TG Updates

TG's delinquency prevention unit shows impressive results

TG's new delinquency prevention unit is validating once again the wisdom of the adage, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Coupling early education on the student loan repayment process with personal contact with the borrower before repayment begins is proving to be just what the doctor ordered. Recent statistics collected by TG show the increasing impact that this team is having on borrower behaviors.

Positive results
TG is a performance-based organization that establishes corporate goals and measures for all teams and views default aversion as a major corporate priority. TG's delinquency prevention team has helped to catapult TG's delinquency prevention rate to within 1.22% of the corporate goal established for this team.

"Downstream" statistics also indicate positive trends for TG's default aversion efforts. Even though the economy remains weak with employment opportunities for recent graduates elusive, the number of default aversion assistance requests (DAARs) that TG has received from lenders has declined steadily since the delinquency prevention program began. For the current calendar year through June, TG has experienced a 2.9% reduction in DAARs. In addition, the number of default claims that TG has received continues at a stable rate with slight declines. In these difficult times, stability in these numbers is a solid indicator of success as historical trends indicate that these numbers should be on the rise.

Activities of the delinquency prevention unit from June 2002 through June 2003 include:

• Receiving 8,198 inbound calls;
• Placing 95,967 outbound calls; and,
• Mailing 128,242 portfolios offering valuable default prevention tools to borrowers.

Every contact that TG makes with a borrower provides an opportunity to get that borrower onto the path of successful repayment of his or her loan.

Improving Customer Services
TG is constantly looking for ways to improve its services, and customer surveys are one vehicle that TG uses to gather input directly from borrowers. Survey responses from borrowers regarding the delinquency prevention team have been very positive. Here are some of the responses that the team has received:

• "When I hung up [with the TG delinquency prevention counselor], I felt good about the call I placed. My worries were gone."
• "This was the first time someone called me to help me out, and I actually got all of my questions answered."
• "This program is a wonderful idea."

Benefits of delinquency prevention
The goal of TG's delinquency prevention team is to provide borrowers with "just-in-time" contact during the borrower's grace period, to prevent borrowers from ever becoming delinquent. This early contact with borrowers is proving to be the key to the success of the TG delinquency prevention team. Reaching borrowers before they enter repayment offers a variety of benefits:

• The borrower learns the process of student loan repayment.
• The borrower is better prepared to plan for timely repayment.
• The borrower is educated on the difference between TG and the lender/servicer.
• Lines of communication are open early, which builds a trusting relationship.
• If the borrower is experiencing hardship, he or she can learn about options for avoiding delinquency and make arrangements to delay repayment, such as requesting a deferment or forbearance.
• The withdrawn borrower receives re-enrollment information, which may help prepare him or her to meet future obligations.
• The borrower can avoid the stigma of delinquency.
• The borrower can prevent damage to his or her credit history.

Borrowers are not the only benefactors of the TG delinquency prevention team's efforts. Schools benefit as well, because TG's increased focus on preventing delinquency results in fewer defaults, which may contribute to lower cohort default rates.

More information
TG's delinquency prevention team is just one of the latest innovations in TG's tradition of creative approaches to preventing default. For more information on the activities of the delinquency prevention team, see Shoptalk Online Edition 158, or contact Shelia Dunlap at (800) 252-9743, ext. 4642 or Lesley Barbiaux at ext. 4647.

Back to Top

TG expands national sales team

TG has named three individuals to serve as national account representatives. Effective immediately, their responsibilities will include managing key marketing and sales activities and providing service and attention to meet the needs of TG's growing customer base.

Andrea Becker, TG National Account Representative for Northern California
Andrea Becker joins the TG team with more than five years of student loan experience. She began her student loan career in 1998 at Educaid, working in loan origination, marketing, and strategic initiatives. She further broadened her student loan expertise by serving as project manager on ELMNet for Educaid. In 2000, Becker received an Essence of Educaid Award for her work in student loan operations. She holds a bachelor's in business from Pacific Union College in Angwin, California.

Becker can be reached at (800) 252-9743, ext. 2509, or by e-mail at andrea.becker@tgslc.org.

Bennie Hayden, TG National Account Representative for Michigan and Ohio
Bennie Hayden joins TG with nearly 20 years of sales and marketing experience. He has held progressive account executive positions with industry leaders Xerox, Unisys, Motorola, Sprint, and AT&T, earning awards for top performance at each step along the way. He also worked closely with nationally chartered banks during 4 years with the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Hayden is a graduate of University of Detroit Mercy, with a bachelor's degree in marketing management.

Hayden can be reached at (800) 252-9743, ext. 2508, or by e-mail at bennie.hayden@tgslc.org.

Gene Vitale, TG National Account Representative for Florida
Gene Vitale joins the TG team with nine years of experience in higher education, with six of those years spent in student financial aid. Most recently, Vitale served as associate director of financial aid for Palm Beach Community College in Lake Worth, Fla., where he received the 2002 Student Services Award for Excellence in student processing and retention. Vitale is an active member of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, the Southern Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, and the Florida Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. He holds a bachelor's degree in psychology from Florida Atlantic University.

Vitale can be reached at (800) 252-9743, ext. 2507, or by e-mail at eugene.vitale@tgslc.org.

Back to Top