Culture
We Are the Employer That Cares
We believe our people are central to our success, and we are committed to training and developing our associates and to promoting from within. As a result, many ASA associates have advanced their careers with ASA, and 24% of our core group of associates from 5 years ago is still with us today.
ASA is an exceptionally diverse workplace, with associates reflecting a broad spectrum of cultures and backgrounds. Our Council on Diversity and Engagement (CODE) encourages associates to share their life stories and experiences with their coworkers and to celebrate diversity in the workplace. We also encourage all associates, including senior staff, to participate in outreach programs in communities in the Greater Boston area.
Core Values
These values, which are at the heart of ASA, serve as the basis of our work in the financial aid industry and our interactions within the ASA community. They reflect how we work together with our customers, business partners, and one another.
- – Integrity
We commit to be honest and ethical as associates and as an organization. We are stewards of the trust of our borrowers, our schools, our lenders, and the Department of Education. Everything we do must be worthy of this trust. Only through honest and open communication with all our partners can we ensure the integrity of the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP). We believe in treating one another fairly and respectfully, keeping our promises, and maintaining our credibility. - – Respect
Respect for others should be part of every interaction. Our motto is that American Student Assistance can do well by doing good. Doing good means respecting our customers, listening to their interests, and developing options that satisfy their needs. By helping borrowers to make the right choices before borrowing, while in school and during repayment, we help them to succeed, protect the interests of the federal government, and achieve success. - – Teamwork
American Student Assistance believes that all members of the team are important contributors to the success of our mission, our customers, and our corporation. We encourage collaboration, flexibility, and a proactive, mutual gains approach. By working together in a spirit of mutual respect, we can accomplish far more than we could individually. Our ability to make every borrower successful requires the skill and commitment of every associate. - – Leadership
We value associates who are committed to doing their job to the best of their ability; take responsibility for their individual integrity and work ethic; respect their colleagues, our borrowers, other customers, and industry partners; think innovatively; and care about their own personal and professional development. We believe in leading by example both in the workplace and in the industry. - – Service
All our customers deserve excellent customer service. The United States Department of Education, our schools, our lenders, our servicers, our borrowers, and our colleagues are all valued customers and are entitled to our best efforts in every interaction. We can fulfill our mission only through excellent customer service to our internal and external customers.
Training
Our commitment is reflected in our Talent Strategy, with its focus on training, management training, and continued leadership development. We constantly reinforce our internal training program to keep our staff educated and motivated in terms of their skill development.
A key staff development program, the Arnie Sammis Leadership Development Academy, seeks to identify, motivate, develop, and retain potential ASA leaders. ASA associates who have demonstrated leadership qualities in their jobs are encouraged to apply for the year-long program, which affords a unique and rewarding learning experience. Participants are encouraged to develop and enhance their own individual leadership styles and skills.
We also encourage our associates to develop their negotiation skills and to apply the principles of mutual gains bargaining to solve problems.
Associate Satisfaction
ASA is an industry leader in customer service and satisfaction. For the past 50 years, our high-quality service has made the difference to all our clients, from student loan borrowers to financial aid professionals to our lender and servicer partners. We believe that good customer service begins at home. In order to provide good customer service to our external customers, we know that all associates must first treat one another with respect and provide good customer service internally. This “inside-out” customer service philosophy is part of the fabric of ASA. The proven success of this philosophy is reflected in the results of our 2007 Employee Opinion and Internal Customer Satisfaction Survey:
- – 85% of all employees say they are proud to work at ASA
- – 81% would recommend ASA as a good place to work
You may be interested to know that 1 in 4 of all the associates hired in 2007 was referred by another associate who is happy to work at ASA.
