Does your provider have experience building private loan programs in education finance?

Many companies offering "turn-key" private loan solutions to new lenders use a licensed "version" of legacy technology platforms from mortgage, credit card and other consumer loan programs. Others build applications using contract developers with little experience in the education finance industry. Cology has assembled a team of student loan experts who have dedicated their career to technology innovation in education finance. Our technology platform, Volta - is a 4th generation design, from a team of veteran technologists that have developed student loan systems for the government, national data exchange providers, and a top 10 retail bank's student loan division. Student loans are what we've done. It's all we do.

Does your provider understand the mission of your organization and the unique attributes of your members and constituents?

Student loan services have become a “mass transaction” business for many providers today. Low margins emphasize the need for quantity and standardization. At Cology, our longstanding belief that the overall member experience is paramount to the success of a program is the foundation of our core processing system. Our person-centric model is unmatched in the student loan marketplace – and ensures that your members are never treated as a “transaction”.

Does your provider support customized underwriting, term and pricing for all loan types?

Ask your potential vendor how many elements of your loan program they can customize. Most will say they cannot, and if they can - it will take weeks or months, the cost is significant, and they will only consider it if you are a "big player". With over 95% of Cology's platform built entirely profile-driven, we can not only offer complete customization, but we can do it fast, at a low cost - and update it with ease if you need to make a change!

Can your provider customize the application process entirely with your brand, message and identity?

For most providers - the answer is "yes", but the reality is a matter of opinion. If adding your name on a webpage and at the bottom of all your member correspondence is NOT your idea of supporting an identity, Cology offers an alternative. Our system allows you to customize the entire member experience. We want you to have a direct relationship with your customer, and we will focus all our energy on ours (YOU)!

Is your provider familiar with college certification and disbursement processes?

There are over 5000 colleges and universities across the country that administer financial aid to students each year. Each one has its own technology system and preferred processes to ensure the most efficient and timely delivery of funds to its students. The Cology team has an average of 15 years experience in student lending - which translates to decades of individual experience, and thousands of individual college "profiles" to ensure our process integrates seamlessly with their process - making your process a success!

Can your provider offer all the necessary program development, installation, training, loan origination and help-desk functions to truly support your program?

Don't be fooled by flashy powerpoint presentations and convincing sales pitches. The process of developing, launching and maintaining a private student loan program can be daunting if you don't have the right resources available. There are no private loan programs that simply "evolve" from the screen shots and pie charts that many providers dazzle you with. Cology dedicates development, quality assurance, implementation and training teams to each client - to ensure a successful launch. From there, its client support team, customer service managers and help desk staff makes sure everything works like it should. Be sure you choose a provider with the expertise, resources, experience and track-record to take that responsibility off your shoulders. Don't be stuck doing the work that comes after the demonstration!

Does your provider support individual check, master check and electronic funds transfer disbursement options?

In this day and age - it may seem like a silly question. Don't be surprised. In their haste to get a product "to market", many providers develop only one disbursement method, and it is usually manual. This may seem like "no big deal"...but just wait until you try to explain to your member, or their school why the money is taking so long to arrive! Cology offers complete flexibility for lenders to disburse by individual check, master check or electronic funds transfer - and is interfaced with almost every disbursement clearinghouse in the student loan marketplace.

Does your provider offer a comprehensive package of standard, customized and on-line reporting tools?

This is a BIG ONE. Once you choose a provider, you will rely on them (and their system) to deliver your resources to your member, with your name on it. Your reputation is on the line. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to "see" what happens every step of the way and know how your members are being served? At Cology - transparency and access to information are among our most proud technology innovations - and we are unmatched in the marketplace. Our system tools make it easy for you to see everything that is going on at any time in the process. Our multi-level reporting tables let you track programs, lead sources, referral partners, and branch activity...right down to an individual agent. Our competitors hate it! Ask anyone, you won't find better reporting anywhere!

Does your provider offer a fully-compliant electronic signature process?

Cology does. In fact, our team of technologists built the first electronic signature process in student lending! With over 10 years of leadership in the design and development of e-sign processes in student lending, we meet every compliance standard of the industry, and integrate it with your member’s on-line experience.

Does your provider offer on-line borrower services for application, inquiry and issue resolution?

Give your members access to information in real time, anytime…anywhere. Customer service shouldn’t be limited to phone calls, emails or in-person visits. The more information available at their fingertips – the more you reach them in their environment. Our online borrower access provides borrowers real-time access to their loan data including missing documents. This “self-serve” experience for borrowers allows your operations resources to focus on processing loans, not answering routine inquiries thus keeping your FTE count low! In addition, nearly all follow up to borrowers is email driven, again keeping your internal costs low.