Wellness Works: Journeys!
I've been collecting some data for a presentation I'm giving next week and have been getting some pretty impressive numbers indicating our Wellness philosophy does work. See my entry for 2/3/06.
Take our most mature Wellness campaign, Journeys. This is a program that we have made available to ASA borrowers since 2003. Journeys is a direct mail and e-mail communication with borrowers who are about to begin repayment. It provides borrowers with the "right information" about repayment options, deferments and forbearance, at the "right time," just as they are about to complete their grace period.
Every student whose loan is guaranteed by ASA and completes their program of study receives the Journeys information for two full years. Print information is sent on a quarterly basis and e-mail on a monthly basis. Currently, 17 schools are adding to the program by branding their school logos on the materials being sent.
I've already told you about what these programs have taught us about communicating with students. See my entry for 3/10/06. Now let me tell you how they have actually influenced borrower delinquency and default. ASA's overall default rate is historically low at 1.3%, well below the national average of 4.5%, which should be data enough to prove that our Wellness philosophy works. But we recently measured the default rate of our students who did receive the Journeys materials compared to a selected control group, who received no materials. In fact, the default rate through 2006 for students who did receive the Journeys materials was only 0.5%, as compared to the control group who received no materials, with a default rate of 1.0%.
The Journeys campaign also helps reduce borrower delinquency. The delinquency rate among borrowers in the Journeys campaign is just about 7%, and even lower, at 6%, among students from schools that "brand" the materials. However, the control group, who received no literature from ASA, has a delinquency rate of about 8%. Although default rates have declined nationally for the past few years, we have calculated that from 2003 to 2004, the default rate dropped by 60% for students receiving Journeys materials, whereas the control population had only a 46% decline.
Tell me what you think. I'll give you some additional data in the next few days.
Best,
Duane
Posted by Duane Quinn on April 18, 2006 at 10:49 AM EST
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Blog Author
Mike Ryan
Vice President of Borrower Services
Biography
Michael T. Ryan is Vice President of Borrower Services for American Student Assistance, a position he has held since joining ASA in February, 2003. Mr. Ryan heads ASA’s Borrower Services Division, which is responsible for all aspects of the management and delivery of service to borrowers in ASA’s education loan portfolio, including all default prevention and recovery efforts.
In his 20-plus year career in higher education financing, Mr. Ryan has held key management positions at the Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority (MEFA), and Key Education Resources (formerly Knight Tuition Payment Plans). As MEFA’s Associate Director for Programs and Operations, Mr. Ryan facilitated MEFA’s entry as a Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) provider. He also played an instrumental role in the introduction of the U. Fund, (MEFA’s Section 529 College Investing Plan), managed MEFA’s U. Plan (Prepaid Tuition Program), and was responsible for the operation of MEFA’s loan programs.
While at Knight and Key, Mr. Ryan held progressively responsible management positions, from Account Manager to Senior Vice President.
Mr. Ryan is a graduate of Merrimack College.
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