Managing an Effective Debt Management Program for Graduate

Managing an Effective Debt Management Program for Graduate Students October 2013 Catherine Demchak Dave Eber Heinz College, Carnegie Mellon University

EVOLUTION OF COMMUNICATION o o o o One-on-One Appointments Group Sessions Website Information and Group Sessions Webinars and Group Sessions

GETTING STARTED o Choose a web conference company o o o o How much does it cost? What features will you need? How is the audio handled? Do you want to record the webinar for later viewing?

HOW TO RUN THE WEBINAR Preparation for your webinar should begin 2-3 weeks in advance o Reserve your meeting time with other users of the webinar software o Present by yourself or with a support team o o o Chat box option usually necessitates a 2nd person to manage the questions Send the announcement Send invitations to participants

HOW TO RUN THE WEBINAR The day of your webinar o Do a practice run o Log on o o o 15 minutes early is a GOOD idea, especially with multiple presenters Take charge of Q&A period by answering questions quickly End by thanking your participants

GOALS OF DEBT MANAGEMENT EDUCATION o Be Efficient o o Be Effective o o Clear message Be Educational o o Staff time Give students the tools they need to prepare for life after graduation Be Enthusiastic o This may be a difficult time for some students, be attentive to their questions and concerns

ORGANIZE YOUR THOUGHTS 1. What do you want to bring to the forefront? 1. Know your loans, grace period, lender/servicer. 2. What do you want to show the students? 2. Pay-off plans, consolidation, public service loan forgiveness. 3. What do you want them to take away from the webinar? 3. Options if they can’t make a payment, where to turn for help. 4. What resources do you want them to reference once the webinar is over? 4. NSLDS, Tax Benefits, US Department of Education.

HOW MANY SLIDES? o o o How much time do you have Allow time for participants to log-in Allow about 2 minutes per slide o o Some slides may take more or less time Allow for Q&A time at the end of the webinar

SLIDE LAYOUT Use o Bullet Points o Graphics o Screen Shots o Vary the Layout Keep in mind students may request an electronic version of the presentation keep it simple.

PROOFREAD!!! o o o o o Proofread several times Check for spelling, punctuation and grammar, Check the order of information Have you colleagues proofread Have a student proofread

PROOFREAD!!! o o o o o Proofread several times Check for spelling, punctuation and grammar, Check the order of information Have you colleagues proofread Have a student proofread

PROOFREAD!!! o o o o o Proofread several times Check for spelling, punctuation and grammar Check the order of information Have your colleagues proofread Have a student proofread

CONTENT o o What topics should you include? How much detail do you want to provide? o o o Slides shouldn’t have too much information Use notes to provide details Will the webinar be archived for viewing at a later date? o o o Easy format to read by someone not attending the live webinar No industry terminology (jargon) Use hyperlinks to guide viewers to websites with additional information

RESOURCES o Provide a slide or two of resources for your viewers to reference at a later date o o Your website Department of Education o o o o o Repayment calculators Consolidation NSLDS Tax benefits (publication 970) Cost of Living Calculator

CHALLENGES/SUCCESSES Challenges o Can’t gauge the level of students’ understanding o Interaction is limited o Participant distractions Successes o Can reach more students in remote locations o Can be saved and played back at a later date

Questions? Thank You

CONTACTS o Catherine Demchak o o [email protected] David Eber o [email protected] Heinz College Office of Financial Aid Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA