COHEAO Teleconference Suggestions

Harrison Wadsworth, the Executive Director of COHEAO, moderated the COHEAO conference on December 9, 2004. Panelists were Robert “Bo” Newsome, Director of Outreach and State Relations for the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU), and Chris Simmons, Assistant Director of Government Relations for the American Council on Education (ACE). COHEAO, NAICU, and ACE are all working closely with the Student Aid Alliance to get Perkins funding levels re-established. In opening remarks, Wadsworth called the current funding situation the “biggest crisis in the program’s history.” He also said that it is the first time in 25 years that Congress has voted not to fund the program, which could be a forewarning of attempts to eliminate the program. Wadsworth feels that the tide can be reversed if schools, students, and university business partners advocate for the program.

Here are some suggestions from the experts on effectively communicating your concerns with lawmakers.

• Tell personal stories about the impact of the Perkins program on your students and the university.
• Mobilize your students by sending a news release or letter to your student newspaper. Explain that even if students do not receive a Perkins loan, eliminating the funding source will mean a smaller funding pool for all students.
• Send e-mails to your congressman. The Student Aid Alliance Web site, www.studentaidalliance.org, maintains links to Congressional and Senatorial Web sites, which provide complete contact information for each representative or senator. You can even follow the links to send e-mails to your representatives directly from their Web sites.
• Be sure to include your name, address, and zip code in e-mails so your representative will know that you are from their district.
• If you send a letter through traditional mail, keep in mind that it may take weeks for it to be delivered because all mail to Congress is screened for anthrax or other bioterror agents.
• If you do send a letter, send it via fax and then mail it.
• Personal letters are best, but form letters that you personalize are also effective.
• Contact your representative’s home office in the district and speak to their staff.
• Visit your representative’s home office and take students with you.
• Build relationships with your district’s home office staff and become a resource to them on information about higher education funding.
• In addition to anecdotal information, gather information about the fiscal impact of zero funding or elimination of the Perkins program on your campus.
• Consider donating to your representative’s campaign fund. Even a $100 donation may get you invited to a coffee for the candidate. Remember that staggered term congressional and senatorial elections take place in two years.
  

Wadsworth and the panelists believe that by building a “constant murmur of support” the Perkins program can be saved. Campus Partners is committed to building that murmur support or even a roar of support among the industry. If you have any questions or suggestions about this issue, please contact your Account Representative or Sharon Cameron, Audit and Compliance Specialist at Campus Partners. You can e-mail her at scameron@campuspartners.com or call her at 1-800-458-4492, ext. 2060.

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Consider Assigning Old Loans to ED

As you already know, the Education Department (ED) is scrutinizing collection activity on your loans that are between two to five years past due and more than five years past due. We realize that five years past due may be a bit early to assign a loan to ED, but you may want to look at old loans that have not had any recent activity. Based on information that we have received from COHEAO, the perception is that as much as $1 billion in defaulted Perkins loans have not been assigned to ED, and this is one of the major reasons that ED is criticizing the Perkins Loan program.

We also realize that once you assign a loan to ED, all funds that are collected become the property of the U.S. Government and are not returned to the Perkins loan fund. Most importantly, schools will lose their institutional contribution for these loans. Assigning loans due to default will not remove that borrower’s loan from your cohort default rate. However, this may show ED that schools are “working” this program to ensure that it is operating well.

Campus Partners can assist you in the process of assigning these old loans to ED. For more information you can go to the “How To Assign a Loan” article on our Web site or contact your Customer Service Representative.

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Additional Paper Copies of 2004-2005 FAFSA Available in December


ED announced in Dear Colleague Letter GEN-04-13 that they are printing an additional 1,000,000 paper FAFSAs in order to keep up with the demand. However, to make this quantity last, ED is asking schools to save paper FAFSAs for those applicants who cannot apply electronically. To access this DCL, go to http://www.ifap.ed.gov/dpcletters/GEN0413.html.

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2005-2006 Verification Worksheets Published

ED has published the Dependent and Independent 2005-2006 Verification Worksheets in PDF format. The use of the federal verification worksheets is notrequired. An institution may use a worksheet of its own design or no worksheet at all. Institutions may also require other documentation in addition to, or instead of, a completed verification worksheet. To read more regarding this announcement, go to:
http://ifap.ed.gov/vgworksheets/0506VerifWksheets.html.

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ED Reprinting 2005-2006 Federal School Code List Booklet Due to Errors

ED discovered that the 2005-2006 Federal School Code List booklet, distributed in November, omitted some recent school updates and changes. ED is in the process of reprinting the booklet and will distribute a new Federal School Code List by the end of December. The new version will have a black and white cover and will state “UPDATED” on the front. Look for additional information once this release has been made in future publications of our Update.

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Interest Reporting in January 2005


During the first week of January, we will begin providing borrowers with information about interest paid during 2004:

• Interest paid in 2004 will be available to borrowers via our borrower Web site, mycampusloan.com, and toll-free via our Interactive Voice Response system.
• Interest paid in 2004 will be reported to borrowers on billing statements generated during January, February, March, and April.
• In early January 2005, borrowers who use AutoDraft or Coupon Book billing will receive an Annual Statement indicating interest paid in 2004.
• Borrowers who paid more than $600 in interest during 2004 to a single institution will receive Federal Tax Form 1098-E. These forms will be mailed before January month-end. Per IRS requirements, borrowers who paid interest of more than $600 will be reported to the IRS by February month-end.
  

You can obtain interest paid information for your borrowers using either System 3i, WebConnect, or your monthly Masterfile.

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Take Advantage of New Products in 2005

As you make New Year’s resolutions, resolve to make your professional life a little less stressful by taking advantage of Campus Partners’ newest products: iPROMise, E-Exit, and myReports. iPROMise is our new Web-based entrance interview counseling product. Your Web savvy students will appreciate being able to complete their entrance interview on-line and E-sign their Master Prom Note at the same time. iPROMise offers the borrower additional features such as being able to print Truth-in-Lending documents and Master Prom Note while on-line, while relieving you of some of the time consuming aspects associated with entrance interviews.

Who likes to track down borrowers to get them to complete an exit interview? With E-Exit, our Web-based exit counseling tool, you will not have to corral borrowers to have them complete an exit interview. As long as you can contact them, you can direct them to our Web site, where they can complete and E-sign their exit interview on-line. It’s convenient for both you and your borrowers and meets all Federal Perkins regulations.

myReports, our reports on demand product, promises to make a big impact on our customers, who need customized reports at a specific time. Our beta testers have found that myReports meets their needs for special reports and is easy to use. We appreciate all their feedback and will continue to seek comments and suggestions for enhancing the product after its general release in January. Please contact your Account Representative for more information on all of these products.

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DocumentDirect to be Retired

As previously announced, access to DocumentDirect will end soon. Although we originally planned to curtail access on October 15, we wanted to wait until our remaining DocumentDirect customers felt comfortable with the transition. The change will probably take place in January. Almost all our customers now use eXpressReports, our new report tool, which is very easy to use. With the launch of myReports, customers have an additional report tool.

If you already have a DocumentDirect ID and password, you can get started using eXpressReports today. Just click on the eXpressReports icon on the home page of campuspartners.com, and you are ready to go. A link to eXpressReports documentation also is available on the eXpressReports log in page. If you have questions about eXpressReports, please contact your Customer Service Representative.

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Meet Your Customer Service Representatives

Earlier this month, we mailed letters to customers announcing changes in Customer Service Representatives. Although you may be hearing a new voice on the phone, most of the newly assigned representatives have worked for us for 20 years or more, and have served as Customer Service Representatives in the past. They will be joining Wendy, Cox, Sharal Duncan, Terry Gaither, Tori Matthews, and Joel Cofer in providing our acclaimed customer service to all of you. To help you get to know the new group, we have attached a brief biography of each of the newly assigned representatives in an attachment to this month’s Update. We also have placed new contact information for representatives in our “Contact Us-Customer Service” page on www.campuspartners.com, complete with photos of teams led by Daisy Bass and Debra Adams. Look for more photos of the other teams soon.

We are profiling Carrie Gillett, one of the newly assigned representatives, in this month’s “Inside Campus Partners” feature article. Carrie has been with the company for almost five years and has extensive experience in forms processing and all areas of customer support.

Attachment: Meet Your Representatives

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Long-term Employees Recognized

Thirteen employees recently were recognized for attaining milestone anniversaries with the company during the past year. Kathy Riddle, a Customer Service Manager, was the most senior employee receiving a service award, having completed 35 years of service, and Sharon Cameron, our Audit and Compliance Specialist, was recognized for 30 years of service.

Jackie Shelton, a Servicing Support Specialist, and Terry Gaither, a Customer Service Representative, were recognized for 25 years of service, and Frankye Jones, a Servicing Support Specialist, Kim Pope, a Reconciliation/Table Control Analyst, Debbin Fallin, a Customer Service Representative, and Tomika Wallen, a Customer Service Representative, celebrated 20 years of service. Lisa King, a Business Analyst, attained 15 years of service, and Keith Myers, a Customer Service Representative, was recognized for completing 10 years of service. Those honored for 5 years of service include Judy Smith, IT Applications Manager, William Witt, Network Analyst, and Carrie Gillett, a Customer Service Representative.

In addition to these employees, Charles Parker, Ronye Blackburn, Pat Spry, and Kathy Jo Roberts, have worked for the company for over 30 years and were also recognized. We are proud to have employees with such extensive experience providing superior service to you and your borrowers.

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2004 Teleconference Training Schedule

Workshops

We have scheduled our popular Student Loans 101 and 202 workshops for the following dates. Please note that we have added an additional Student Loans 101 workshop next year due to popular demand.

   
Student Loans 101 is designed for student loan administrators who are less experienced or are new to Campus Partners. Student Loans 202 is aimed at student loan administrators with more than one year of experience. The workshops are presented at our office in Winston-Salem and are hands-on learning experiences. Each participant will work at their own computer workstation with experienced Campus Partners staff leading the training. Registration forms and other information are available on our Web site and as an attachment to this month’s Update.

Attachment:

Student Loans 101 Workshop Flyer and Registration Form

Student Loans 202 Workshop Flyer and Registration Form

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Regional Meetings

Our 2005 Regional Meeting Schedule is listed below. If you would be interested in hosting one of these meetings listed below, please contact your Account Representative.

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Conference Schedule

Representatives from Campus Partners will attend the conferences listed below.

COHEAO will hold its Annual Conference on January 30 - February 2, 2005 The conference will be held at the Ritz-Carlton-Pentagon City. More information is available at www.coheao.org. The number for the hotel is 703-415-5000.

NACUBO will hold its Student Financial Services Conference on March 6-8, 2005 at the Wyndham Palace Resort and Spa in Tampa, FL. Visit www.nacubo.org for more information. The number for the hotel is 407-827-2727.

The EARMA Annual Conference will be held on April 5-6 at the National Conference Center in Hightstown, NJ. More information is available at www.rci.rutgers.edu/~earma/. Mark Olson, our Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing, will speak at the conference.

PDG will present its 19th National Conference for College & University Bursars, Cashiers, Treasury Managers, and Student Financial Services on April 24-27 at the Marriott Rivercenter in San Antonio, TX. The Web address for PDG is www.prodev.com. The number for the hotel is 800-648-4462.

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Cutoff Dates

Cutoff dates for December 2004 and January 2005 are presented below. Cutoff Dates for 2005 follow.

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Cutoff Dates for 2005