Managing an Effective Debt Management Program for Graduate Students

Managing an Effective Debt Management Program for Graduate StudentsOctober 2013Catherine DemchakDave EberHeinz College, Carnegie Mellon University

EVOLUTION OF COMMUNICATION

o One-on-One Appointmentso Group Sessionso Website Information and Group

Sessionso Webinars and Group Sessions

GETTING STARTEDo Choose a web conference company

o How much does it cost?o What features will you need?o How is the audio handled?o Do you want to record the webinar for

later viewing?

HOW TO RUN THE WEBINARPreparation for your webinar should begin 2-3 weeks in advanceo Reserve your meeting time with other

users of the webinar softwareo Present by yourself or with a support team

o Chat box option usually necessitates a 2nd person to manage the questions

o Send the announcemento Send invitations to participants

HOW TO RUN THE WEBINARThe day of your webinaro Do a practice runo Log on

o 15 minutes early is a GOOD idea, especially with multiple presenters

o Take charge of Q&A period by answering questions quickly

o End by thanking your participants

GOALS OF DEBT MANAGEMENT EDUCATIONo Be Efficient

o Staff timeo Be Effective

o Clear messageo Be Educational

o Give students the tools they need to prepare for life after graduation

o Be Enthusiastico 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?

2. What do you want to show the students?

3. What do you want them to take away from the webinar?

4. What resources do you want them to reference once the webinar is over?

1. Know your loans, grace period, lender/servicer.

2. Pay-off plans, consolidation, public service loan forgiveness.

3. Options if they can’t make a payment, where to turn for help.

4. NSLDS, Tax Benefits, US Department of Education.

HOW MANY SLIDES?

o How much time do you haveo Allow time for participants to log-ino Allow about 2 minutes per slide

o Some slides may take more or less timeo Allow for Q&A time at the end of the

webinar

SLIDE LAYOUT

Use…o Bullet Pointso Graphicso Screen Shotso Vary the

Layout

Keep in mind…students may request an electronic version of the presentation…keep it simple.

PROOFREAD!!!o Proofread several timeso Check for spelling, punctuation and

grammar,o Check the order of informationo Have you colleagues proofreado Have a student proofread

PROOFREAD!!!o Proofread several timeso Check for spelling, punctuation and

grammar,o Check the order of informationo Have you colleagues proofreado Have a student proofread

PROOFREAD!!!o Proofread several timeso Check for spelling, punctuation and

grammaro Check the order of informationo Have your colleagues proofreado Have a student proofread

CONTENTo What topics should you include?o How much detail do you want to provide?

o Slides shouldn’t have too much informationo Use notes to provide details

o Will the webinar be archived for viewing at a later date?o Easy format to read by someone not

attending the live webinaro No industry terminology (jargon)o Use hyperlinks to guide viewers to websites

with additional information

RESOURCESo Provide a slide or two of resources for

your viewers to reference at a later dateo Your websiteo Department of Education

o Repayment calculatorso Consolidation

o NSLDSo Tax benefits (publication 970)o Cost of Living Calculator

CHALLENGES/SUCCESSESChallengeso Can’t gauge the

level of students’ understanding

o Interaction is limited

o Participant distractions

Successeso Can reach more

students in remote locations

o Can be saved and played back at a later date

Questions?Thank You

CONTACTSo Catherine Demchak

o cdemchak@andrew.cmu.edu

o David Ebero deber@andrew.cmu.edu

Heinz College Office of Financial AidCarnegie Mellon UniversityPittsburgh, PA