Default prevention

ECMC’s default prevention services provide student loan borrowers with advice and counseling when they need it. We proactively help borrowers understand their loan obligations, stay out of delinquency, and avoid future loan distress. By keeping in close contact with borrowers, our experienced counselors listen to and advise them in determining the most effective course of action.

Experience: Our staff has in-depth knowledge of student loan regulations and deferment/forbearance qualifications, and can make informed recommendations on repayment and consolidation options.

Default Prevention Assessment and training: Our Default Prevention Assessment Tool was developed to assist schools in identifying goals and areas prime for enhanced efforts. ECMC uses the information gained from this assessment to develop training and programs, such as debt counseling, that best fit the needs of our school partners.

Pre-delinquency communications:

  • Withdraw/Graduate mailer and/or e-mail: At a school’s request, we produce a co-branded mailer or e-mail sent to students who have graduated or withdrawn from school with a message tailored to either situation.
  • Loan “check-in” letter: Generated twice a year, this letter is sent to borrowers with ECMC loans. The letter acts as a reminder to students that they have federal loans and indicates the amount of their indebtedness.
  • Debt summary letter: Working with the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS), ECMC generates a letter to student borrowers listing all of their student loan debt, regardless of the lender or guarantor. Borrowers receive the letter during their grace period and it has information about repaying their loans and the consequences of default.

Post-delinquency communications:

  • Contact communication technology: Our automated telephone dialing system allows us to customize contact campaigns on a daily basis to strategically target specific groups of borrowers. This technology, when paired with the experience and knowledge of our staff, enables us to connect with and counsel an even greater number of students by maximizing the efficiency and reach of our counselors.
  • Mediated borrower calls: We ensure borrowers actually reach a lender/servicer representative who can assist them. By immediately linking and mediating calls between delinquent borrowers and their lender/servicer, we’ve experienced notable success with bringing delinquent loans current within 15 days of the call.
  • Written contact strategy: Our series of letters continuously advises borrowers and escalates in urgency while outlining responsible options and explaining the consequences of default.

Skip-tracing: When letters are returned and phone numbers are invalid, we immediately work with a leading demographic data service, to find the most current information available. We offer skip-tracing services to schools at any time during the life of the loan.

Reports: Our variety of reports help schools manage their portfolio, triggered at appropriate stages during the loan cycle such as when:

  • ECMC receives a Default Aversion Request (DAA) from a lender/servicer
  • The borrower is no longer delinquent
  • ECMC is notified of an address change during the delinquency period
  • ECMC pays a claim on a defaulted loan

We collaborate with schools, lenders, and servicers to develop and implement strategies to minimize default, and we can tailor default prevention plans specific to your school’s needs.

For more information about ECMC’s default prevention services follow this link Download Adobe Acrobat Here, or contact:

Jay Worthington, Director, Default Prevention
Toll Free: 888.775.ECMC (3262), Ext. 7108; jworthington@ecmc.org