Community Reinvestment
Iowa Student Loan believes in reinvesting in Iowa students, families and communities with available resources.
Student Loan Game Plan
Introduced in 2010, Student Loan Game PlanSM is a unique interactive tool to help borrowers understand the consequences of overborrowing and discover how to avoid borrowing too much in student loans given their likely future income. Using real salary data based on the majors specified by users, Student Loan Game Plan gives applicants, cosigners and general users specific information on possible debt and budget scenarios, as well as tips on how to reduce overall borrowing. Try Student Loan Game Plan.
Borrower Benefits
Borrowers with Federal Stafford or PLUS (both parents and graduate student borrowers) loans are eligible to receive a 0.25% interest rate reduction on those loans once they enter repayment if they enroll in Iowa Student Loan's automatic payment program, where loan payments are automatically deducted from a checking or savings account each month. This reduces the amount they will pay in interest over the life of the loan.
Shortage-Area Teaching and Nursing Programs
Iowa Student Loan grant programs recognize those who serve in need areas in Iowa's workforce. The programs reward those who, through their career choices, lessen the shortage of workers in these areas. Encouraging Iowa nursing and education students to enter critical job shortage areas in Iowa is important to both the health and the long-term economic development of the state.
Two grants are open to qualified applicants regardless of whether they have loans serviced or owned by Iowa Student Loan. One addresses the crticial shortage of nurse educators in our state. The second addresses the continuing need for K – 12 teachers in state-identified shortage fields such as science, mathematics and special education.
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Prior to the establishment of the current grant programs, Iowa Student Loan had made awards to 875 nursing applicants since 2004 and 626 teacher applicants since 2006 through loan forgiveness programs for Iowa nurses and teachers entereding job shortage areas. The programs supplemented loan forgiveness programs offered by state and federal agencies and were replaced by grant programs in 2010. Iowa Student Loan does continue, however, to honor commitments to those accepted into the forgivness programs, though no new applications are being accepted at this time and potential applicants are instead encouraged to seek support through the Teacher Career Establishment grant program or the Nurse Educator grant program.
Armed Forces Interest Reduction Program
The Iowa Student Loan Armed Forces Interest Reduction Program recognizes service members who are or have been deployed during wartime efforts since Sept. 11, 2001. The program reduces interest to 0% on private student loans owned by Iowa Student Loan for up to 24 months for eligible borrowers in the U.S. Armed Forces.
Iowa College Access Network
For more than a decade, Iowa Student Loan has supported the Iowa College Access Network® (ICAN) financially and with in-kind services. In September 2009, the Iowa Student Loan board voted to incorporate ICAN as an independent nonprofit 501(c)(3) educational foundation. As its own entity with its own independent governing board, ICAN continues to offer free college planning services to help Iowa students and families. Iowa Student Loan continues to be the organization's lead funderin supporting college access and college planning services delivered in communities across the state by the dedicated and knowledgeable ICAN staff.
ICAN helps students and their families plan for, apply to, pay for and succeed in college, with secondary school students being the primary audience. Annually, ICAN provides its free services to more than 30,000 Iowa students and parents.
