Following is the text of the April 28, 2008 communication to Directors of Financial Aid and Loan Coordinators from HESC President James C. Ross regarding steps HESC is taking to help students and borrowers cope with a changing lending environment:

As you know, I have and will continue to voice my confidence in the stability of the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program. While the economic climate in the student loan industry has changed in recent months, prompting some lenders to withdraw from or re-define their FFEL Program participation, HESC continues to work with many originating active lender partners, a number of whom continue to lend to all Title IV eligible schools.

As we navigate the changes in our industry, it is paramount that we maintain our focus on students and families, easing their confusion about their student loans and eliminating delays that may arise in their borrowing process.

To support borrowers, I would like to share two initiatives underway at HESC:
  • We have contacted those borrowers attending a guarantor flow school who now have a master promissory note with a nonparticipating lender. HESC provided them with information about their previous lender, including the related loan servicer, and e-MPN instructions to assist them in making a new lender selection. In addition, should they need to borrow in the future, we provided a full list of HESC participating lenders and related servicers.

  • To maintain an efficient borrowing process and eliminate unnecessary processing delays HESC has asked our lender partners to provide us a confidential list identifying any school specific lending restrictions. HESC is currently programming HESCWeb to reflect the lenders still available to borrowers based on the school they are attending. By May 1, our e-MPN drop down area will be profiled to accurately reflect the available lenders based on school code. If a lender’s policy changes, HESC will promptly edit the information upon notification from the lender.

    Students who attend guarantor flow schools have access to HESC's full e-MPN drop down list of originating lenders. The e-MPN process is compliant with New York’s SLATE Law and fully transparent.

HESC is proud to join with the rest of the FFEL lending and school community as we work together to help students and families pay for college. HESC will continue to provide the services necessary to meet the needs of students and make your job as easy as possible.