Module 4: Entrance and Exit Counseling

Introduction

Entrance and exit counseling serve as two of the most important tools in default aversion. Some financial aid offices choose to provide this vital service in person versus online.

The purpose of this training module is to establish a curriculum to assist financial aid officers with a knowledge base for conducting entrance and exit counseling sessions at their institution. Also, this module may serve as a training tool for new financial aid officers.

In developing this curriculum, it was assumed that financial aid directors generally have limited staff resources and thus are unable to monitor every counseling session. Given these conditions, financial aid directors look for materials that can help train their staff on how to effectively conduct entrance and exit counseling sessions. Since schools bear the responsibility to ensure that every borrower completes the required entrance and exit counseling sessions, it is of utmost importance to the financial aid director that staff are properly trained in meeting all regulatory requirements.

The module builds on the premise that the primary purpose of entrance and exit counseling sessions is to inform students about their rights and responsibilities as a borrower. Since students may ultimately borrow from different lenders, it is imperative that all persons conducting the session have a common knowledge base of borrower rights and responsibilities. It is also imperative that the session be conducted in a positive, ethical atmosphere. The last section of this module presents a set of principles of ethics.

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Module 4  

Want to know more about the Council? Contact Maria Luna-Torres at (800) 252-9743, ext. 4632, or send an e-mail at maria.luna-torres@tgslc.org.