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Two Leading Student Aid Counseling Organizations Release Free Resources for Student Loan Borrowers and Students Financially Affected by COVID-19
March 27, 2020
Contact Information:
The Institute of Student Loan Advisors
Betsy Mayotte
betsy@freestudentloanadvice.org
978-835-9934
Mapping Your Future
Cathy Mueller
cathy@mappingyourfuture.org
800-374-4072
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Two Leading Student Aid Counseling Organizations Release Free Resources for Student Loan Borrowers and Students Financially Affected by COVID-19
Plymouth, MA (March 27, 2020) - Mapping Your Future (MYF) has partnered with The Institute of Student Loan Advisors (TISLA) to provide consumers with a single source for guidance on managing their student loans, financial aid, or college completion in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Launched today, StudentAidPandemic.org provides free interactive training modules as well as resources and answers to frequently asked questions regarding both college education interrupted by the virus and the relief available to student loan borrowers. The development of the website was made possible through the generous support of Decision Partners, a Boston-based company providing online financial literacy programs.
"Students and their families have a lot of new things to worry about during this pandemic," said Cathy Mueller, executive director of Mapping Your Future, a nonprofit committed to helping students, families, and schools succeed by providing college, career, financial aid, and financial literacy resources. "We didn't want college financial aid or student loan struggles to add to their worries."
The website, which requires no registration or fees, contains several training modules that cover topics such as resuming college after the pandemic and understanding the waivers and options available to student loan borrowers. There is also a section for frequently asked questions and other resources that are available to help consumers. If consumers still have questions, they can reach out to MYF for financial aid questions, and TISLA for student loan questions, free of charge.
Today, nearly 45 million Americans hold $1.4 trillion in student loans and the average student borrower leaves college with a debt load of more than $30,000. Education debt affects multiple generations, often holding borrowers back from starting businesses and families, buying homes, or saving for retirement or their children's education. While options for relief have been made available fairly quickly in response to the crisis, there has been significant confusion with consumers whether what they are hearing is available or just a proposal and whether the relief applies to their loans or not.
"The goal of the site is to present the facts, in clear language, at a single source, to make it easy for consumers to understand what relief is available to them now and what their options will be once it's over," said Betsy Mayotte, President of TISLA, the nonprofit dedicated to giving consumers fair, free student loan advice and dispute resolution. "We also want to provide a tool to employers, states, associations, colleges and universities, unions and other organizations to help their constituencies that have been financially affected by the pandemic."
The modules and other resources on StudentAidPandemic.org will be updated as guidance and waivers continue to evolve. The site will include the dates of the most recent updates so consumers can be assured they are viewing the most up to date information available.
To ensure the continued availability of these resources, we are offering sponsorship opportunities of StudentAidPandemic.org. Contact Betsy Mayotte at betsy@freestudentloanadvice.org for more information on sponsorship or other funding opportunities.
About The Institute of Student Loan Advisors
The Institute of Student Loan Advisors (TISLA) is a private nonprofit dedicated to ensuring that all consumers have access to fair, free, student loan advice and dispute resolution. We will never charge consumers for our services and do not require registration or affiliation to utilize our services. While we encourage all student loan borrowers to talk to their loan holders for help, we understand that sometimes, you just want a second opinion or need additional help.
About Betsy Mayotte
Betsy Mayotte is the President and founder of The Institute of Student Loan Advisors (TISLA). A longtime student loan professional with more than 20 years experience in compliance and advocacy, she has helped thousands of borrowers with their student loans one-on-one. She is considered a national expert on student loan policy and is frequently quoted in the media on student loans.
About Mapping Your Future
Mapping Your Future (MappingYourFuture.org) is a national collaborative organization, providing career, college, financial aid, and financial literacy services for students, families, and schools. Mapping Your Future's mission is to enable individuals to achieve life-long success by empowering schools, students, and families with college, financial aid, career, and financial literacy information and services.
About Cathy Mueller
Cathy Mueller is the Executive Director of Mapping Your Future, a 501(c)(3) providing college, career, financial aid, and financial literacy services. Based in Texas, Cathy has been included as a source for articles on higher education and financial aid issues and has presented at numerous conferences. She has previously worked in higher education, communications, journalism, and public relations. She has a bachelor's degree from the University of Delaware and a master's degree from the University of North Texas.
About Decision Partners
Decision Partners produces financial wellness education programs for colleges, universities, financial services institutions, and nonprofits. Their online learning platform is built from the ground up for financial education and includes hundreds of topics, videos, interactive exercises, and assessments that can be customized to the needs of any organization.
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