Default Prevention

For more information, send an email to:

TG Default Aversion
defaultaversion@tgslc.org

Counseling borrowers

At some point in their post-college careers, many borrowers encounter repayment challenges. Offering practical information, encouragement, and a path forward can make all the difference to these borrowers. TG's default aversion counselors are trained to provide such support as they answer questions and direct borrowers to resources that can help them.

Below you'll find an overview of the Default Aversion Team's efforts, including background on quality assurance processes, a summary of TG's FFELP default prevention activities, and information on how technology enhances our work.

Default Aversion Team

The Default Aversion Team handles the majority of calls to TG's Default Prevention Contact Center, using a variety of strategies to contact borrowers, including email, automated messaging and outbound dialer calls. Default aversion counselors are trained to listen carefully to borrowers, pinpoint need, and suggest the best options given the circumstance. Counselors follow up every 30 days until issues are resolved and borrowers have returned to repayment. Among other things, default aversion counselors:

  • Contact Stafford borrowers about repayment during their grace period — TG's Default Aversion team is one of a few industry contact centers to actively conduct "grace counseling," which includes educating and informing borrowers about the repayment process before they enter repayment.
  • Supply borrowers with information on money management — Counselors may also send a personalized account summary detailing all of a borrower's loans and brochures explaining repayment options.
  • Encourage non-degreed students to complete their education — Industry research shows that borrowers who have earned a degree are more likely to maintain a steady repayment pattern and pay off their student loans. TG's default aversion counselors make proactive calls to borrowers who may be at a higher risk for delinquency or default, such as those who withdraw or stop attending mid-term, before they enter repayment on their loans.
  • Specialize in loans with a claim pending — The team's goal is to quickly resolve issues in order to return borrowers to good standing and, as a result, help schools maintain low default rates. In FY 2011, the team prevented $5.1 billion in defaults. Here are some key ways that the team serves schools and borrowers:
    • Works to intervene with borrowers whose loans are more than 270 days past due and on the verge of default.
    • Uses direct line to lenders to provide faster service — If necessary, the team works to resolve claims by contacting lenders directly via conference call.
  • Offer service in Spanish and English

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Quality assurance

To make sure counselors offer timely and accurate information to borrowers, TG performs quality assurance testing on calls, which means listening in on borrower calls and offering feedback on counselor performance. TG also monitors contact center statistics in order to improve team performance and balance workload.

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A picture of TG's default prevention efforts for FFELP loans

TG offers a snapshot of its default prevention efforts in this PDF file.

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Tools of the contact center trade

TG's Default Prevention Contact Center uses special technologies to counsel borrowers at risk for default, to improve information distribution and collection, and to help ensure optimum customer service. These include:

  • Predictive auto-dialer — A predictive dialer system works like a telephone operator, only one capable of making and monitoring thousands of calls per day. The system places calls to a roster of pre-set numbers, filtering out busy calls, unanswered calls, or answers by machines like faxes. At the same time, the system connects answered messages to waiting default prevention counselors. The dialer's call blending feature also allows counselors to switch automatically between placing outbound calls and receiving inbound calls based on inbound call volume.
  • Automatic call distribution — This component of TG's contact center technology distributes incoming calls to available counselors to ensure efficient service. The software monitors service levels, which appear to all counselors on wall-mounted marquees placed throughout the contact center.
  • Screen pop — When a borrower calls in, this feature automatically displays the borrower's loan account information on the monitor of the counselor receiving the call.
  • Printed materials — Throughout a loan's lifecycle, TG's Default Prevention keeps in contact with borrowers via mail, providing along with correspondence assorted brochures, envelope stuffers, and reminder material on student loan responsibilities and options.

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