USA Funds Presents Excellence in Debt Management Awards to Three Schools

INDIANAPOLIS,May 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — USA Funds®, a nonprofit organization
that helps American families benefit from postsecondary education, has announced
the recipients of its 2011 Excellence in Debt Management Awards. USA Funds
recognized the following three postsecondary institutions for their efforts to
promote financial literacy and help their students minimize and manage their
student loan debt:

University of Hawaii at Manoa — Honolulu.Since 2006 the University of Hawaii at
Manoa has undertaken a financial literacy initiative that relies heavily on
students teaching other students. The university began using peer educators to
teach incoming students about personal finance issues during new-student
orientation. Based on the success of those presentations, the university
expanded its financial literacy training to other units, including financial
literacy lessons to freshman learning communities, as well as workshops
delivered through student support services, the cooperative extension service,
student life and development, and financial aid offices. Since the program’s
inception, 2,900 UH Manoa students have completed lessons of USA Funds Life
Skills®, a financial literacy program for college students, and have
demonstrated, on average, a statistically significant gain in personal finance
knowledge. In addition, 500 students who participated in university-sponsored
financial literacy workshops demonstrated greater awareness on 13 of 20
indicators. The award includes a $15,000 USA Funds grant to support student
scholarships at UH Manoa.

San Jacinto College — Pasadena, Texas.Faced with rising student loan default
rates, this community college pursued a multiphase approach to debt management,
included analyzing enrollment and borrower reports, enhancing borrower
communications, and launching a financial literacy initiative. The college hired
a full-time default prevention manager in 2008 to develop and carry out its
program. The default prevention manager developed a profile of delinquent and
defaulted borrowers to guide the college’s default prevention practices and
initiatives. The college enhanced its print literature and online information
about financial aid and student loans, incorporated the information as part of
the student orientation process, and established an 11-member default prevention
committee. As part of an ongoing financial literacy initiative, the college has
enhanced its borrower counseling activities, begun mailings to past-due student
loan borrowers, and developed a college success course for students at risk of
dropping out. As a result of these initiatives, the school’s draft 2009 cohort
default rate decreased to 10.2 percent, down from the 2008 rate of 12.9 percent
and the 2007 rate of 15.7 percent. The award includes a $10,000 USA Funds grant
to support student scholarships at San Jacinto College.

DeVry University — Downers Grove, Ill.Last June DeVry launched a comprehensive
financial literacy initiative. The initiative includes workshops, a financial
literacy website, third-party default prevention vendors, email campaigns and
financial literacy fairs. DeVry has invested in a team of 35
full-time-equivalent staff to support the program. To date, the school’s main
focus has been ensuring student completion of exit counseling. Departing
students are offered the option to complete exit counseling over the phone, in
person, in group sessions or online, with follow-up calls from the school to
ensure completion. As a result the school has increased exit counseling
completion by 10 percent. DeVry also is developing a website with life skills
information, and the school uses third-party vendors to contact student loan
borrowers during their grace period and if they fall behind in their loan
payments. In addition, the school’s financial literacy staff members are working
with academic units to incorporate financial literacy objectives into select
courses. The award includes a $5,000 USA Funds grant to support scholarships for
DeVry students.

“These three colleges and universities have invested significant resources in
creative and effective debt management programs that have produced positive
results,” said Denise B. Feser, USA Funds senior vice president, School and
Student Services. “Promoting responsible borrowing and teaching students to
become smarter consumers will help them better manage their education expenses
and their finances after graduation.”

Since 2004 USA Funds has presented its Excellence in Debt Management Awards
annually to highlight outstanding campus debt management and financial literacy
programs and to disseminate to other postsecondary institutions best practices
in debt management and student loan default prevention. USA Funds selected the
award-winning programs based on measureable results, creativity, scope, staff
and faculty involvement, and cost-effectiveness.

Headquartered in Indianapolis, USA Funds is a nonprofit corporation that works
to enhance postsecondary education preparedness, access and success by providing
and supporting financial and other valued services. For more information about
USA Funds, visitwww.usafunds.org.

SOURCE USA Funds