EDFUND Presents College Cost Reduction and Access Act Overview

Many provisions of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act took effect October 1. Financial aid professionals face the challenge of ensuring that all eligible students benefit from these new programs. EDFUND policy experts created an overview of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act to help you navigate these changes smoothly.

Fund Your Future Now Available

EDFUND's Fund Your Future publications for 2008/09 are now available. With updated information on the process of applying for college and how to pay for it, the publications are a one-stop resource for students, parents and financial aid offices. Also, a distinctive new design will catch your eye (and students') like no other financial aid publication!

Check out the Fund Your Future family.

• Fund Your Future Brochure
  Order number - National I-1.2; California I-1; California-Spanish I-1.1; Career College I-1.6
• Fund Your Future Workbook
  Order number - National I-2.5; Arizona I-2.1; California I-2; Hawaii/Pacific Islands I-2.2; Washington I-2.3; Nevada I-2.4; Oregon I-2.6; California-Spanish I-3; National-Spanish I-3.5
• Fund Your Future Counselors' Guide
  Order number - National I-4.1 (download only); California I-4
• Fund Your Future Bookmark
  Order number - I-9

Add a quantity to your library of student counseling materials by ordering online.

Deliver Student Loan Debt Summary Statements Directly to Students Desktop

Check out the revised Student Loan Debt Summary page on edfund.org. A Flash icon presents the service in an eye-catching way. The dynamic Flash image can be placed on a school's Web site to link directly to the SLDS login page. Students will be reminded to visit this valuable tool every time they see the icon. Contact your client relations manager for more information.

EDFUND's Student Loan Debt Summary

FAFSA News

The Department recently announced a major change to the distribution process of paper FAFSA forms. For 2008–09, paper FAFSAs will not be available for schools to order via FSAPubs. Students may obtain a paper FAFSA by calling the Student Aid Information Center toll free at 1.800.4.FED.AID (1.800.433.3243).

In addition, a PDF version of the FAFSA will be available for students to complete online, then print out and mail. The PDF version can be found online at FederalStudentAid.ed.gov. FSA continues to encourage students to use the online method for filing the application. To that end, the FAFSA on the Web Worksheet will still be available for bulk order by schools.

• View the complete announcement.

A Guidance Review - View a listing of the Dear Colleague Letters (DCLs) and Electronic Announcements for September 2007 .

Student Loan Debt: Coast to Coast

First, the good news! Starting salaries for graduates increased by 4 percent between 2005 and 2006. The bad news? Average student loan debt increased by 8 percent. The problem is widespread across the USA, but debt levels vary widely from state to state and between types of school.

This snapshot of student loan debt across the nation is provided by a new report,
Student Debt and the Class of 2006, by The Project On Student Debt.

Here are the main points:

• Between 2005 and 2006, there was an 8 percent increase in average student loan debt of graduating seniors at campuses reporting data for both years. However, starting salary offers for graduating seniors rose by only around 4 percent in the same period.
• The average debt of the class of 2006 is estimated at $21,100.
• States with the highest average debt:

• States with the lowest average debt:

• Private non profit school with the highest average debt: University of New England, $39,014
• Public school with the highest average debt: Lincoln University, $28,858
• Private non profit school with the lowest average debt: Princeton University, $4,965
• Public school with the lowest average debt: Southeastern Oklahoma State University, $6,430

In addition to a print version of the report, there are additional Web features including an interactive map of state by state data. Mousing over a state reveals the average debt of graduating seniors at four-year colleges and the percentage of graduates with debt in 2006. Clicking on a state results in even more details on debt, enrollment, tuition and Pell Grant recipients at individual four-year institutions.

Student Debt and the Class of 2006 - The Project On Student Debt

Assessing the Other Person’s Position

A good friend and colleague of mine once said, “Everything in life is a negotiation when more than one person is involved.” In the student loan industry, understanding some basic principles of effective negotiation can help in a variety of situations.

For over a decade, I have been facilitating dispute resolution and can't help but compare some peoples' style of conflict management to that popular fast-food advertising campaign which led us to believe not only that we should have it our way and quickly, but that we are entitled to it. Overcoming this rather narcissistic starting point can be challenging when your job revolves around a call queue, or a production clock, or there is simply not enough time in the work day to nurture a troubling situation.

In this article and future Ombudsman's Notes, I hope to provide noteworthy observations and insight, derived from real experience, on the art of negotiation. To begin with, although I have formally studied mediation theories and negotiation tactics, I have found that demonstrating simple honesty and good will can have a profound effect when we are desperately trying to move forward.

Observation #1, or Trying to Figure out What is Really Bothering You: Honesty and good will in any form of communication starts when we separate our stated positions from our actual interests.

Positions are places we choose to stand temporarily until we change our minds about what is really important to us, or our interests. Out of the gate, most of us will eagerly discuss our positions with confidence and then stand firm with arms crossed (and sometimes grimace in place). We have considered our desired outcomes carefully and feel completely justified in making certain demands of the other person before ever identifying what is truly important – the interests on both sides.

So how can this help you resolve a conflict with an unhappy student, or parent? Or administrator?

• Rather than first discussing your position in the hope that you will successfully persuade them to see through your eyes, consider an alternative approach. Instead, initiate a dialogue intended to explore what they value.
• Ask questions designed to encourage people to tell you why they stand on a certain position and why they want their outcome.
• Pay close attention to their personal communication style instead of focusing on your rebuttal or a counter proposal. This will allow you to reply using their language. Their familiarity with the words you use will encourage them to listen to you when it is your turn to talk.

Scot Williams
EDFUND Ombudsman

NewSource

Are you overwhelmed by the new College Cost Reduction Act? Find out how EDFUND is making it easy for you to learn the new regulations in October's issue of NewSource.

You'll also learn how to decipher different personality types at work, and hear some good advice from Anita Kermes, channeling Benjamin Franklin. It's all in this month's issue of NewSource.

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