# Presentation: 111857

## Schools’ Best Electronic Practices  (Private Institutions)                       Electronic Stafford Processing

**Brent Tener                                    *****Vanderbilt University***
***b.tener@vanderbilt.edu***

## Vanderbilt Profile

- Private, high cost institution
- Mostly full-time students
- Most students are awarded and borrow the maximum Stafford
- Low default rate
- Great loan staff (2 FTE support staff)
- 90% borrow through a recommended lender
- Utilize serial MPN with passive confirmation
- Commonline IV processing

- Session 7-

## Vanderbilt Profile, cont.	

- PeopleSoft Financial Aid Module (currently “stand alone”)
- Use Sallie Mae OpenLineSS product for transmitting files
- Loan Volume
- Stafford $40 million
- PLUS $8 million
- Alternative $10 million

- Session 7-

## What Makes This Process “Best” For Vanderbilt?

- As with any technological advance, it works for us because it fits into the overall business process picture.
- The new pillow analogy
- We try not to suffer from technology envy and select the advancements that make the most sense and achieve the biggest “bang for our buck.”
- I think of technology and implementation as a continuum with no end.

- Session 7-

## Goals

- Maintain control over the paper MPN process.
- Recommend multiple lenders with a variety of servicers.
- Gear process to communicate with student via mail.
- Wait until the last possible minute to certify.
- Stafford eligibility to allow for students to reduce amount and to allow for other changes to take place (eg. additional sources of aid).

- Session 7-

## Definitions

- New Borrowers
- Defined as new students to Vanderbilt, or
- Returning students who have not previously borrowed at Vanderbilt
- Serial Borrowers
- Defined as students who borrowed at Vanderbilt the prior year

- Session 7-

## Current MPN Process

- What do we do for new students?
- New borrowers receive a customized, pre-printed MPN in the mail with instructions to complete and return to our office.
- The student must select the lender from provided lender list.
- Electronic certification for electronic lenders after verification (99% are electronically certified).
- Paper certification for all others after verification.
- Pre-printed application includes school code and name in the event the MPN is returned to the lender.
- Student receives amount indicated on award letter unless we are otherwise notified.

- Session 7-

## Current MPN Process, cont.

- What do we do for returning students?
- Returning borrowers are automatically approved for and receive the amount indicated on award letter, unless we are otherwise notified.
- Previous lender is stored in our system.
- Electronic certification for electronic lenders after verification.
- Paper certification for all others after verification.

- Session 7-

## Current MPN Process, cont.

- Why this works for Vanderbilt
- Less paper to handle, more time for other tasks.
- The “gamble” of waiting to certify pays off.
- Our system setup easily supports the serial process so little data entry is required to process returning students.
- Loan increases are easily requested through electronic processing.

- Session 7-

## What We Could Do                        (And Why We Don’t)

- Have the student download the MPN, complete and return to either us or the lender.
- We believe that mail still works better for our students.
- Most of our parents are involved in the process; they like paper.
- Have the student identify the lender up front then have the lender mail the MPN.
- If you are going to have a mechanism to collect the lender information, why not just collect the information on the MPN itself as this eliminates one transaction.

- Session 7-

## Other Processes We Utilize

- Electronic entrance counseling for select students.
- Still use group sessions for law, business and graduate nursing students.
- We process a good number of alternative loans for undergraduate and graduate students.
- Customized processes designed to meet the needs of graduate professional schools.
- Customized alternative loan product with a lender designed to replace institutionally funded loan program.

- Session 7-

## Slide 12