For more than 50 years, American Student Assistance has focused on its mission to assist students and families to successfully manage their education debt. In fact, our commitment is so great that 6 years ago we changed our business model to make borrower success our primary focus. Our success in keeping borrowers on track during every stage of repayment stems from a holistic approach we call Wellness.
Through a series of proactive outreach campaigns that comprise Wellness, we give borrowers the information they need when they need it. The results? A significant decrease in borrower delinquency and default. In short, Wellness works.
At just 1.5%, ASA’s 2005 cohort default rate is the lowest among all 35 of the nation’s FFELP guarantors, and well below the national average of 4.6%. Cohort default rates generally track borrowers in just their first 2 years of repayment.
95% of all loans in the ASA portfolio are currently not delinquent, or “in good standing.”
Our annual default “trigger” rate stands at just 1.13%, beating the national rate by an average of 44% over the past 5 years and exceeding default prevention performance goals set by the U.S. Department of Education. The trigger rate represents the total amount of loans in repayment in a guarantor’s portfolio that default in 1 year.
We’ve produced a taxpayer savings of over $40 million over the past 5 years, through prevented defaults and post-default recovery solutions that are a win-win for both borrowers and the government.
American Student Assistance takes a “prevention is the best medicine” approach to student education loan repayment. The following Wellness education and outreach services empower students to proactively manage their education debt after school as part of an overall healthy financial lifestyle.
This program is a robust combination of counseling, customized communications, and personal finance newsletters to newly graduated borrowers that provide them with the career and financial literacy information they need to establish good repayment habits.
This program is for students who withdraw from school before graduation, a population typically more at risk for repayment problems. Direct mail and phone calls provide these student loan borrowers with helpful information on options, such as returning to school and postponing loan payment, beginning standard monthly payments, or exploring alternative payment plans.
This supportive program helps defaulted borrowers avoid or reverse the many negative effects of default by guiding them toward making several consecutive payments and establishing a regular payment pattern.
We help college financial aid professionals in rounding out students’ education by giving them the tools to teach the basics of money management, budgeting, credit, and credit reports.
If you are a student loan borrower, please visit out Borrower Community to find out how ASA can help you.
