As Congress and the White House debate student loan debt, Mississippi universities are working to educate their students on the most responsible practices for financial aid.
Mississippi State University recently announced it will develop a financial education program for students funded by a $40,000 grant from the Council of Graduate Schools.
With student loan debt exceeding $1 trillion nationwide last year, the crisis is having an impact on undergraduate and graduate students in the U.S., said Karen Coats, MSU associate dean of the graduate school and co-principal investigator for the project.
"As students amass debt at the undergraduate level, many of our best and brightest are unable to continue their education in graduate or professional school, preventing them from achieving mastery of their discipline and limiting their ability to reach their full potential," Coats said.
A study by the Center for American Progress found that 52 percent of graduates from Mississippi universities and colleges graduate with debt.
At Delta State University, a staff of financial aid counselors is tasked with keeping tabs on students and recommending the best financial assistance route, spokeswoman Caitlyn Thompson said.
One of the university's tactics for keeping costs low so students won't have to take out higher loans is to not charge out-of-state tuition rates, said Thompson, which helps those students who do not qualify for state aid otherwise.
"At Mississippi Valley State University, all students who wish to apply for a student loan must complete student loan entrance counseling, and all student loan borrowers exiting the university must complete student loan exit counseling," said Jerald Adley, vice president for student affairs, enrollment management and diversity.
The exit counseling informs student borrowers about interest rates, repayment, forbearance and defaults.
"Beginning with 2013-14, the MVSU financial aid office will also encourage students to complete the financial awareness counseling," Adley said.
"This counseling tool provides currently enrolled students with important information about what could happen should they not be able to finish their program of study or not be able to find a job after graduation."
The MVSU tools are offered through the U.S. Department of Education online at studentloans.gov.
Incoming freshmen at Mississippi University for Women take an introductory class that includes sessions on financial aid and literacy, said Nicole Patrick, who works in the university's financial aid office.
"We counsel students one on one because of our smaller size," Patrick said.
nnew3670ed 23 Jul, 2013
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Source: http://www.educationnews.com/2013/07/23/universities-offering-loan-counseling/
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