Posted Date:July 11, 2012
| Author: | William Leith, Service Director, Program Management, Federal Student Aid |
Subject: Call Center Operations Information - New Applicant Services Department E-mail Address Pilot Begins July 11, 2012
In our ongoing effort to improve the customer experience when contacting the Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) School Relations Center’s Applicant Services Department, we will make some minor adjustments to our call center operations over the next several months. The Applicant Services Department is available to assist Direct Loan borrowers, Direct PLUS loan endorsers, and TEACH Grant applicants with questions or concerns related to the following:
All actions performed on the StudentLoans.gov Web site
All actions performed on the TEACH Grant Web site
Direct PLUS Loan borrower credit check status and adverse credit history decision appeals
Direct PLUS Loan endorser obligations and responsibilities
Beginning July 11, 2012, we will pilot a new e-mail address with a small percentage of TEACH Grant applicants who contact the Applicant Services Department via e-mail through the Contact Us link on the TEACH Grant Web site. These applicants will receive response e-mails from the new e-mail address, StudentLoanSupport@ed.gov. They will also be able to reply directly to e-mails sent from the new e-mail address.
In addition, we will pilot the use of call resolution or summary e-mails with a small percentage of Direct Loan borrowers and TEACH Grant applicants who contact the Applicant Services Department by phone. These e-mails will be sent from the new e-mail address. At the beginning of each call, the pilot participant will also be offered different menu options through the Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system. While the IVR system will be updated, the phone number for the Applicant Services Department will not change.
Note: It is important to understand that pilot participants will be selected at random as calls are received by the Applicant Services Department. This means that repeat callers may not necessarily participate in the pilot each time they call the Applicant Services Department.
Once we complete a full rollout later this fall, we will publish the new e-mail address in borrower-facing communications and on borrower-facing Web sites. Until then, the majority of Direct Loan borrowers and TEACH Grant applicants will continue to use the existing e-mail address (CODSupport@acs-inc.com) to contact the Applicant Services Department during the pilot phase.
Future Communications
Later this fall, we will notify schools of the full implementation of the new the COD School Relations Center’s Applicant Services Department e-mail address through electronic announcements posted on the Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) Web site. Please monitor the IFAP Web site for this guidance.
Contact Information
If you have questions about the information in this announcement, please contact the COD School Relations Center at 800/474-7268 for Grants or 800/848-0978 for Direct Loans. You may also e-mail CODSupport@acs-inc.com.