Edamerica loans come through
Jay Baker
Issue date: 9/2/08 Section: Campus News
About 1,200 students who experienced delays with their Edamerica loans last week have now received their refund checks.
"This has been all over the news all summer long. It started with the loan crisis in the mortgage industry and it just spilled over into the student loan industry," said Sandra Neel, director of the UTM Office of Student Financial Assistance.
Neel said she called lenders to UTM students two weeks ago to ensure that funds would be arriving on time.
"Everyone assured me that everything would be OK," Neel said.
But Tuesday, Aug. 19, the Office of Student Financial Assistance received a letter from Knoxville-based lender Edamerica, addressed to Edamerica borrowers, that said they would be "unable to fund your student loan in the time frame required by your school." Edamerica sent the letter to students the following day.
The delay didn't affect payment of tuition, housing or student meal plans, however, as UTM does not drop students if the anticipated assistance covers their balance, Neel said.
"We hate that this is happening and we were hoping that this wouldn't hit us. We called all of our lenders and they said it would be OK, but at the last minute this hit us," Neel said.
On Aug 21, an announcement was displayed on the myUTMartin portal page that read:
"If you have a refund on Tuesday, you will receive an e-mail on Friday telling you that a check or electronic deposit has been made.
o If you do not receive e-mail notification on Friday:
o You will not be receiving a refund on Tuesday.
o Check your student account to see if you are due a refund.
o If you are expecting loans, please check the disbursement status with your lender.
o First time borrowers experience a 30-day delay
o Typically, refunds are processed approximately five working days after lender disbursement date
o If you are expecting refund from a source other than loans, please contact Business Affairs (881-7810) or Financial Aid (881-7040.)"
But the message may have been vague for some students, as it does not mention the Edamerica delay specifically. Neel said in an e-mail to The Pacer last Monday that the decision not to send out an e-mail addressing the Edamerica issue specifically to students was made higher up than her, but has not yet responded as to who made the decision.
"This has been all over the news all summer long. It started with the loan crisis in the mortgage industry and it just spilled over into the student loan industry," said Sandra Neel, director of the UTM Office of Student Financial Assistance.
Neel said she called lenders to UTM students two weeks ago to ensure that funds would be arriving on time.
"Everyone assured me that everything would be OK," Neel said.
But Tuesday, Aug. 19, the Office of Student Financial Assistance received a letter from Knoxville-based lender Edamerica, addressed to Edamerica borrowers, that said they would be "unable to fund your student loan in the time frame required by your school." Edamerica sent the letter to students the following day.
The delay didn't affect payment of tuition, housing or student meal plans, however, as UTM does not drop students if the anticipated assistance covers their balance, Neel said.
"We hate that this is happening and we were hoping that this wouldn't hit us. We called all of our lenders and they said it would be OK, but at the last minute this hit us," Neel said.
On Aug 21, an announcement was displayed on the myUTMartin portal page that read:
"If you have a refund on Tuesday, you will receive an e-mail on Friday telling you that a check or electronic deposit has been made.
o If you do not receive e-mail notification on Friday:
o You will not be receiving a refund on Tuesday.
o Check your student account to see if you are due a refund.
o If you are expecting loans, please check the disbursement status with your lender.
o First time borrowers experience a 30-day delay
o Typically, refunds are processed approximately five working days after lender disbursement date
o If you are expecting refund from a source other than loans, please contact Business Affairs (881-7810) or Financial Aid (881-7040.)"
But the message may have been vague for some students, as it does not mention the Edamerica delay specifically. Neel said in an e-mail to The Pacer last Monday that the decision not to send out an e-mail addressing the Edamerica issue specifically to students was made higher up than her, but has not yet responded as to who made the decision.
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