INDIANAPOLIS, IND., Oct. 21, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- USA Funds® has introduced an enhanced student loan default prevention service that helps colleges and universities better target outreach to and counseling of student loan borrowers. USA Funds Borrower Connect Advantage™ combines powerful analytics and early intervention to help schools improve their cohort default rates by helping more of their former students successfully repay their loans.
Based on a default risk analysis, USA Funds Borrower Connect Advantage performs custom contact and counseling campaigns to the various segments of a school's population of student loan borrowers. These campaigns emphasize early outreach to borrowers to enhance the likelihood of contact and successful repayment.
"Schools that can identify in advance the students who are likely to struggle in repaying their loans can take steps to head off delinquency and default before payment trouble starts," said Craig P. Anderson, USA Funds senior vice president, business development. "USA Funds Borrower Connect Advantage helps schools target default prevention outreach to the students who can benefit the most from that outreach."
Applying the USA Funds Borrower Connect Advantage model to Truckee Meadows Community College in Reno, Nev., during the past year produced the following results:
- Through targeted outreach and counseling, reduced by 11 percent the number of borrowers considered to be at-risk for default.
- Reduced the percentage of borrowers behind on their loan payments.
- Increased the percentage of borrowers who were actively managing their loans.
- Reduced the school's projected 2013 cohort default rate by 6 percentage points.
"Although recent figures from the U.S. Department of Education show modest improvement in student loan default rates, nearly 14 percent of student loan borrowers default during their first three years of repayment," Anderson said. "There's plenty of room for improvement in student loan default rates."
To provide more information about the benefits of data-driven default prevention, USA Funds will host a free webcast on Analytics: Targeting Your Default Prevention Efforts for college and university administrators on Oct. 28, from 2-3 p.m. Eastern time.
For additional information about USA Funds Borrower Connect Advantage, visit www.usafunds.org or call USA Funds at (800) 766-0084.
USA Funds is a nonprofit corporation that works to build a more purposeful path for America's students to and through college and on to rewarding careers and successful lives. USA Funds pursues its nonprofit mission through philanthropic activities and partnerships, policy research, and programs and services that enhance preparation for, access to and success in higher education. Learn more at www.usafunds.org.