Positive Forward Thinking
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.
ASA’s Cohort Default Rate
Cohort default rates (CDRs) monitor effectiveness in default prevention. They track the borrowers within a Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) participant’s portfolio who default within 2 years of entering repayment. The most current CDR tracks borrowers whose first loan repayments came due between October 1, 2006 and September 30, 2007, and who defaulted before October 2008.*
American Student Assistance® (ASA) is consistently among the lowest in the nation in CDR. At just 3.7%, ASA’s current CDR is the second lowest among all national guarantors, and well below the national average rate of 6.7%.
ASA remains committed to borrowers’ rights and debt management services, especially during these tough economic times. Now more than ever, borrowers need help successfully repaying their student loans.
* The 2008 Reauthorization of the Higher Education and Opportunity Act changed the CDR definition. Beginning in 2011, CDR will measure the percentage of borrowers who default within the first 3 years of entering repayment.
We Have More Loans in Good Standing
95% of all loans in the ASA portfolio are currently not delinquent, or “in good standing.”
We Have a Lower Default Reinsurance “Trigger” Rate
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 Save Taxpayer Dollars
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.
