[Loans] Bessie E. Campbell Short Term Loans

• Collection Procedures
• NSF/Dishonored Checks
• Write Offs

Collection Procedures

Definition: E. A Bessie Campbell Short Term Loan balance owed to the University is due based on the terms described by the promissory note. Collection measures are initiated when payment is not received by the agreed due date.

Policy:Bessie E. Campbell Short Term Loans over 15 days past due will be subject to collection procedures. All action taken against the borrower is also taken on any accounts that have a co-signer, if applicable.

The borrower (and cosigner, if applicable) will be responsible for all costs incurred for any loan that is referred for additional collection measures or referred to a collection agency, including the legal attorney’s fee, and costs incurred by the University.

The University reserves the right to deny assistance under this program to students who have been excessively delinquent or have defaulted on a prior loan.

There are no extensions or deferments beyond the due date.

Procedure: When the loan is not repaid by the due date, the following action will happen:

1. The student will be prohibited from registering for additional course work.
2. A hold is placed on the student’s academic records.
3. A claim placed with the Minnesota Department of Revenue.
4. The account balance is reported to two designated credit bureaus.

By the 15 th of the month, following the due date, Business Services, Loan Collections, will review Short Term Loan balances to determine which accounts are past due. The Loan Manager will verify that the charges on these past due accounts are accurate and will begin collection procedures.

Each borrower with an account over 15 days past due will be sent a billing statement notifying them of the action that will be initiated and a $10 late fee is assessed.

Each borrower with an account over 30 days past due will be notified that the account will be referred to the Minnesota Collection Enterprise (MCE) or another collection agency which the University is under contract.

Students who do respond within the 45 day deadline will have the option to:

1. Pay their account in full.
2. Set up a payment plan to pay off their account balance including a 15% collection charge on the balance. Holds remain on the borrower’s records pending full payment. The claim with the Minnesota Department of Revenue remains until the account is paid in full. The account status continues to be reported as past due to the credit bureaus.

Students who do not respond within the 15 day deadline will have their account submitted to a collection agency for collection. At this time, the collection charges can be up to an additional 33 1/3% of the total balance.

After an account has been forwarded to a collection agency, the University will no longer be involved in the collection process. The borrower must deal directly with the collection agency.

The University will respond to requests from the collection agency to provide documentation regarding the student debt.

NSF/Dishonored Checks

Definition: Checks will be considered NSF/Dishonored after they have been presented to the bank twice and are return to St. Cloud State University unpaid due to non-sufficient funds, closed account stop payment, etc.

Policy: Dishonored checks will be backed out of the account to which they were deposited and the NSF fee will be charged. If the reversal of the receipt causes the account to become unpaid after the due date, applicable late charges will also be added to the account. The NSF fee is currently $20.00 and is subject to change without notice.

Procedure: The Business Services, Loan Collection staff will receive notification of the NSF/Dishonored check. The original payment is reversed and charges restored to the borrower’s Bessie E. Campbell Short Term Loan account. The NSF fee will be charged to the borrower’s account.

The Business Services, Loan Collection staff will send a letter and billing statement to the writer of the check; if different than the borrower, a copy is sent the borrower (and cosigner if applicablea). Enclosed will be a notice identifying the dishonored check.

Refer to the collection procedures in the event of non-payment.

Write Offs

Definition: A write-off is an account has been determined to be uncollectible and placed in an inactive status. This does not eliminate the legal obligation of the borrower or cosigner to the University.

Policy: An account is written off after it has been determined to be uncollectible by the Business Services Director, or his/her designee. This process will bake place annually, prior to June 30.

Procedure: A Bessie E. Campbell Short Term Loan will be considered uncollectible when one of the following criteria is met:

1. The cost of further collection effort will exceed the amount recovered.
2. The debt was discharged in bankruptcy.
3. All reasonable collection efforts have been exhausted.
4. It is not in the best interests of the University to pursue collection of the debt.
5. The debt has been compromised, in the best interest of the State.
6. The debtor cannot be located.

The University will write off all debts in excess of 2 years.

When an account is written off, the hold on the borrower’s records will remain until the account is paid in full. Upon full payment, the borrower’s record can be reinstated. The claim against the borrower, and cosigner if applicable, with the Minnesota Department of Revenue will remain until the account is paid in full.

The status of the Bessie E. Campbell Student loan will continue to be reported to the credit bureaus.

Determining that the debt is dischargeable does not remove the financial liability of the borrower or cosigner (except as defined in 2, 5).

St. Cloud State University will make every effort to contact the borrower and cosigner before any amount is written off.