Wellness Works: Transitions
I've given you a lot of information about ASA's Journeys program in which we offer repayment and debt management information to students who complete their program of study. Let me tell you a bit about a relatively new program called "Transitions."
With only about 65 percent of students who start a college program completing that program within six years, there is a large population of students who drop out or stop attending. These borrowers are the focus of Transitions. Students who do not complete their program of study have a high risk for defaulting on their student loans. In a study we did on our defaulted loan population over a three-year period, between 33 percent and 37 percent of defaults were by students who dropped out of school. And of those students who dropped out and defaulted, almost 65 percent did not complete their first year of study. This is a population we want to reach out to.
ASA started Transitions during the 2004-2005 academic year. When we are notified by a school, either directly or through NSLDS reporting, that a student has dropped out of school, our repayment counselors call the student directly. During our first year of Transitions, we attempted contact with 3,037 students who were reported as withdrawn. We successfully contacted 72.5 percent of those individuals either by phone or direct mail. Specifically, we spoke to 19 percent of them by phone. When we actually reached a withdrawn borrower and offered our assistance, a huge 89 percent of them wanted our help. Most of them intend on returning to school and need information about deferments.
ASA is continuing this project for the current academic year, and we have added an e-mail component to the program. Our Journeys program has indicated the success of communicating with students by e-mail (see 5/01/06 entry). It is still early to measure the exact impact of Transitions on default, but the response from borrowers we successfully contact is incredibly strong and an indication that this population is receptive to our assistance.
I am curious if schools have targeted this population of withdrawn students in their default prevention programs. Since this is a relatively new area for ASA, I would like to hear from schools that have any insight into this population. Is there anything you have to offer?
Best,
Duane
Posted by Duane Quinn on May 22, 2006 at 03:25 PM 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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