Exit Interviews: Must They Be a Bore? And Must They Be a Must?
It’s finally May, and you may be exhaling a sigh of relief. Not only is the campus quiet, but more importantly, those dreaded exit interviews are over at last!
Why should exit interviews be such a chore? First, financial aid professionals have a tremendous amount of information that, by law, you must convey. Second, you have a sneaking suspicion that those clacking keyboards and PDA keypads you hear have more to do with fervent summer vacation planning than diligent note taking.
It’s not fun to feel like you’re talking to yourself. But even sadder is that you know, in your heart, that these students really do need to learn about their loan repayment rights and responsibilities, even if they aren’t listening.
ASA research has shown that you’re not imagining things—students respond to the right information at the right time, and the right time is when repayment actually begins, not a few days before graduation. That’s why we’ve developed a debt management program that follows borrowers through the lifecycle of their loans—from teaching new borrowers the basics in on-campus financial literacy sessions, to helping recent graduates make their first payment and financially sound life decisions, to guiding students who withdraw from school, to getting defaulted borrowers back on track.
My colleague Shelley Saunders makes a compelling case that every federal student loan borrower deserves thorough and lasting default prevention support like ASA provides, and that this extended support should perhaps replace the dreaded exit interview altogether.
In all likelihood, though, you’ll find yourself facing the exit interview again next year. So, here are some tips for making it less painful for you—and your students.
- – Make it interactive. Got a little Alex Trebek in you for a Jeopardy-style review at the end of the session? Great. Got computers to work with your tech-savvy students on your behalf? That’s good, too. Mapping-your-future.org, a public service website sponsored by a group of guarantors in the FFELP, including ASA, provides free online entrance and exit counseling for Stafford and Perkins loans.
- – Make it funny. “I try to inject a lot of humor into my sessions for students, ” says Brad Finger, an ASA trainer who specializes in student presentations. “Student loans are a pretty dry subject, so anything you can do to spice it up will help. Try starting every session with an icebreaker joke, or even introducing roleplaying or skits by your staff. It gets students’ attention—and gets your point across. ”
- – Make it a joint effort. You’re not in this alone. ASA has trained specialists who can give you tips, and we have ready-made handouts. Just e-mail us at training@amsa.com or call us at 800.999.9080.
Do you have secret tips that make your exit interviews a hit? Do you believe exit interviews hold an important place in the loan process? If not, what would be better for borrowers? We want to hear from you!
Posted by Susan Nathan on May 29, 2008 at 01:36 PM EST
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Blog Author
Susan Nathan
Vice President, Lender and School Services
Biography
Susan Nathan is Vice President of Lender and School Services at American Student Assistance (ASA)®. She has held this position since October of 2002. Ms. Nathan joined ASA in February 1987 as supervisor of the external program review unit. She has held roles of increasing responsibility in product development, operations, client management and customer service, and marketing. She has been a member of the design teams for a number of ASA’s signature products, including FASTFUND, ASA’s disbursement product, and ASA Direct, ASA’s web processing tool. She was the manager of the business plan for ASA’s major system conversion in 1998.
She is credited with the development of ASA’s nationally recognized client management team. Ms. Nathan oversees the ASA Advisory Council, and is the staff liaison to the Marketing Planning Committee of ASA’s Board of Directors.
Prior to joining ASA, Ms. Nathan was a Financial Aid Officer for Lesley College. She is a graduate of Brown University and a fellow of the Institute for Educational Leadership. She is a member of state, regional and national financial aid associations and is routinely sought by the financial aid community as a professional development trainer.
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