Submitted by:  Ryan Chase, USA Funds Services

Calculator Measures Default Prevention Savings
USA Funds®’ 2001 cohort default rate fell 26 percent to its lowest level ever, 4.5 percent. If your school benefited from this default prevention success and also achieved a significant cohort rate reduction or posted a historic low default rate, you should advise your administration and your students of your achievement. In fact, you can estimate for your campus colleagues the dollar value of your default prevention success.

You can use USA Funds’ Default Prevention Savings Calculator to estimate the dollar savings to your institution’s borrowers and to U.S. taxpayers that resulted from your default prevention efforts. To use the calculator, visit www.usafunds.org/Debt_management/def_prev_meas_val.htm on the USA Funds Web site.

Focusing on and helping to reduce your institution’s default rate is a great way to increase the effectiveness and visibility of your financial aid office on campus. And there are many tools available from USA Funds that can help. Visit www.usafunds.org/debt_management/debt_mgt.htm to view information about the comprehensive support USA Funds offers to strengthen campus debt management efforts.

Workshops Coming This Spring
USA Funds plans free training sessions this spring in Arizona, with upcoming workshops set to focus on default prevention and retention, as well as a variety of other timely financial aid topics. USA Funds will offer a Default Prevention/Retention Workshop April 1 at the Doubletree Guest Suites in Phoenix. The session will help campus representatives assess their potential for improving student retention. Discussion topics will include student financial literacy, building blocks for default
prevention and retention, and the cost benefits of student retention. For more details and to register, visit the USA Funds Web site, www.usafunds.org, and select “Training.”

USA Funds’ Spring 2004 Student Loan Workshops will provide financial aid professionals across the nation with the most recent information about issues affecting their role in assisting students. Watch the USA Funds Web site for information about the dates and locations of the Arizona workshops, as well as details about featured topics for the sessions.

For more information about upcoming USA Funds training opportunities, visit the “Training” section of www.usafunds.org.

USA Funds Awards $300,000 to National Scholarship Groups
USA Funds announced the award of $300,000 in contributions to three national scholarship organizations that promote access to higher education for minority students. USA Funds awarded $100,000 each to the American Indian College Fund, the Hispanic Scholarship Fund and the United Negro College Fund. USA Funds provided the contributions for the third consecutive year as part of its mission to promote access to higher education. The funding addresses the findings of a federal advisory committee, which reported that members of ethnic-minority groups will account for a large part of the future growth in the college-going population and that these students will have significant financial need.