As part of NASFAA's efforts to provide institutions with many options to ensure loan access during the recent credit crunch, the association is collaborating with the National Direct Student Loan Coalition (NDSLC) to help institutions that want to transition to Direct Lending.
The NDSLC has begun identifying colleagues who are willing to help institutions that want to make the switch to the Direct Loan Program, and plans to create a Web resource page to help connect these institutions.
Instead of duplicating this effort, NASFAA is wholeheartedly endorsing the efforts of the NDSLC and assisting in any way it can by publicizing the NDSLC press release announcing this new program and hosting links to the NDSLC Web resource so interested members will have direct access to professionals willing to assist with the switch from FFELP to Direct Loans.
NASFAA will continue work with NDSLC to ensure that institutions that choose to switch to the Direct Loan program have the resources they need to make a smooth transition.
[The following is a NDSLC press release]
With a number of banks and other private lenders opting out of the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP), many colleges and universities are turning to the Federal Direct Student Loan Program (DL) to secure student loans in time for fall. Financial aid administrators whose schools must transition quickly from the FFELP to the Direct Loan Program can look to their colleagues at Direct Lending schools for immediate support and solutions, according to the National Direct Student Loan Coalition (NDSLC).
While implementing Direct Lending is not difficult, the transition from the FFELP to DL may require aid administrators to change certain processes and/or systems. The NDSLC, an alliance of 1,100 colleges and universities currently participating in the Federal Direct Loan Program, is offering support and resources to colleagues, to aid in the procedural, technical, and communication issues involved in setting up DL at their institutions.
To support implementation at the transitioning schools, the NDSLC has initiated a mentor program with experts from similar institutions available to assist financial aid administrators with the procedural and business decisions involved in the move to DL. In addition, volunteer mentors from Direct Loan schools can be consulted for technical advice on issues such as vendor software setup, implementation, and operation in support of Direct Loan processing.
The Direct Loan Coalition offers several information and communication tools that can be used to quickly bring financial aid administrators up to speed on the program. Among the tools are an information template which can be customized for an institution to educate senior management on the benefits of the Direct Loan Program and a checklist for navigating the transition from the FFELP to direct lending. Suggested activities, resources, and references are included in the checklist.
Finally, to address schools' immediate need for information about the Direct Loan Program, the Coalition and the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) will present a webinar for campus business officers, scheduled for May 20. The Coalition is also working with other organizations such as AACRAO and NASFAA to assist schools that are moving to Direct Lending.
If you would like more information about the NDSLC and its resources for schools in transition, or if you are currently a direct lending institution who wants to help other schools make the transition, please contact Roberta Johnson, National Chair, at 515-294-0109 (rljohns@iastate.edu) or Nancy Hoover, Vice Chair, at 740-587-6629 (hoover@denison.edu).
Posted 05/06/08 to www.NASFAA.org. Redistribution to non-NASFAA institutions is prohibited. Please submit Web Site questions or comments to Web@NASFAA.org.
