As students get ready to head back to campus for the new semester, your office is already busy gearing up for the new financial aid season. (Did the pace ever slow down?) As always, our team is here with tips to save you time and ways to help you be prepared to make the new school year go as smoothly as possible.
- Make sure your FastChoice lender lists and loan disclosures are updated and ready for students to select private loans for the new semester. This article about using FastChoice™ to its maximum potential may be helpful to you. If you need help making changes to your settings, you can always contact your ScholarNet rep, too.
- Set up SmartSearches and notifications in ScholarNet® to help you streamline time-consuming tasks. You can create an unlimited number of SmartSearches specific to your needs, subscribe to receive regular reports, and set up notifications to efficiently help you manage tasks. If you have questions, reach out to your rep—she’ll be happy to help.
- With federal student loans in repayment, cohort default rate will eventually come into play. Have you considered how you’re going to track it? How does your office plan to help former students who may be struggling with repayment now in order to prevent issues with your cohort default rate later? Learn more about Portfolio Navigator, a unique default management and delinquency outreach solution that’s free to schools using ScholarNet as their primary private loan processing platform.
- Provide training and resources for new team members. Do you have new staff members in your office? These helpful resources may be useful in getting new team members up to speed quickly so they can help ease the stress of a new semester.
- Stay up-to-date on the latest news in financial aid and higher education. As quickly as things change in our field, it’s helpful to frequently check these news sources, follow key channels, and sign up for newsletters if you haven’t already.
- Brush up on ScholarNet and FastChoice—and learn more about how Portfolio Navigator works. An easy way to make sure you’re using all the resources the ScholarNet team provides to their maximum capabilities is to sign up for our free webinars. Our expert trainers can point out features you may not even be aware of that will streamline and automate private loan processing, saving you more time out of your day. Plus, you can learn how easy default management and delinquency outreach can be with a unique solution that allows you to target groups based on your available time.
We’re Here for You
We wish you all the best as you prepare to work with students and families in the new academic year. We understand the challenges you face—and we’re fully aware of all the ways ScholarNet and FastChoice can simplify private loan processing for you. If you have specific questions or concerns as you head into the new school year, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our Care Team. That’s exactly why we’re here.
This post was originally published in July 2022 and has been updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.