T.H.E. for more than a decade. While the lender code and phone number may change, these private loans are fully backed by the reputation, experience and processing expertise of T.H.E. In other words, there’s no difference – for schools or students – in the service or guidance you can expect to receive from T.H.E. For more information on this new loan, please contact your School Relations representative.

Private loans available

2008-08-19T06:55:20Z

We’ve been fully processing and funding program-specific private applications for a few months now. Those applications include: *Prior borrowing relationship may be required for Bar Prep. A cosigner is required for Health Professions and may be required for the other programs.

]]>

Private loan applicants applying with a cosigner

2008-08-18T11:53:15Z

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.

Borrower Education Section of T.H.E.’s Web Site Bulks Up

2008-08-18T09:49:21Z

There are some updates within the Borrower Education section of T.H.E.’s web site. 1. There is a new calculator home page. You and your students can access it at [www.theloanprogram.org][urlLoanProgram] under “helpful links” as well as within the discipline specific pages. The new page lists our four newly designed calculators. 2. There are three new Financial Literacy Tutorials, accessed via the Financial Literacy Series pull-down on the Borrower Ed homepage. Blending education and entertainment, the new tutorials cover Credit, Budgeting and Id Theft. We encourage you in the financial aid office to check it out for yourselves. 3. The Electronic Loan Counselor also had some updates In the past there was information about Extending, Reducing, Postponing and Consolidating. We recently replaced the action item Consolidate with Overpay and now text updates have been made to support this new approach. More information about our financial literacy resources will be shared in the next issue of the Smart Choices newsletter. [urlLoanProgram]: http://www.theloanprogram.org/

Entrance handbook updated with recent changes

2008-08-18T06:46:05Z

Looking for the most up-to-date entrance counseling information? Designed to comply with new federal requirements on entrance presentations, which went into effect July 1, 2008, our Entrance Handbook and presentation covers: * Increased loan limits * Undergraduate subsidized Stafford loan rate decreases * PLUS loan deferment and grace option * New Income-Based Repayment and Public Service Loan Forgiveness program With the enactment of HR 4137 lenders will be permitted to help with entrance and exit presentations. As soon as it’s official, our corporate presenters will be more than happy to deliver your entrance and exit presentations. Until then, they are available to help train the trainer if schools want to use our materials. And if you’re looking for excellent debt management education, we offer a variety of elements with valuable information that would be perfect to share with students this fall. Our presenters are also available to deliver and answer questions on topics such as: * ID Theft * Budgeting * Credit Scores and Credit Cards * Gauge Your Debt program (which teaches students to monitor their debt early on and adjust spending to achieve a manageable repayment plan later on)