| Sign
up for our first Web Conference on mycampusloan.com
and E-Exit scheduled for April 29 at 1:00
PM. For more details click here.
To sign up, e-mail our Administrative
Assistant. |
Perkins
Funding Crisis
On March 17, the House passed H. Con. Res. 95, which is the
House FY 2006 budget resolution. The resolution provides $843
billion in discretionary spending and contains budget reconciliation
instructions requiring approximately $21.7 billion in savings
over the next five years from the House Education and Workforce
Committee. Included in the language is the assumption that $6.7
billions of the savings would come from loan programs. The Committee
is asked to make these changes in these savings by September
16, 2005.
During consideration of the House budget resolution, amendments
to increase education spending were offered for Rep Obey (D-WI),
Rep. Spratt (D-SC) and the Congressional Black Caucus, which
were all defeated.
Late on Thursday, March 17, the Senate approved, by a vote of
51-49, an amendment offered by Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) to
the Senate’s Budget Resolution bill, increasing discretionary
education spending by $5.4 billion for FY2006. The amendment
would:
-
Increase the maximum Pell Grant to $4,500;
-
Add
$1.6 billion in funding for the Perkins Loan Program, TRIO,
GEAR UP and LEAP programs as well as additional funding for
Federal Work-Study and SEAG programs;
-
Provide
$23,000 for math, science, and special education teachers
who teach in high need schools; and
-
Restores the President’s proposed cuts to job training/adult
literacy.
Although this is very
positive news about the Senate, continued funding for the Perkins
program is certainly not a “done deal.” The House
version still does not fund the Perkins program. Many of you have
asked Campus Partners to assist you in creating labels to send
to your Perkins borrowers asking them for support of the Perkins
program. We’ve also added a new link to our Web site that
makes it easy for you and your borrowers to write to members of
Congress. Check it out at www.campuspartners.com/news/PerkinsFundingCrisisResourcePage.html.
Working together, we can make a difference!
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Campus
Partners-Leading By Example
The senior
leadership and staff at Campus Partners has been very busy this
month working on advocacy efforts on behalf of the Perkins Loan
Program. Even before the submission of the FY2006 budget in
early February, the Campus Partners leadership team had begun
a lobbying campaign to educate elected members of Congress on
the critical role that the Perkins program plays in financing
the higher education ambitions of our nation’s neediest
students. Paul Carey, Chairman of Campus Partners, who brings
vast experience in the legislative arena, is personally coordinating
our advocacy efforts. Saving the Perkins program is our highest
priority.
To that end, Mark Olson, our EVP, Sales and Marketing, organized
an effort to join with other servicers to write a letter to
the Department of Education disputing the results of the PART
analysis. As you may know, the PART analysis, released last
summer, criticized the effectiveness of the Perkins loan program.
Mark recently received a response from the Department, which
indicated that it is standing behind its original conclusions.
Paul and Mark also attended an all day COHEAO Commercial Group
committee meeting on March 1, which was dedicated to developing
a grass roots campaign on behalf of the Perkins Loan Program.
Paul was named as a captain for the Mid-Atlantic states and
was asked to work with a currently unnamed student loan administrator
to implement advocacy efforts in support of the Perkins program
for the region. On March 2, Paul, Mark, and Mike Carey attended
a luncheon for Congressman Howard “Buck” McKeon,
Chairman of the House Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness.
Representative McKeon, who is a leading proponent of affordable
higher education, personally told Mark and Paul that he still
supported the Perkins program.
Sharon Cameron, our Audit and Compliance Specialist, and Carolyn
Williams, our Communications Manager, coordinated a series of
employee letter-writing parties, aimed at getting a message
to our elected officials about the importance of the Perkins
loan program. Because Virginia Foxx, who represents our company’s
local district in North Carolina, is on the House Committee
on Education and the Workplace, we targeted her in the letter-writing
campaign. Every employee at Campus Partners wrote and then faxed
a heartfelt, hand-written letter to Representative Foxx (R-NC),
and several faxed letters to our state’s senators. About
half way through the letter-writing campaign, Representative
Foxx’s office contacted Campus Partners in response to
our request that she visit our company to learn more about the
Perkins program. Discussions about the visit are still underway.
You can sponsor similar letter-writing sessions at your campus.
Contact Sharon at scameron@campuspartners.com
for more information.
Campus Partners has also developed a resource page on the Perkins
funding crisis for its Web site. The page provides a complete
overview of the Perkins crisis, discussion points, contact information
for elected officials, and links to the COHEAO Web site, which
provides the easiest possible way to customize and send a letter
to your representatives and senators. Also on the page is a
link to an outstanding editorial written in support of the Perkins
Loan Program by Fern Johnson, Collections Manager at Winston-Salem
State University. Check out your local newspaper to see if they
accept guest columns. It is a great way to publicize the issue
and your representatives and senators probably employee clipping
services to monitor local interest in bills before Congress.
On March 29, Mike Carey, Mark Olson, Lisa Koniuto, Sharon Cameron
and several other managers and Csutomer Service Representatives
attended a luncheon at which Sen Richard Burr was guest speaker.
During his speech, Senator Burr mentioned his support for re-authorization
of the Higher Education Act. After the luncheon, we met Senator
Burr and Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC), and both told us
they supported continued funding for Perkins loans.
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How to Publicize
the Crisis to your Students
One of the best ways to get borrowers involved in advocating
for Perkins is to contact your current Perkins borrowers. Consider
mailing them a letter outlining the need to take action in support
of Perkins. You could refer them to the Campus Partners’
resource
page or to the COHEAO resource page at www.coheao.org.
There they can find sample letters that can be easily customized
as well as contact information for their representatives.
Please remember that Perkins funding
is still available for the 2005-2006 school year. There was
no capital contribution for this year, but funding is still
intact.
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of page ^
COHEAO
Launches New Online Tool
COHEAO has added a new online system that allows you to contact
your Representatives and Senators. Go to www.coheao.org
and click on the “Click HERE to send a letter to Congress”
link. The choices include writing letters as a school, parent,
undergraduate student, and graduate student. Be sure to customize
the letter in the appropriate sections before clicking “send.”
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of page ^
Education
Department Update-New Poverty Guidelines
The Department
of Health and Human Services (HHS) has posted the new poverty
levels for 2005. The poverty levels listed below must be used
to establish the eligibility of a Perkins borrower for economic
hardship deferment under regulation 674.34(e)(3), which measures
the borrower’s income against the poverty line for a family
of two.
You may view the Poverty
Guidelines for this and previous years on the HHS Web site at
http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/05poverty.shtml.
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of page ^
Fiscal Operations Report for 2004-2005
and Application to Participate for 2006-2007 (FISAP) and Reallocation
Form E40-4P (NOTICE)
Comments are invited by April 18, 2005 on revisions to the Fiscal
Operations Report for 2004-2005 and Application to Participate
for 2006-2007 (FISAP) and Reallocation Form E40-4P. Campus Partners
submitted a request for changes to Part III, Section B., Item
Numbers 8. and 9. Schools were not being given credit for the
collection of borrower payments whose loans were paid in full.
Based on the revisions included in this document, these changes
have now been included to count borrowers whose loans are in
default more than 2 years and up to 5 years (8.) as well as
borrowers whose loans are in default more than 5 years (9.).
To view the documents and details on the changes, go to: http://edicsweb.ed.gov/browse/downldatt.cfm?pkg_serial_num=2658.
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of page ^
Non-Federal Share of FSEOG Awards
The Department of Education (ED) has published Dear Colleague
Letter CB-5-03 that contains a discussion of the use of state
grant and scholarship awards for meeting the nonfederal share
requirement for the FSEOG program for the 2004-05 award year.
The attachment to this letter is a listing, by state, of the
percentage of each state’s awards that can be used for
the FSEOG non-federal share. For additional information, go
to: http://www.ifap.ed.gov/dpcletters/CB0503.html.
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of page ^
Application
and Verification Guide Section of FSA Handbook Posted
FSA has published the Application and Verification Guide section
of the Award Year 2005-2006 FSA Handbook. A print version will
be mailed to all schools participating in FSA programs. This
publication is intended for financial aid administrators and
counselors who help students begin the student aid process—including
information on filing the FAFSA, verifying information, and
making corrections, and other changes to the information reported
on the FAFSA. To view this information, go to: www.IFAP.ed.gov.
The Federal Student Aid Handbook is under the heading “Publications.”
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of page ^
First
Pell Grant Administrative Cost Allowance Payments for 2004-2005
ED began processing the Administrative Cost Allowance (ACA)
payments for all schools on March 5, 2005. Schools will begin
to see these payments deposited directly into their bank accounts
over the next few weeks. Read more on the Pell Grant ACA at
http://www.ifap.ed.gov/eannouncements/0307pellacapayment0405.html.
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Reminder to Bill for Interest
Payments During Forbearance Periods
If you are sending a request for forbearance to Campus Partners
on an HPSL or NSL loan, we will process this type deferment
with a Deferment Plan 2. A Plan 2 allows System III to bill
the borrower during the period of forbearance. Applicable HPSL
regulations published in the Student Financial Aid Guidelines,
Chapter 4, Section 6, H. read:
During periods of forbearance, interest continues to accrue
on the unpaid principal balance of the loan. Further, a minimum
payment must be made on all accrued interest during the period
in which the borrower is in forbearance (e.g., six months, one
year). Schools are urged to make every effort to keep forbearance
periods to a minimum, because the borrower may be faced with
unmanageable payments as a result of the reduced period of time
for making payments.
This same text is included in Chapter 4, Section 5, I. for Nursing
loans. The maximum repayment period remains 10 years for both
loans types, and includes the period of time the borrower is
in forbearance, as forbearance is considered a period of repayment.
You may consult these guidelines as well as other information
published by HHS at: http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/dsa/weblinks.
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of page ^
Welcome
Back, Pattie Mastin
We are pleased to announce that Pattie Mastin has been hired
as the Account Manager for the Central Region. Many of you will
remember Pattie, who previously worked for our company as a
School Relations Coordinator and as an Account Executive. Because
of Pattie’s past experience, she is already on the road
calling on customers in her region. She recently conducted the
Virginia Regional Meeting on March 7 at the University of Richmond
and is scheduled to conduct the Illinois Regional Meeting on
May 23. The only training that Pattie needed focused on all
the new products that were developed in the past year. “I
could not believe all the great things that have happened since
I left the company. I am looking forward to introducing all
our new products to customers,” said Pattie. Look for
an “Inside Campus Partners” feature on Pattie in
next month’s Campus Partners Update.
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Coming
Soon to System3i: The Loan Verification Certificate
Screen
Campus Partners will soon
add functionality to System 3i to assist customers
in completing Federal Consolidation Loan Verification Certificates
(LVC). The new screen can be printed and attached to the LVC.
Please see next month’s “How To” to learn
more about using the Loan Verification Certificate Screen. Many
of our customers have requested that we provide this functionality
in System 3i, and we are pleased to offer this tool
to you.
The Loan Verification Screen provides the following information:
-
Campus Partners name and address as the institution and address
where payoff payments should be sent
-
Borrower’s
social security number
-
Borrower’s address and telephone number
-
Anticipated
Loan Payoff Date
-
Borrower’s
account number
-
Program/Loan/Sequence number
-
Loan Type
-
Current
Guarantor Abbreviation
-
First/Only
Disbursement Date
-
Interest Rate
-
Borrower
Status Code
-
Next/First
Payment Due
-
Current
Principal Balance
-
Payoff
Amount as of the Anticipated Loan Payoff Date
-
Daily
Interest Accrual
- Total Payoff Amount
The new Loan Verification Screen may be printed by clicking on the
“printer” icon at the top of the screen. After printing,
sign the bottom of the original LVC form and simply attach the printout
of the Loan Verification Screen to the original request and forward
both documents to the requestor.
Providing new tools that increase efficiencies within your office
is our goal at Campus Partners!
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Preparing
for Exit Interview Season
In past years, we have always reminded customers of our exit
interview services at this time of the year. Our traditional
exit interview products and services are still available, but
we would like you to consider using E-Exit,
our online exit interview product. By using E-Exit, you are
free of most of the time-consuming tasks associated with conducting
exit interview counseling sessions, including arranging exit
counseling sessions for students who leave school unexpectedly
and are already miles away from campus. Your borrowers can complete
their exit interview, download required forms, and even e-sign
their interviews from any computer with Internet access.
For more information on any of our exit interview products,
please contact your Customer Service Representative. A repeat
of “How to Use
E-Exit,” published in August is available in this
month’s Update. Our first Web conference, which
is scheduled for April 29, will include an on-line tour of E-Exit.
(Please see the related article below for more details.)
We still
can provide complete Exit Interview Packages for scheduled visits
and an on-line Exit Interview feature through DataLink for drop-in
students. For more information on our traditional exit interview
products, go to our "How
To" on ordering exit interview packages.
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Get Ready for Year-End Processing
June 30 is just three months away. Use this checklist to close
your fiscal year successfully:
-
Reconcile
loan and accounting information.
· Reconcile all disbursements for the year.
· Correct and return all unpostable new loans and advances.
· Check and update separation dates.
· Reconcile your general ledger.
-
Determine
special needs and communicate them to us.
· Contact your auditors to determine their needs for
reports.
· Provide instructions for special mailing requirements
for year-end reports.
· Submit change/adjustment requests for processing.
-
Work the Cohort Default Rate Report.
· Provide your Customer Service Representative with
requests for coding changes.
With the end of the
fiscal year approaching, our goal is to process all requests
for changes in a timely manner. All requests arriving by regular
mail, overnightmail, fax, DataLink Dispatch, or e-mail are processed
in the order that we receive them.
Deadlines for receipt in our office are:
-
June 9 Requests for duplicate reports
-
June
10 Requests for special mailing of year-end reports
-
June
24 Requests for Change/Adjustment memos
-
July
1 Year-end post begins
Remember you can use eXpressReports to access your
fiscal year-end reports immediately following year-end processing.
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Data Center
Transition
Our data center transition to Infocrossing
has been completed. Infocrossing is a leading provider of outsourced
data center and IT solutions, and counts many leading companies
in the United States as its customers. More information about
infocrossing is available at their Web site, www.infocrossing.com.
Please
remember to send tapes to the following address. Make sure that
your tape is accompanied by a cover letter, describing the content
of the tape you are submitting.
Infocrossing Southeast
6620 Bay Circle
Norcross, GA 30071
Attn: Victor Calle (678)728-1603 Re: Campus Partners
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DocumentDirect
Discontinued
We have replaced DocumentDirect with eXpressReports,
our on-line report management tool, and myReports, our ad hoc
reporting product. If you already have a DocumentDirect
ID and password, you can use eXpressReports immediately.
Just click on the eXpressReports icon on the home page
of www.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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of page ^
ZIP + 4 Software
Removal
On March 9, 2005, Campus Partners removed ZIP + 4 software from
System III. On-line address changes no longer update the + 4
portion of the zip code if it is not entered as part of the
address. However, if the + 4 portion of the zip code is entered,
it will be updated and retained as part of the address.
Zip codes, including the + 4 portion, have been and will continue
to be validated and updated as appropriate when billing statements
are created and printed. Any updates that are made to zip codes
at that time will be returned to System III for update.
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Web
Conferencing
Campus Partners will present our first Web Conference on April
29 at 1:00 PM Eastern, which will include an overview of www.mycampusloan.com,
E-Exit, and E-Bill.
LaShonda Hairston, Account Manager-North, will be the moderator
for this training event, which will allow you to see the presentation,
tour our borrower Web site, and learn more about E-Exit and
E-Bill without leaving your computer. To participate, all you
need are a telephone and a computer with Internet access. You
do not have to download any software, and even the cost of the
telephone call is free to you.
If you are interested in participating, e-mail Debra Pitts,
our Administrative Assistant, by April 26. Debra’s Web
address is dpitts@campuspartners.com.
We will send you an invitation to the online training session
and easy to understand instructions for connecting to the Web
conference. If you have questions about Web conferencing, please
call Carolyn Williams, Communications Manager, at 336-607-2383,
or visit the Web site of our Web Conferencing vendor, www.genesys.com.
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Happy 40th Anniversary, Campus
Partners
| 
|
Headlines
from 1965
Martin
Luther King Jr. leads march from Selma to Montgomery,
Alabama joined by 25,000 marchers |
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of page ^
Teleseminar
Training
Our second year of teleseminar
training was a success. Thanks go to all who participated and
provided feedback. Offering this training provides us the opportunity
to reach out to schools who cannot attend Student Loans 101
or 202 workshops in Winston-Salem. Each teleseminar is
geared toward understanding a particular area of student loans
and is an opportunity to gain new insight, ask questions, and
hear helpful feedback from other schools.
As we prepare for the upcoming year, we look forward to continuing
this service. Teleseminars are usually offered the second Monday
of each month from 2:00 to 3:30 ET. If you want to participate
in these training sessions, just e-mail Debra Pitts at dpitts@campuspartners.com
at least three days before the scheduled teleseminar to register.
She will notify you of the telephone number that you need to call
in a return e-mail. The training is free and well worth your time.
2005
Teleconference Training Schedule
| April 11, 2005 |
2:00 p.m. ET |
| myReports |
| May 9, 2005 |
2:00 p.m. ET |
| What Happens
When a Borrower Goes Into Collections* |
| June 13, 2005 |
2:00 p.m. ET |
| How to
Read History* |
| July 11, 2005 |
2:00 p.m. ET |
| FISCOP
Preparation |
| August 8, 2005 |
2:00 p.m. ET |
| How to
Evaluate Deferment and Forbearance Requests* |
| September 12, 2005 |
2:00 p.m. ET |
| Open Topic |
| October 10, 2005 |
2:00 p.m. ET |
| What is
Rehabilitation and How Borrowers Can Benefit* |
| November 14, 2005 |
2:00 p.m. ET |
| How to
Use and Interpret Reports from Campus Partners |
| December 12, 2005 |
2:00 p.m. ET |
| Open Topic |
Workshops
We have scheduled our popular Student Loans 101 and 202 workshops
for the following dates. As the Update is published, a few spaces
are still available in Student Loans 202, which will
be held April 7 and 8. If you are interested in signing up, please
call Debra Pitts at 1-800-458-4492, ext. 2272.
| Student
Loans 101 |
Student
Loans 202 |
| |
April
7 and 8, 2005 |
| November
3 and 4, 2005 |
October
6 and 7, 2005 |
| |
|
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.
Attachments:
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 interestedin hosting one of these meetings
listed below, please contact your Account Manager.
| Date |
Location |
Host |
| May 3 |
Alabama |
University of Alabama-Birmingham |
| May 23 |
Illinois (Chicago) |
Northwestern University |
| July 22 |
Washington |
Seattle Pacific University |
| July |
Northern California |
|
| July |
Southern California |
|
| August |
South Carolina |
|
| August 26 |
New York |
Culinary Institute of America |
| August |
Ohio |
|
| October |
Massachusetts |
|
| October |
Nebraska |
|
| TBD |
Pennsylvania |
|
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Conference
Schedule
Representatives
from Campus Partners will attend the conferences listed below.
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.
The Ohio Bursars
Association Spring Conference will be held April 11-13
at the Marcum Conference Center and Inn in Miami, OH. The
number for the hotel is 513-529-2104.
The CAASLAR
Conference will be held April 21-22 in Beaver Creek,
Colorado at the Park Hyatt Beaver Creek Spa. The number for the
hotel is 970-949-1234, ext. 6636. Brad Resler,
our Account Executive, will speak at this 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. Mark Olson,
our Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing, will speak
at the conference.
The KASRO Spring
Conference will be held April 27-28 at the General Butler
State Resort in Carrollton, KY. The number for the hotel is 1-866-462-8853.
Conference information is available at www.kasro.net.
The UASLA Conference
will be held in Park City, Utah on May 12-13 at the Silver Key
Hotel in Park City, UT. The number for the hotel is 800-331-8652.
The PAC 10 Conference
will be held on July 17-20 at the Resort at the Mountain located
at Mt. Hood in Oregon. The number for the hotel is 800-669-7666.
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Cutoff
Dates
Cutoff
dates for March, April, May, and June are presented below.
Transaction |
March 2005 |
April
2005 |
May
2005 |
June
2005 |
| Last day to receive collection payments |
3/28/05 |
4/26/05 |
5/24/05 |
6/27/05 |
| Last day to receive regular payments |
3/29/05 |
4/27/05 |
5/2505 |
6/28/05 |
| Last day for online payments |
4/1/05 |
4/29/05 |
5/27/05 |
7/01/05 |
| Date final post begins |
4/1/05 |
4/29/05 |
5/27/05 |
7/01/05 |
| Report date used for final post |
3/31/05 |
4/30/05 |
5/31/05 |
6/30/05 |
| Last day deposits created for deposit to bank account |
3/31/05 |
4/29/05 |
5/27/05 |
6/30/05 |
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| One
Stop Shop
To
resolve technical issues faster, we are merging our Help
Desk with Customer Service. For all your inquiries, please
call your Customer Service Representative. |
|
