January 17, 2008 JHU PRIVATE LOAN PROFILE SunGard Matrix Loan Processing Product

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1 January 17, 2008 Dear Lending Colleagues: The Johns Hopkins University invites you to respond to the following Request for Information (RFI) regarding the Private, Alternative Loan programs and services offered by your lending institution. We are a Direct Loan School for all Stafford and PLUS borrowing, and are only seeking responses related to the non-federal loan programs offered by lenders. The information received will be used to evaluate and identify the most competitive loan products and services available to students and families. JHU PRIVATE LOAN PROFILE Undergraduate Graduate # of Students 6,036 13,940 Private Loan Volume $14,199,785 $3,830,921 Information System SunGard Matrix Loan Processing Product ELM Preferred Disbursement Method ELM NDN The deadline for submitting a response to the RFI, including Attachment A, is February 8, Respond to this RFI using this document format only. We will accept responses electronically, via fax or regular mail. Electronic responses are preferred. If you have any questions concerning this RFI, please feel free to contact Donald Jones, Financial Aid Loan Coordinator, at (410) or by at djones77@jhu.edu. Sincerely, William T. Conley, Dean of Enrollment and Academic Services, Interim Director of Student Financial Services Johns Hopkins University JHU RFI Jan 2008 Page 1

2 The Johns Hopkins University Request for Information Private Loan Programs January 17, 2008 INFORMATION DUE DATE: Friday, February 8, 2008 DELIVER TO: The Johns Hopkins University RFI Response Office of Student Financial Services 3400 N. Charles St / 146 Garland Hall Baltimore, MD FAX TO: (410) TO: djones77@jhu.edu Donald Jones, Financial Aid Loan Coordinator JHU RFI Jan 2008 Page 2

3 Request for Information I. Purpose of RFI The Johns Hopkins University is requesting information on private loan programs in order to present our borrowers with the information they need to make informed decisions regarding student loans. At Hopkins, private loans are considered to be a student or parent s last resort, and the financial aid office counsels students to exhaust all other options before considering a private loan. We are requesting information as indicated on Attachment A for non-federal private loans only. The information received will be used to evaluate which products best meet the needs of our students and parents. II. Description of Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University opened Feb. 22, 1876, with the inauguration of its first president, Daniel Coit Gilman. He established a research university, dedicated not just to advancing students' knowledge but also to advancing the state of human knowledge generally, through research and scholarship. In all, the university has nine academic divisions. The Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, the G.W.C Whiting School of Engineering, and the School of Education are based at the Homewood campus in northern Baltimore. The Carey Business School has headquarters downtown and the schools of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing are in east Baltimore, sharing a campus with The Johns Hopkins Hospital. The Peabody Institute, founded in 1857 and a leading professional school of music, has been affiliated with Johns Hopkins since It is located on Mount Vernon Place in downtown Baltimore. The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, founded in 1943, has been a Johns Hopkins division since It is located in Washington, D.C. Johns Hopkins also has a campus near Rockville in Montgomery County, Md., and has academic facilities in Nanjing, China, and in Bologna and Florence, Italy. It maintains a network of continuing education facilities throughout the Baltimore-Washington area, including centers in downtown Baltimore, in downtown Washington and in Columbia. III. Objectives 1. Competitive Loan Offerings: The University desires the most competitive mix possible of private loan features, including (but not limited to) zero or reduced fees, front end and repayment benefits, life of loan servicing and co-borrower release options for its domestic and international students. JHU RFI Jan 2008 Page 3

4 2. Customer Service: High quality customer service as measured by objective standards, including customer satisfaction, timeliness and accuracy of loan processing and disbursement. Loan application processing and disbursement should be simple and straightforward for our borrowers. Borrowers should have access to e- signature on-line loan applications as well as customer service experts with generous availability through a toll-free phone number. School certification must be required for all private loan offerings. 3. Default Prevention: Default prevention standards should be in place to help students keep their loans in good standing. Students who decide to continue their education should be notified of in-school deferment options. 4. Projected Timeline: Release RFI January 17, 2008 RFI Responses due February 8, 2008 JHU Follow-up March 14, 2008 IV. Additional Requirements Lenders must agree to abide by College Loan Codes of Conduct established by Maryland and New York and applicable law and regulations. Lenders will participate fully in the Electronic Loan Management (ELM) Resource system. Lenders will not engage in direct or cross product marketing to Johns Hopkins students and parents Lenders will not sell or share borrower information to other organizations for the purpose of marketing other services or products Lenders will not automatically renew loans for subsequent school years Lenders must provide assurance to the University and to parent and student borrowers that the advertised benefits upon repayment will continue to inure to the benefit of student and parent borrowers regardless of whether the lender s loans are sold Please provide responses to each of the following: 1. A brief history of your company and its mission statement. JHU RFI Jan 2008 Page 4

5 2. Provide your company s name, website address and lender contact information, including marketing, technical and senior management s name, address, postal address and direct phone number. 3. Percentage of total education loan volume derived from private loans 4. Do you service private loans? If so, do you provide life-of-loan servicing? If not, which organization(s) service your loans? How long has this service relationship been in effect? 5. What distinguishes you as a private lender and/or servicer? 6. What percentage of your borrowers qualifies for benefits that are tied to repayment? 7. Describe any financial literacy programs that you offer to students who borrow private loan programs. 8. Describe your default prevention program and collection practices. 9. Describe the electronic services supporting the application process, e- signature, and repayment servicing available to both students and schools. 10. Are you prepared to commit to your pricing through the academic year, including summer of 2009? 11. Describe your relationship with ELM, and whether or not you are able to work with multiple branch campuses with different technical profiles? 12. What is the average processing time for private loans, as measured from student approval to first disbursement? 13. Provide default rates for your private loan offerings for the most recent 3 year period available. 14. Do you have a second look or appeal process for private loans that are denied? If so, please explain. 15. Are there any planned or pending sales or mergers? 16. How do you assess customer service satisfaction with your products and services? Please provide the most recent results of these assessments. 17. Do you require school certification of eligibility for all private loans? If not, will you be able to require it for all JHU students? 18. Please list the name and contact information for 3 financial aid administrators (from institutions similar to JHU) as references. Attachment A Loan Information (See attached Excel File) JHU RFI Jan 2008 Page 5