Press Release

National Student Clearinghouse Provides Real-Time Access to Student Loan Information

HERNDON, VA, July 22, 2008 - The National Council of Higher Education Loan Programs, Inc. (NCHELP), the Meteor Advisory Team (MAT), and the National Student Clearinghouse (Clearinghouse) today announced that colleges and students can now track and manage their federal and private student loan debt through the Meteor Network. The Clearinghouse provides colleges and students with access to 100% of outstanding FFELP loans and federal Direct Loans, in addition to billions of dollars in private student loans through its LoanLocator service and Meteor implementation. The Meteor Network, a shared effort of leading FFELP business partners, provides aggregated, real-time financial aid award data to student loan borrowers and schools. The Clearinghouse, a non-profit organization located in Herndon, Virginia, is the nation's trusted source for degree and enrollment information and provides reporting, verification and research services to and on behalf of more than 3,100 participating colleges and universities.

Meteor, a valuable service for student borrowers and schools, continues to grow in importance as student aid volume increases and access to accurate and timely information becomes mandatory. As a result of recent regulatory, legislative and program changes, the percentage of students with multiple loan servicers is expected to increase. Meteor assists users by providing aggregated, timely and accurate information.

The Clearinghouse's secure Web site allows financial aid directors at participating Clearinghouse colleges and universities to access Meteor data. Institutions enrolled in the Clearinghouse's free online Student Self-Service program can also provide their students with access to Meteor data. The Clearinghouse uses campus-based authentication to enable access to Meteor and its other Student Self-Service offerings from a college's Web site. Campus-based authentication provides greater access to valuable debt management, default aversion, and other tools and services by using a college's authentication process to gain access to the Meteor Network and Clearinghouse services. Access to Meteor is available to both institutions and students at no charge.

For more information on the Meteor Network, visit www.nchelp.org/meteor.htm. Information on the National Student Clearinghouse is available at www.studentclearinghouse.org.

About The National Student Clearinghouse

The National Student Clearinghouse is the most trusted source for enrollment and degree verification in the US. A non-profit organization established by the higher education community in 1993, the Clearinghouse serves as a central repository and single point of contact for the collection and timely exchange of accurate, comprehensive enrollment, degree and certificate records on behalf of participating institutions.

More than 3,100 colleges, enrolling 91% of US college students, participate in the Clearinghouse. Student loan providers, employers, student credit issuers, student health insurance providers, the U.S. Department of Education, and others access the Clearinghouse's registry over 100 million times annually to conduct electronic student record verifications. 

NATIONAL STUDENT CLEARINGHOUSE CONTACT: 
Kathleen Dugan
Marketing Director
dugan@studentclearinghouse.org

About Meteor

Meteor is a collaborative effort within the student aid industry to simplify and consolidate access to student financial aid information. Sponsored by FFELP providers, and coordinated by the National Council of Higher Education Loan Programs (NCHELP), the Meteor software provides open, non-proprietary, real time access to all available aid information for a student, and aggregates it for display to students and Financial Aid Professionals. NCHELP represents a nationwide network of guaranty agencies, secondary markets, lenders, loan servicers, collectors, schools and other organizations that provide financial assistance to millions of American students and their families each year. For additional information visit www.nchelp.org/meteor.htm or contact Tim Cameron at meteor@nchelp.org.

METEOR/NCHELP CONTACT:
Tim Cameron
meteor@nchelp.org