2015 NYSFAAA ConferenceTuesday, October 27,20151:45pm to 2:45pm

A CAMPUS ADAPTABLE APPROACH TO DEFAULT PREVENTION

Patricia Thompson, Assistant Vice Chancellor, Student Financial

Aid Services

State University of New York (SUNY) System Administration

Email: Patricia.thompson@suny.edu

James Trimboli, Director of Financial Aid

SUNY Niagara County Community College (NCCC)

Email: jtrimboli@niagaracc.suny.edu

Carissa Uhlman, Vice President of Student Success

Inceptia

Email: carissau@inceptia.org

Presenters

Discuss SUNY’s campus adaptable approach to

Default Prevention using customized early

Outreach communications during targeted

periods of early enrollment.

Session Objective

• The nation’s largest comprehensive system of public higher education • 64 institutions: including research universities, acad. med centers, liberal arts colleges, cc’s, agric. + tech. institutions and a growing online learning network • 465,000 students and 2.4 mil alumni worldwide • 88,000 faculty + staff

SUNY is …SUNY is…

• A traditional community college located between Buffalo, New York and Niagara Falls, New York- two of the poorest cities in America • The first SUNY CC to participate in the Smart Track Student Engagement Project • Continues to show downward CDR trend

NCCC is…

Building upon nearly 30 years of higher education experience, helping more than 2 million students in their pursuit of higher education and financial management success, Inceptia was the successful bidder and vendor for SUNY Smart Track’s Financial Literacy Initiative.

Inceptia is…

Default Prevention with a Student Retention Twist!

• Initial project concept developed after Dept.of Education (ED) announced move to 3 year CDR Format

• ED anticipated nationwide rise in CDRs: wider net of possible defaults, in all college sectors.

• ED also encourages a default prevention approach that promotes student success and financial wellness.

Project Concept

Just the facts…

According to federal data and research studies:

• Student Success is directly equated to Completion;

• Default is also directly related to Student Success, not necessarily student loan debt;

• Most defaulters borrow only $5,000 and withdraw during their 1st semester;

Just the facts (cont’d)…According to federal data and research studies:

• Freshman Surveys continually report that many incoming students are not academically prepared and are experiencing financial distress;

• According to ED, a large majority of defaulters are not contacted during their grace period and/or periods of delinquency prior to default-leading SUNY to focus on enrolled borrower communications.

Project Considerations

• Attack default prevention as a campus-wide issue. • SUNY also uses System expertise as a Shared Resource.

• Identify Campus “Best Practices”-Incorporate into plan

• Use an “Intrusive Counseling” Model by proactively reaching out to students during early periods of enrollment-when students are most likely to withdraw and later default

Project Steps• Establish an in-house campus wide default prevention taskforce of FA staff and other campus offices

• Use available NSLDS data to identify 1st-time, freshman DL borrowers.

• As previously noted - those most likely to withdraw and later default - using identified parameters from the following NSLDS Reports: 

• School Portfolio Report (SCHPR1), • Borrower Demographic Report (SCHBR1)

Project Steps (cont’d)…NSLDS Reference Purposes:

• SUNY Default Prevention/Smart Track Student Engagement Project campuses order early semester Fixed-width/Extract Format Files from NSLDS and then upload them to System using encryption/decryption software where data filtering is completed.

• Non-SUNY campuses could order the files directly from NSLDS and upload data into in-house email platform.

Project Steps (cont’d)…NSLDS Reference Purposes:

• NSLDS 1st time DL borrower data accuracy has ranged from 78% to 92%.

• Notable reasons for missing/delayed data include: • Late loan certifications, • Late admits or • General NSLDS reporting delays

Project Steps (cont’d.)

Develop student engagement email communications in collaboration with other campus offices

• Consider short, text-like communications that reinforce industry known retention and default risk factors

Project Steps (cont’d.)

Develop student engagement email communications in collaboration with other campus offices

• Promote campus resource links that identify support and continually reinforce the following:

• Academic assistance and advisement• Personal and crisis counseling• Career guidance and change of major counseling• On-campus clubs and organizations• Ongoing campus events • Social media links• Consequences for withdrawing and potential effect on

financial aid• Financial Literary services and other financial management

resources

Why Promote Financial Literacy?

“Given the wide array of talent and enthusiasm that exists on every university campus, the creation of a successful financial literacy program can be achieved by harnessing and channeling those skills and energy into a financial literacy program that fits the institution and its students. Collaboration was the key to our first-year success.”

Irene Jasper

Duke University

Unified Front: A Campus-Wide Approach

Why we all need to be cogs in the machine• President & Board• Admissions Officers• Enrollment Managers• Bursar/Business Office• Student Affairs Directors• Faculty Members• Alumni/Giving Office

Action Items: Advising

Training

• Conduct training on the interrelated nature of SAP, financial aid, and enrollment.

Wiki

• Create an internal financial aid Wiki that will serve as reference when information is needed.

Cheat Sheet

• Develop a one-page “cheat sheet” of how schedule changes can effect a student’s financial aid status.

Action Items: Career Services

First Year Students •Ask first year students to research career trends and employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Workshops •Co-sponsor workshops with Financial Aid or a credit counseling professional to discuss the link between employment and credit history.•Create brochures to disseminate the information to all students.

First Year Students •If you are NOT interacting with first year students, make this a priority!•Emphasize the importance of planning for the future so they can avoid making costly financial mistakes while in school.

Action Items: Alumni Office

Networking Events •Sponsor networking events with students and alumni to help foster a focus on career participation and degree completion.

Workshops

• Solicit alumni in the financial field to host workshops on a variety of finance related topics for students:Budgeting, saving, investing, FAFSA renewal, tax preparation, etc.

Graduation Fair •Sponsor a graduation fair that allows students to complete graduation requirements in one spot, including the opportunity to complete exit counseling and have their repayment questions answered.

Delivery of Student Retention/Default Prevention Emails

• Generate email communications according to pre- determined delivery timelines that should correspond with a school’s academic calendar. For example:

• To increase Social Adaption, send an early semester ‘Join a Campus Club’ email

• To Prevent early withdrawal, send a ‘Don’t Drop Out’ email during Thanksgiving break

• Send an ‘Academic Assistance is Available” email prior to final exams week

Student Email Addresses

• Send outreach emails to known NSLDS email address of record and IF KNOWN by campus, a 2nd personal email address of record

• Note: Keep in mind that most students will likely stop using a college provided email address upon separation from campus

Links to NCCC Pages as well as NCCC social media

Smart Track Student Engagement Email Examples

Smart Track Student Engagement Email Examples

Good Campus Practices for Consideration

• Notify affected campus office PRIOR to sending student engagement email so staff will be prepared for (hopefully)increased foot traffic and/or student inquiries

• Attempt to track and resolve undeliverable emails – discuss process for campus collaboration. If new student contact information is identified - report updates NSLDS. New demographic data will be reflected in Subsequent NSLDS file uploads.

• Note: Using NSLDS populated email data, to date SUNY has experienced very few undeliverable emails.

Project Evaluation

Continue to communicate with your Default PreventionTaskforce to evaluate the following:

• What email communications appeared to be the most successful in regards to increases in foot traffic and/or student inquiries?

• How many Student Financial Literacy accounts were created after promoting available free services?

Project Evaluation (cont’d.)

Continue to communicate with your Default PreventionTaskforce to evaluate the following:

• Consider an intake mechanism in all campus offices to identify how/why the was directed to that office for assistance, It could be a e-student intake form or as simple as a paper record

• Review post-semester NSLDS data to determine if students are still enrolled

Student Success and Default Prevention are directly related to College Completion!

Questions?