The Link

11/13/2012
IA STUDENT LOAN LIQUID. CORP.

Student Loan Game Plan Extends Reach to Third State Unique Financial Literacy Tool Educates Indiana College Students About Overborrowing, Provides Tips to Reduce Debt

WEST DES MOINES, IOWA (Nov. 13, 2012) - Iowa Student Loan(r) is pleased to announce that ISM College Planning in Indiana recently purchased a license to offer its online financial literacy tutorial - Student Loan Game PlanSM - to Indiana students.

Created in 2010 by Iowa Student Loan, Student Loan Game Plan is a groundbreaking financial literacy tool aimed at educating students about the consequences of overborrowing to pay for college. Through a series of interactive screens, the tutorial illustrates how the borrowing decisions students make today can impact their lifestyle after graduation. It also helps students find solutions - by providing immediate, customizable tips on ways to reduce their need to borrow.

"When we first saw Student Loan Game Plan in action, we immediately recognized the impact it could have on our students," said Joe Wood, president of ISM, Indiana's nonprofit secondary market. "By comparing future salary data and requested loan information, it makes students stop and think just how the loans they are considering will affect their quality of life post-graduation."

ISM College Planning is the second organization outside the state of Iowa to license the tool. In July, Maine Education Services, the state-based secondary market in Maine, began offering Student Loan Game Plan as part of its online application process.

In addition, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau officials have noted Student Loan Game Plan as being a best practice model for private student loan providers.

Since launching the tutorial in December 2010, Iowa Student Loan has required that it be completed by all of its private student loan applicants. Data garnered thus far has proven that Student Loan Game Plan is an effective tool to help change borrower behavior, said Steve McCullough, president and CEO of Iowa Student Loan.

"Over the course of a year, 17 percent of our online student loan applicants who completed the tutorial reduced their loan amount by an average of $2,000," McCullough said. "After seeing those impressive results in our state, we wanted to share this resource with other student loan providers in hopes of bringing about more change."

In addition to the version for applicants, Iowa Student Loan also offers Student Loan Game Plan versions targeted at cosigners, high school students and general users. To check out the publicly available version, go to www.studentloan.org/GamePlan.

If you would like to learn more information about Student Loan Game Plan and making it available in your state, contact Joe Bird with Iowa Student Loan at (303) 328-8585 or jbird@studentloan.org.

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About Iowa Student Loan

Since 1981, Iowa Student Loan, a private, nonprofit organization, has helped Iowa students and families obtain the resources necessary to succeed in postsecondary education. Iowa Student Loan has helped more than 375,000 students pay for college. The organization, based in West Des Moines, Iowa, also provides an array of borrower benefits, financial literacy tools and community reinvestment programs, including support for free college planning services for students and their families. For more information about Iowa Student Loan, visit www.studentloan.org.

(Contact: Tara Deering-Hansen, Corporate Communications Manager, 515-273-7375, tdeering-hansen@studentloan.org)