Student Lending Analytics Blog

SunTrust Cuts Student Loan Salesforce; Retrenching to Footprint States

Just received notice that SunTrust is reducing their student loan salesforce and will be focusing their efforts in their core markets of the mid-Atlantic and Southern regions.  I noticed this message on the private loan section of their website this evening (I have not checked the site recently so don't know when it originally appeared):

Blogging Student Loans: Which Lenders Have a Blog?

I thought I would do some quick research to see which student lenders have set up blogs to communicate with their customers.  Among the school-certified lenders, I found only one that had a blog, Wells Fargo:  The Student LoanDown, which they kicked off on September 5, 2006 (must be something in the drinking water in Northern California).  Why have none of the other lenders used this medium to reach out to their tech-savvy student customer base?  Given the rapidly changing environment for student loans, it would seem that a blog is an effective way to provide unfiltered information directly to students on a more frequent basis than traditional press releases. 

Citi To Reduce Headcount by Over 50,000 or 20% of Workforce

In a town hall meeting this morning, Citi announced that they would be shedding over 50,000 jobs, with roughly half coming through divestitures or asset sales and the other half from layoffs.  No specific announcements were made regarding Student Loan Corporation, of which Citi has an 80% ownership stake.  

NASFAA President to Treasury and Education: Use TARP For Private Student Loans

The NASFAA President, Dr. Phil Day, sent a letter today to Secys. Paulson and Spellings expressing his concern about the private student loan marketplace. 

His letter cites the following concerns with the market:

A Sign of the Times: Federal Student Loan Collections Agency Doubles Operations

Indystar.com is reporting that Premiere Credit, a contractor for the Department of Education, plans to hire an additional 300 collection agents and expand into an additional 25,000 sq. ft. office space.  This represents a doubling of their current operations.  The article cited the tools that collection agents have at their disposal in collecting on government student loans including:

Wells Fargo Expected to Announce Private Loan Pricing Changes This Week

Joining the other major private student lenders, Wells Fargo is expected to announce changes to the pricing of their private loan products this week.   I will pass along the specific details once they become available. 

SLA Survey to Measure Impact of Economic Crisis on Financial Aid Operations

The economic news seems to worsen on a daily basis and the world of higher education has certainly not been immune. This SLA Flash Survey seeks to understand how the financial aid office is dealing with budgetary changes and understand institutional aid expectations for 2009-10.

DC Parlor Game: Who Will Obama Tap for Secretary of Education Position?

U.S. News and World Report listed these contenders:

FastWeb Student Loan Survey Shows High Rejection Rates for Private, PLUS Loans

FastWeb recently reported results of their Student Loan Survey (click to see full survey results) conducted in October and November of 2008. While the survey was included in regular FastWeb newsletters sent to more than 6 million college students and more than 1 million parents of college students, it received only 1,202 responses (a 0.02% response rate, indicating the difficulty of getting students to respond to any survey!)

Here were the results that I was struck by:

The Financial Aid Odyssey: In Search of Volunteers

I thought it would be a useful public service to chronicle the paths of high school seniors and their families as they navigate through the financial aid process; from filing the FAFSA, sifting through  acceptance letters and financial aid award letters, to developing a financial plan for a 2 or 4 year program.  My hope would be to chronicle the paths of 3-4 students and their families from now until August/September of 2009 when they begin their college careers.   All volunteers would be guaranteed anonymity (your name would never be disclosed) and the specifics of your situation would be provided in broad terms (e.g. schools would be described as "four-year public institution in the south).