Tops in student debt education programs.

WITH THE PROBABILITY OF HIGHER ED INSTITUTIONS BEING HELD more and more responsible for ensuring that students understand the financial aid available to them, it helps to know colleges and universities that have already implemented successful student debt-management programs. The education loan guarantor USA Funds has recognized the following institutions with 2007 Excellence in Debt Management Awards:

Best Program: International Academy of Design and Technology IADT is a private four-year college with a dozen campuses, with its main campus in Tampa, Fla.

Student messages: Don't forget to begin loan repayment on time. Maintain good credit and developing realistic budgets. Find out the advantages and disadvantages to loan consolidation.

Student contact: Quarterly meetings with new students on financial literacy. Exit presentations for graduates and students who have withdrawn. Calls to remind graduates when loan repayment begins and to answer questions about repayment options. Borrowers contacted via MySpace.com when phone calls or e-mails produce no response.

Results: Default rates are down, and students better understand their financial obligalions.

First Runner-Up: West Virginia University School of Medicine WVU's medical school serves approximately 425 students within the public institution.

Student messages: Get a picture of previous graduates' debt. Budgeting, credit card management, credit scores, and cutting everyday expenses are important. Know how to get insurance coverage and find a financial advisor. Understand the basics of how money grows, stock market investing, and taxes.

Student contact: Annual letter informing each student of current debt loan and estimated future payments. Hour-long personal finance presentation during orientation; second-year student presentation in the works. Three-hour session for graduating students. Voiceover presentations on student web portal.

Results: Med students already have tow loan default rates, but student reaction to the initiatives has been favorable.

Second Runner-Up: Indiana Business College IBC is a private career school with 11 campuses and an online program.

Student messages: Borrow conservatively. Understand your loan terms.

Student contact: Multiple individual financial aid meetings with loan counseling. Delinquency letters for student borrowers, customized by campus and how late payments are. Delinquent borrowers phoned daily. Home or workplace visits arranged, if necessary, to facilitate payment.

Results: Default rates are down, and the initiatives have helped improve student credit scores, increase retention rates, and enhance the levels of trust between IBC and its students.

Information on USA Funds' debt management resources can be found online at www.usafunds.org/financial aid.