National Credit Education Week – “Credit Education … The Most Important Piece Of The Puzzle”

SPRINGFIELD, IL – The Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC), for the third year as part of its student loan default prevention efforts, is participating in National Credit Education Week (NCEW) sponsored by ACA International, the Association for Credit and Collection Professionals. The theme of this year’s National Credit Education Week is “Credit Education…The Most Important Piece Of The Puzzle” and is being celebrated April 19-24, 2004. The observance stresses the need for citizens to understand credit and the importance of strong management skills. As part of this week’s events, Governor Rod R. Blagojevich will be proclaiming the week as “National Credit Education Week” in Illinois, and educational materials and posters will be made accessible to Illinois colleges and universities interested in participating in the awareness campaign.

“Sound financial management is difficult. However, using credit wisely, helps to build financial health and peace of mind,” said Larry Matejka, Executive Director of ISAC. “By participating in the National Credit Education Week, ISAC is taking the initiative to educate student borrowers on ways to control spending, budget their income and solve student loan problems before they get out of control.”

ISAC’s Default Prevention Outreach staff has developed an array of literature on credit education to assist Illinois colleges and universities in educating their students on how to manage their finances. Additionally, “Credit Card Smarts” and “Parents Smarts: Credit Information Series for Parents”, information fact sheets developed by the University of Illinois Extension are available to view or download, in both English and Spanish, at collegezone.com.

ISAC also offers schools personal finance literacy seminars. Over the past year, ISAC representatives have conducted over 50 seminars on personal finance all across the state to students who are considered at-risk to default on their student loan. These interactive seminars include topics such as personal banking, credit card use and credit reports, budgeting, and identity theft.

Financial aid administrators interested in conducting a personal finance seminar at their school should contact ISAC’s School Services Division at 866-247-2172. Students and families interested in receiving more information about ISAC’s programs and services including Student Loan Default Prevention should contact the agency at 800-899-ISAC (4722) or visit the Web site at collegezone.com. Bilingual telephone representatives are available.

About ISAC
The Illinois Student Assistance Commission is the State’s centralized provider of financial assistance aimed at helping students and families access postsecondary education and/or training. Each year, the Commission awards an estimated $400 million in scholarship and grant aid to nearly 185,000 qualified students, and also provides an additional $740 million to borrowers through its student loan programs. The agency offers credit-based alternative loans, a 529 prepaid tuition program known as College Illinois!, and a broad array of outreach and informational services to ensure that families have access to the information they need to pay for a college education. More information is available by calling toll-free 800.899.ISAC (4722) or visiting the agency’s Web site at www.collegezone.com.