OSAR and STRF report increased casework and targeted outreach to Corinthian students

The Office of Student Assistance and Relief (OSAR) and the Student Tuition Recovery Fund (STRF) reported steady increases in student-facing work at the May 26 advisory meeting.

OSAR chief Yan Chow said the unit expanded from three to six staff members, enabling more intensive, appointment-based assistance for students seeking records, transcript support and tuition-relief help. Chow described closure-related outreach and efforts to identify custodians of records and ensure students can access training proofs and transcripts after a school closure.

Chow highlighted targeted outreach to students affected by the nationwide Corinthian college closures: the bureau contacted 135 students to check borrower-defense outcomes and identify remaining economic loss. Where federal borrower-defense relief had been issued, OSAR and STRF sought leftover economic-loss claims for state-level STRF consideration.

STRF manager Janelle Quail said the unit received 44 claims in Q3 and processed 148 claims during the quarter (approved, denied, ineligible and unable-to-contact statuses combined). The unit approved 32 claims with a total payout of $369,431.54 and processed 35 payments through the State Controller totaling $585,265.18. STRF reported 776 pending claims across several processing stages and said 107 Corinthian-related applicants were classified as "unable to contact" despite outreach via phone, mail, email and commercial searches.

Quail and Evette Johnson (STRF chief) said denied and ineligible claimants have 60 days to appeal and that claims classified as "unable to contact" can be reopened if the student later responds. Committee members asked detailed questions about typical proof for economic loss (bank statements, receipts, proof of enrollment and an SSN/ITIN for Controller payment) and praised improvements in processing volume.