Nearly 1 million fewer students have enrolled in college since the beginning of the pandemic.
Between tuition costs and student loan debt, would-be students struggle to see the value in a degree. Yet, at the same time, more companies are hiring workers straight out of high school or from certificate programs amid an ongoing labor shortage.
Nationwide, fewer students went back to school again in 2022, dragging undergraduate enrollment down another 3.1% from 2021, according to a recent report by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.
Traditional private education financing is extended as “principal + interest” styled loans, which has led to a massive student debt crisis.
Students want to better themselves through education, but many don’t realize that interest begins accruing during their studies and forbearance periods. This leads to negative amortization and increasing loan balances despite making minimum monthly payments. As a result, too many students quickly find themselves trapped in a cycle of debt.
We know that tuition payments and student enrollment are at the heart of your institution, so that’s why we created the solution.
The Solution – Your All-in-one Cloud-based Tuition platform
Imagine a platform with robust APIs that can facilitate your entire student journey from start to finish. With Meratas, we deliver a comprehensive suite of software tools so you can control your processes.
Our solution is turn-key, enabling you to launch your own full-service, scalable solution in two weeks. Including:
- Originating student contracts directly on the Meratas platform.
- Enabling API underwriting and bank integrations providing access to detailed applicant information.
- Access to E-signature for all of your contracts and disclosures.
- A built-in data repository eliminates the need for a third-party data warehouse or CRM.
- Complete data transparency to your portfolio performance and outcomes data.
- Loan servicing and payment processing are seamlessly integrated into the same platform used for origination and management.
- Proprietary income and employment verification tools and processes ensure higher collections rates.
- Dedicated student support services for each stage of the student journey.
Our Learn Now, Pay Later tuition solutions are structured with either capped interest or income-correlated repayments, such as with ISAs, to help students’ repayments stay manageable and avoid the cycle of mounting debt.
Our platform is provided to institutions within a consumer-facing cloud application that streamlines the complete end-to-end process of originating and servicing a loan. We host a configurable, multi-tenant cloud application that integrates seamlessly into your school’s existing technology systems. Our highly configurable platform allows your institution to define your own credit policy and determine the significant parameters of your own lending program.
We help institutions increase access by offering students flexible tuition options with adaptable, Learn Now, Pay Later tuition plans that remove the financial barriers from upskilling.
Full Data Transparency for Better Underwriting
When an institution outsources its lending program to third-party vendors, they only get pre-approved applicants on a blind basis.
This means the school is unable to learn from its portfolio, unable to make more intelligent decisions over time, and is constantly reliant on the third-party lender for its applicant pool.
By contrast, using our sophisticated underwriting tools, your institution gains full data transparency into its applicant profiles, allowing you to admit more students over time while also decreasing your credit risk.
We call this the Merit Score.
Our Merit Score is based on the aggregate platform usage from all our partners. It is designed to turn recurring transactions into valuable and actionable insights, enhance underwriting, and assess creditworthiness.
A Better Payment Experience For Your Students
Your students’ financing journey can be complicated, with many stops along the way.
Our student support team is there for them every step of the way. From guiding them through the application process to setting them up for success before their first payment, all with less than a 24-hour response time, you can rest assured that your students will never feel lost.
Your tuition solution’s student support team should treat your students as well as you do. The Meratas support team acts as an extension of your team, providing your students with your own messaging and standards of communication. Better student support means better outcomes for you and your program.
Fully customizable and Scalable
The Meratas Platform allows you to fully customize your tuition plans and offer LNPL financing that fits your students’ needs. In addition, we support flexible institutional loans and ISA programs while also giving you the ability to create a customizable payment experience for your students.
With Meratas, your tuition offerings will have unparalleled scalability. Adding new financing options is quick and easy and integrates seamlessly into your administrative dashboard without disrupting your existing workflows.
The student debt crisis has ballooned out of control due to principle + interest style loans. While a great educational experience is important, giving students more payment choices that better fit their lives is the real way to increase enrollment. Learn Now, Pay Later tuition options to give students those choices. if that sounds like something that would benefit your school and students, check out our partners page to schedule a time to speak with a Meratas platform specialist!
