Student loan debt: New online tool improves student loan repayment rates

EX$EL provides colleges and universities resources to help support student loan borrowers

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Sep 25, 2015, 08:51 ET

HOUSTON, Sept. 25, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With seriously delinquent student loans totaling 11.5% of the $1.19 trillion education loans, colleges and universities are looking for new ways to help students understand their debt. That's why Mapping Your Future, a national nonprofit providing financial counseling and education to college-bound students and their families, has launched of EX$EL (bit.ly/_EXSEL), an online tool designed to help improve student loan repayment rates.

EX$EL makes cost-effective resources available to schools, colleges, and universities eager to help their students manage their student loan debt. By integrating multimedia courses and materials with in-person counseling, EX$EL is able to expand each school's existing efforts to support their student borrowers throughout the life of their student loans.

"Relying on entrance and exit counseling may not be enough to effectively help all students," says Cathy Mueller, executive director of Mapping Your Future. "That's why we're pleased to be offering EX$EL, which enables financial aid professionals to be increasingly effective in their prevention programs."

"With our common interest in promoting financial education, repayment success, and default prevention, we are delighted Mapping Your Future has chosen to offer EX$EL to colleges and universities across the nation," says Wendy McAlister, president and CEO of College Foundation, Inc., which, with the North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority and Decision Partners, created EX$EL to help educators and their students.

EX$EL helps:

Improve student retention and graduation rates
Help students make intelligent borrowing decisions
Identify and assist students in financial stress
Enhance borrower understanding of repayment choices
Guide borrowers in finding the repayment option most favorable for their situation
Assist in preparing borrowers for their financial and professional lives after college
Help reduce cohort default rates

EX$EL is flexible, allowing colleges and universities to design a program that best fits the needs of their campus and their students.

For information, contact Mapping Your Future at [email protected] or 800-374-4072.

Mapping Your Future, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit organization, helping students plan better tomorrows. Based in Sugar Land, Texas, Mapping Your Future has, since 1996, consistently empowered students and families with the information and services they need to accomplish their career and higher education goals, as well as manage their finances. For more information, visit us at MappingYourFuture.org or contact us at [email protected].

SOURCE Mapping Your Future, Inc.