Trends and Issues

Online counseling to feature enhanced FAO access; prototype available for review

This summer, Mapping Your Future will upgrade its popular Online Student Loan Counseling (OSLC). The new version will feature an enhanced FAO Access Area to streamline the retrieval of student counseling records. Sneak previews of the new FAO area are available now, and Mapping Your Future is welcoming feedback from financial aid professionals.

Logging in
To preview the new FAO area, go to https://dev.mapping-your-future.org/fao03/ and enter "000000" in the user name and password fields.

A guided tour
The following are a few new features to watch for in the next version of OSLC:

• Spotlight
  The counseling types are now listed in the Spotlight on the left side of the screen. The new FAO Access Area will offer enhanced account management, allowing schools to have one account for all counseling types (although schools can opt to keep Stafford and Perkins counseling accounts separate).
• Confirmations
  If a student has completed counseling during the current day, the student's confirmation number, last name, and first initial will be listed under the counseling type. A "download" option will be listed for students under each counseling type so schools can quickly print confirmations for that day.
  
  At the request of many schools, the new "Since last download" option has been added. With this option, schools that access records midday or on an irregular basis won't need to remember their date range. Instead, they can download all records since the last time they downloaded.
• Reports
  Report access is streamlined in the Reports area. Schools can download reports for more than one counseling type at a time. They can review the list of students for a particular date range or since the last download, or they can download those records without accessing the list first.

Feedback
Mapping Your Future appreciates the contributions of the many schools, volunteers, and sponsors that provide feedback about OSLC. Your input helps ensure more useful counseling for the borrowers we all serve. If you have feedback or questions about the new FAO Access Area, contact CariAnne Cutshall at carianne.cutshall@mapping-your-future.org or (573) 634-8641.

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TG cosponsors chat event on loan consolidation

As interest rates are set to drop even lower this July, many borrowers are considering student loan consolidation to potentially lock in a lower rate. To help these borrowers weigh the pros and cons of consolidation, Mapping Your Future, a public service Web site sponsored by TG and other student loan guarantors, is offering an online live chat event at 6 p.m. (CDT) on June 10, 2003.

The chat is designed to help students and parents interested in consolidation make informed decisions. This chat provides a unique opportunity for participants to receive answers to specific loan consolidation and financial aid questions from financial aid and career experts from all over the country.

Topics
During the loan consolidation chat, students and their families will learn more about:

• Advantages and disadvantages of loan consolidation
• How to determine if loan consolidation is a good option
• Eligibility requirements
• Steps to apply for loan consolidation
• Other resources of information

Joining in
Anyone with Internet access can join in on the chat by visiting mapping-your-future.org. On the evening of the chat event, visitors should go to mapping-your-future.org and select the Chat session. Simple instructions will explain how to join the chat.

Coming attractions
Other chat topics for the coming months include:

• Online/distance education - July 8
• College admission and standardized tests - August 5
• Deferments, Forbearances, and Default Prevention - September 9

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