NCO Education Services has been working with higher-education clients for more than 40 years. Over that time, we have developed expertise in working with a variety of guarantors, including several state agencies and the U.S. Department of Education. These institutions rely on NCO because of our ability to resolve accounts while being sensitive to the unique circumstances of each borrower and remaining in complete compliance with all applicable regulations.

NCO Education Services representatives receive comprehensive training on all of the requirements of Title IV student loan programs, including FFELP and Perkins loans. We listen to borrowers to get an understanding of their situation and take the time to thoroughly explain all of the payment options available to them, such as rehabilitation or consolidation.

NCO offers the following services to guaranty agencies:

Default Aversion Services

Nobody wins when a Title IV student loan goes into default. Borrowers run the risk of harming their credit or having their wages garnished, while guaranty agencies have fewer funds available to lend to other borrowers. NCO’s default aversion services can help you manage at-risk borrowers by quickly curing accounts before they enter default status.

We use customized letters and telephone contact campaigns to instill a sense of urgency with borrowers while maintaining a positive relationship between you and your borrowers.

Post-Default Collection Services

With today’s increasingly difficult economic landscape, it is imperative that guaranty agencies have a strategy to address accounts that have entered post-default status. NCO is the world’s largest accounts receivable management firm, but NCO Education Services is an independent business unit with personnel and facilities that are solely dedicated to working with higher-education clients, allowing us to take a hands-on approach that is typically found with small agencies while having the resources of a global corporation behind us. Our global scale gives us access to resources that no other vendor can offer, while our four decades of experience provides us with an unparalleled understanding of your industry.

Our post-default collections programs are designed to bring defaulted loans into repayment status while maintaining that important relationship between you and your borrowers. The NCO Education Services team tailors each post-default collections program to the client’s unique needs, using all of the tools available to us, including letters, telephone campaigns, skip tracing, credit bureau reporting, and legal action, if necessary. NCO representatives understand the circumstances allowing student loan accounts to be resolved administratively when payment in full is not possible. We have experience with the following resolutions:

• Rehabilitation
• Consolidation
• Administrative Wage Garnishment
• Borrower Incarcerated
• Settlements
• Financial Hardship
• Discharged Title IV Loans
• Financial Aid Release

NCO’s collections programs strictly to adhere to all applicable laws and regulations, including the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA), the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), and Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965. Because NCO is a current contractor with the U.S. our operations undergo heavy scrutiny and thorough audits to ensure we comply with rigorous performance standards. NCO Education Services has a zero tolerance policy when it comes to violations. We operate the largest corporate compliance department in the industry, and our representatives receive comprehensive training on professionalism, collections techniques, and the laws that govern our industry.

University Accounting Service (UAS) Loan Servicing

University Accounting Service (UAS), an NCO subsidiary, has been providing loan servicing solutions since 1969. Today, UAS supports 2.5 million loans, and we can administer your student loan accounts from the first award to the final payment.

Our loan servicing programs are completely flexible—whether you want to maintain all borrower contact and loan processing in house or whether you want to outsource all of the administrative tasks associated with loan servicing, we can develop a solution tailored to you needs.

UAS offers the following services:

• Student loan billing
• Letter, brochure, and postcard printing services
• Skip tracing
• Electronic services, including loan origination, billing, payment, and exit counseling
• Tuition payment plans
• 1090-E and 1098-T reporting
• Cohort account management
• Document imaging and storage
• Credit bureau reporting for federal, institutional, and private loans
• Default management services, including collection of tuition, accounts receivable, and institutional accounts

For more information about partnering with University Accounting Service, please click here.