OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — More than half a dozen credit unions have come together to create a student lending CUSO designed specifically for ITT Technical Institute students.
Student CU Connect began operations in March to provide the more than 162,000 ITT students nationwide another source of funding for their tuition obligations.
"When the secondary markets fell apart in 2008, credit unions gained the opportunities to step in where other financial institutions had to withdraw," said Tony Ferris, a partner with The Rochdale Group, which facilitated the creation of Student CU Connect.
ITT Technical Institute's broad reach and unique philosophy made it an ideal partner for the fledgling CUSO. "They are nationally recognized, and they have 106 campuses across the country," Ferris noted. "They produce the most associate degrees of anyone across the country, and their philosophy of students first fits extremely well with the credit union philosophy."
Rates have not yet been announced but Ferris insisted that they would be "slightly below" the typical private student loan. To allow anyone taking classes at the more than 100 ITT campuses to apply for a loan with the CUSO, Eli Lilly FCU expanded its field of membership to all ITT Technical Institute students nationwide. But Ferris said the CUSO is looking to expand the number of credit union owners/partners to better serve the students on a localized basis. "This is people really investing in their lives and local credit unions have the membership and local community aspects to help grow the relationships," said Ferris.
While the CUSO wants to grow its ownership, it does not plan to service any other educational institutions. "The industry has a number of other student loan programs; this compliments those programs because this is a new and defined market," Ferris said.
