From mheid at ocap.org Fri Mar 1 09:12:23 2013 From: mheid at ocap.org (Heid, Mary) Date: Fri, 1 Mar 2013 15:12:23 +0000 Subject: [Defaultprevention] OCAP Launches Expanded Student Loan Management Initiative, Ready Set Repay! Message-ID: OCAP Launches Expanded Student Loan Management Initiative, Ready Set Repay The Oklahoma College Assistance Program (OCAP), an operating division of the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, is pleased to announce the launch of Ready Set Repay, an initiative to further empower student loan borrowers to make smart borrowing decisions and successfully navigate student loan repayment. While OCAP's default prevention team has long offered excellent services for borrowers and the financial aid community, Ready Set Repay includes enhanced features and tools for students and schools, including new resources to help Oklahoma's higher education institutions maximize the effectiveness of debt education and default prevention efforts. The centerpiece of this initiative is OCAP's new student loan management website, ReadySetRepay.org. Watch this brief video for a peek at the new site. [Description: RSR Video] The new website's structure allows borrowers to easily find tools and information based on where they are in the student loan process. Whether they're in school, in their grace period, repaying their loans, behind on payments or in loan default, these easy-to-navigate channels drive users to the content they need. We've also created a section just for our campus partners, which offers OCAP's wide selection of publications, instructional materials and operational resources to meet your workflow needs and help strengthen your services for student borrowers. Of course, OCAP's default prevention team is still here to educate borrowers about managing student loan debt and the many repayment options available to them. Our specialists can be reached Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 800.358.5460 (toll free) or WeCanHelp at ocap.org. Remember that OCAP's training team is here for you, too. We can provide customized professional development workshops and regulatory and operational financial aid training based on your institution's needs. Visit our Training & Professional Resources page to learn more about these services. Ready Set Repay products and services are available at no charge to Oklahoma campuses. Our publications, tools, consultations and other resources are designed to support your efforts to ensure borrowers understand their loan obligations and how to successfully manage the repayment process. To see for yourself, visit the Products & Services page at ReadySetRepay.org. We hope you're as excited about Ready Set Repay as we are. This initiative was built with you in mind; we want to continue helping you keep Oklahoma's borrowers on track for student loan success! Mary Heid Director for Default Prevention, Compliance & Training Services Oklahoma College Assistance Program (OCAP) P.O. Box 3000 | Oklahoma City, OK 73101-3000 mheid at ocap.org | www.OCAP.org http://www.facebook.com/RepaymentScoop [cid:0F60BDCA488F7D44BB737951184A4E23 at osrhe.edu] -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image002.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 46406 bytes Desc: image002.jpg URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image003.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 896 bytes Desc: image003.jpg URL: From mheid at ocap.org Tue Mar 5 09:16:13 2013 From: mheid at ocap.org (Heid, Mary) Date: Tue, 5 Mar 2013 15:16:13 +0000 Subject: [Defaultprevention] New Release Dates for FY 2011 2-Year and FY 2010 3-Year Draft Cohort Default Rates In-Reply-To: <43B62C822FDF004E875B6E1CF7E0DCA13F983D61@Bellini.lan.ogslp.org> References: <43B62C822FDF004E875B6E1CF7E0DCA13F983D61@Bellini.lan.ogslp.org> Message-ID: -----Original Message----- From: FSATech [mailto:FSATech at PROD.VANGENT.COM] Sent: Tuesday, March 05, 2013 9:10 AM To: FSATECH at LISTSERV.ED.GOV Subject: New Release Dates for FY 2011 2-Year and FY 2010 3-Year Draft Cohort Default Rates To: Financial Aid Community From: Katrina Turner, Director, Operations Performance Division, Federal Student Aid RE: New Release Dates for FY 2011 2-Year and FY 2010 3-Year Draft Cohort Default Rates Date: 3/5/2013 In February 2013, we postponed the release of the draft cohort default rates to all eligible schools, guaranty agencies, and lenders. The release dates have been rescheduled and we plan to release 2-year and 3-year draft cohort default rates as follows: * On March 18, 2013 we plan to release the FY 2011 2-year draft cohort default rates * On March 25, 2013 we plan to release the FY 2010 3-year draft cohort default rates All schools, both domestic and foreign, enrolled in the Electronic Cohort Default Rate (eCDR) process will receive their FY 2011 2-year and the FY 2010 3-year draft cohort default rate and accompanying documentation via their Student Aid Internet Gateway (SAIG) mailbox. Any school not enrolled in the eCDR process may download their cohort default rate and accompanying documentation from the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) via the NSLDS Professional Access Web site. Below we provide the instructions to download and view or print the Electronic Cohort Default Rate (eCDR) files that we will send to a school's SAIG mailbox on March 18 and 25, 2013. If you have questions about the FY 2011 2-year and FY 2010 3-year draft cohort default rates, contact us by e-mailing fsa.schools.default.management at ed.gov or by calling the Operations Performance Division Hotline at 202/377-4259. How to Use EDconnect to Download eCDR Files Please note: As of November 16, 2012, EDconnect Version 8.3 is the most current version available. If you are using a prior version of EDconnect, please go to FSADownload.ed.gov to download and install EDconnect Version 8.3. The following information should help you download and view or print the Electronic Cohort Default Rate (eCDR) files that the Department will send to many electronic mailboxes via the Student Aid Internet Gateway (SAIG). How to download the files: 1. Log into EDconnect. 2. Leave the Transmission Queue empty and select Now from the Transmission menu. 3. When you receive the "Transmission successful" message, close the Transmission screen by going to the File menu and selecting Close. 4. Select New from the File menu and choose Mailbox Query from the list of views. Click OK. 5. The Mailbox Query screen will display a list of the files that are currently in your mailbox. In the Message Class column on the left, you can identify the three eCDR files by their SAIG message classes: SHDRLROP-cover letter SHCDRROP-the loan record detail information in a pre-formatted report SHCDREOP-the loan record detail information in an unformatted extract 6. Place a check mark in the Move to TQ column to the left of the message class of the file or files you wish to download. Select Now from the Transmission menu. EDconnect will download the file or files. 7. When you receive the "Transmission successful" message, close the Transmission screen by going to the File menu and selecting Close. 8. Open the Activity Log by selecting New from the File menu and choosing Activity Log from the list of views. Click OK. 9. Find the eCDR file or files you have just downloaded. The most recently downloaded files appear at the bottom of the Activity Log. 10. Scroll to the right until you see the File Name column. Make a note of the names of the files and the folder to which they have been downloaded. 11. Open the files by following the instructions below. For additional questions about the SAIG mailbox or downloading files, please contact CPS/SAIG Technical Support at 800/330-5947. How to Open and Read or Print the eCDR Files Once you have downloaded the three eCDR files, use the following steps to review the files: The SHDRLROP file is the cover letter, which contains basic information for your school regarding draft cohort default rates, including deadline information for the challenge process. You should be able to open it in most word processing programs, such as Microsoft Word, WordPerfect, or with a basic text reader like Windows Notepad. Start your word processing software. Select Open from the File menu. At the bottom of the Open dialog, choose "All files (*.*)" from the "Files of type" drop-down list. Browse to the folder you noted in Step 10 above. Select the SHDRLROP file and open it. The SHCDRROP file is the loan record detail information in a pre-formatted report. You should be able to open it in most word processing programs, such as Microsoft Word, WordPerfect, or with a basic text reader like Windows Notepad. Start your word processing software. Select Open from the File menu. At the bottom of the Open dialog, choose "All files (*.*)" from the "Files of type" drop-down list. Browse to the folder you noted in Step 10 above. Select the SHCDRROP file and open it. To format the document for viewing or printing in Microsoft Word, follow the instructions below: 1. Start Microsoft Word and open the SHCDRROP file. 2. Click on the Edit menu item at the top of the Microsoft Word window and choose Select All. 3. Click on the Format menu item at the top of the Microsoft Word window and choose Font. 4. In the Font dialog box, change the font size to 8 and the font style to Courier New. Click OK. 5. Click on the File menu item at the top of the Microsoft Word window and choose Page Setup. Select the Margins tab if it is not already selected. NOTE: If you are using Word 2007, select the Page Layout tab by clicking the Page Layout menu item at the top of Microsoft Word. Click the Dialog Box Launcher (a small square with a downward-pointing arrow to the right of Page Setup) at the bottom of the Page Layout tab. A Page Setup dialog box appears with the same options as earlier versions of Microsoft Word. 6. Change the margins to Top = 1", Bottom = 1", Left = 0.7", Right = 0.7", Make sure Gutter=0" and Gutter position = Left. 7. Select the Landscape button under Orientation. 8. Click OK. 9. View or print the file. Start Microsoft Word and open the SHCDREOP file. The SHCDREOP file is the loan record detail information in an unformatted extract. Chapter 2.3 of the Cohort Default Rate Guide available at http://ifap.ed.gov/DefaultManagement/guide/CDRGuidePart2.html should be used to interpret the information contained in this report. Working with the extract version of the loan record detail information requires technical skill and familiarity with file import specifications. Please refer to the import specifications in Chapter 2 of the Cohort Default Rate Guide available at http://ifap.ed.gov/DefaultManagement/guide/CDRGuidePart2.html. The entire Cohort Default Rate Guide is available at Operations Performance Division's Web site at http://ifap.ed.gov/DefaultManagement/CDRGuideMaster.html. For questions about the eCDR cover letter that you have downloaded, the loan record detail report files that you have downloaded, or about the cohort default rate challenge, adjustment, or appeal processes, please contact the Operations Performance Division at fsa.schools.default.management at ed.gov or at 202/377-4259. From mheid at ocap.org Thu Mar 7 14:42:38 2013 From: mheid at ocap.org (Heid, Mary) Date: Thu, 7 Mar 2013 20:42:38 +0000 Subject: [Defaultprevention] In case you missed it. Message-ID: In case you don't receive our OCAP Outlook here are two articles of interest. Borrow Smart from the Start Ready Set Repay and Oklahoma Money Matters have joined forces to create a new publication for student loan [Borrow Smart] borrowers. Borrow Smart from the Start is a step-by-step guide through the student loan process that emphasizes the importance of completing the FAFSA, making smart borrowing choices, monitoring debt load, keeping track of student loans with NSLDS, considering various repayment options and more! Here's what people had to say when asked about their plans for our new publication: "We would like to incorporate these brochures with our current default prevention efforts. We feel that the more information we can give students, the better decisions they can make when borrowing money." -Jaclyn Riley, Carl Albert State College "We are placing a link to this brochure on our website under loan information and plan to include it in an orientation video we are working on that will be posted to our website. We are also going to give the brochure out to all students requesting loans. There's great information in the brochure that includes the full gamut of student borrowing." -Myrna Cross, Western Oklahoma State College Download a PDF version of Borrow Smart from the Start to share with students electronically or include with campus financial aid award packaging. For printed copies, contact Kerry Mucker at kmucker at ocap.org (quantities limited). Telephone Tips for Helping Student Loan Borrowers Keeping cohort rates down is a priority for many schools, but most financial aid officers are used to talking to students face-to-face. If helping borrowers over the phone is a new challenge for your staff, OCAP is here to help. Our expanded default prevention initiative, Ready Set Repay, offers a wide selection of tools and resources to help you make the most of your borrower calls. Here are a few tips to help you get started. Know the whole picture. Before contacting a borrower, make sure you know their student loan history. It will save you time and the borrower will appreciate not having to repeat the details. You can do this by logging into the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) to look up relevant student loan information. Protect their identity. If the call is answered by a third party, be sure to protect the borrower's privacy by not revealing details about his or her student loan. You may simply want to say that you're making a courtesy call regarding student loan records. Start with vital information. There may be a simple solution to resolving a defaulted loan, such as a change of address or change of name. Start your call by making sure the borrower is receiving his or her statements. Tell borrowers how their contact information is listed in NSLDS and encourage them to update it as needed with their lender. Offer a wide range of solutions. If a borrower is having trouble making loan payments, describe any applicable deferment and repayment options. Don't forget to ask borrowers if they qualify for a military service or education related deferment. For more tips on making successful borrower calls, visit ReadySetRepay.org and check out our Default Prevention Telephone Scripts. If you'd like to request staff training on default prevention efforts, customer service techniques or telephone skills, submit an External Training Request form and someone from OCAP will contact you promptly. Mary Heid Director for Default Prevention, Compliance, and Training Services Oklahoma College Assistance Program (OCAP) a division of the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education 405.234.4489 (office direct) 405.234.4582 (fax) www.ReadySetRepay.org http://www.facebook.com/RepaymentScoop [cid:0F60BDCA488F7D44BB737951184A4E23 at osrhe.edu] -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.png Type: image/png Size: 1424956 bytes Desc: image001.png URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image003.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 896 bytes Desc: image003.jpg URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image004.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 9493 bytes Desc: image004.jpg URL: From mheid at ocap.org Wed Mar 13 12:06:22 2013 From: mheid at ocap.org (Heid, Mary) Date: Wed, 13 Mar 2013 17:06:22 +0000 Subject: [Defaultprevention] OCAP Releases New Student Loan Management Brochure In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: [OCAP - Oklahoma College Assistance Program, Formerly known as the Oklahoma Guaranteed Student Loan Program] 3/13/13 OCAP Releases New Student Loan Management Brochure [Borrow Smart]OCAP's Ready Set Repay and Oklahoma Money Matters initiatives have joined forces to create a new publication for student loan borrowers. Borrow Smart from the Start is a step-by-step guide through the student loan process that emphasizes the importance of completing the FAFSA, making smart borrowing choices, monitoring debt load, keeping track of student loans through the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS), considering various repayment options and more! We're offering Borrow Smart from the Start in both electronic and print versions, so it's easy for you to distribute to the students and families you serve. * Financial aid directors, we hope you'll consider sharing the brochure in financial aid award packaging. * High school counselors, we hope you'll make the brochure available to your juniors and seniors, as well as their parents. * Campus and community partners, we hope you'll share the brochure as a component of your college planning and financial education programs and services. Here's what some of your colleagues had to say when asked about their plans for our new publication: "We would like to incorporate these brochures with our current default prevention efforts. We feel that the more information we can give students, the better decisions they can make when borrowing money." -Jaclyn Riley, Carl Albert State College "We are placing a link to this brochure on our website under loan information and plan to include it in an orientation video we are working on that will be posted to our website. We are also going to give the brochure out to all students requesting loans. There's great information in the brochure that includes the full gamut of student borrowing." -Myrna Cross, Western Oklahoma State College Download a PDF version of Borrow Smart from the Start to share with students and parents electronically or contact Kerry Mucker at kmucker at ocap.org for printed copies (quantities limited). ________________________________ Angela Caddell Director for Communications, Financial Education & Outreach Services Oklahoma College Assistance Program (OCAP) P.O. Box 3000 | Oklahoma City, OK 73101-3000 acaddell at ocap.org | www.OCAP.org To unsubscribe or change your profile: click here For questions or comments, contact OCAP at P.O. Box 3000 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73101 [http://www.mailermailer.com/images/1x1transparent.gif] -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mheid at ocap.org Mon Mar 25 12:12:13 2013 From: mheid at ocap.org (Heid, Mary) Date: Mon, 25 Mar 2013 17:12:13 +0000 Subject: [Defaultprevention] Need a plan? Message-ID: Do your default rates have your head spinning? Remember OCAP has a free default management plan consultation service! http://www.readysetrepay.org/Partners/products/dpmp.html Mary Heid Director for Default Prevention, Compliance, and Training Services Oklahoma College Assistance Program (OCAP) a division of the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education 405.234.4489 (office direct) 405.234.4582 (fax) www.ReadySetRepay.org http://www.facebook.com/RepaymentScoop [cid:0F60BDCA488F7D44BB737951184A4E23 at osrhe.edu] -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 896 bytes Desc: image001.jpg URL: