UHEAA Unveils a New System for Students to Learn About and Apply to Utah's Colleges and Universities
UtahMentor® Student Service Internet Site is Launched by the Utah Higher Education Assistance Authority and Xap Corporation.
Los Angeles, CA – August 5, 2002 – The Utah Higher Education Assistance Authority (UHEAA), the administrator of Utah's student financial aid programs, and Xap Corporation, the leader in Internet-based integrated student services, today announced the launch of UtahMentor.org, (www.utahmentor.org) a college application and information site designed specifically for students interested in the public and private colleges and universities in Utah.
The site is the latest of 23 live Mentor sites developed and hosted by Xap.
"UtahMentor will assist Utah students in researching career choices and college options along with providing college applications, campus tours, and financial aid opportunities.
All of these are significant resources students will need when planning to attend a Utah college or university," said Chalmers Gail Norris, Executive Director of UHEAA. "This will be an excellent resource and we are proud to increase student access to college."
The program was introduced to Utah school counselors on August 1 at the Utah Comprehensive Guidance ATE Summer Conference held at Weber State University, Ogden, Utah.
The Utah counselors had the opportunity to navigate and interact with the program in a computer lab and volunteer for additional training.
Mentor sites, which are exclusively developed by Xap Corporation, are Internet-based, student-centered web sites that provide students and their parents a simpler, friendlier and free way to plan for college admission, search and select colleges, learn about scholarships and financial aid, plan a career, and apply to college.
Xap currently has contracts for Mentor systems covering approximately 80% of college enrollment throughout the United States, a number that continues to grow.
"We are fortunate to have the opportunity to work with UHEAA for the benefit of students in Utah.
UHEAA and Xap have the same goal of making college more accessible to students interested in higher education," said Allen Firstenberg, President and CEO of Xap.
About the Utah Higher Education Assistance Authority
The Utah Higher Education Assistance Authority (UHEAA), a subsidiary of the State Board of Regents, administers Utah's student financial aid programs, including the student loan guarantee program and secondary market, state need-based financial aid, the Utah Educational Savings Plan Trust, and the Utah Engineering and Computer Sciences Loan Forgiveness Program.
UHEAA's mission includes comprehensive outreach and information to assist citizens in planning for and financing postsecondary education, and special programs to keep student loans affordable and help borrowers avoid delinquencies and defaults.
UHEAA's student loan default rate is among the very lowest nationally.
About Xap
Headquartered in the Los Angeles area, Xap Corporation focuses on the creation of comprehensive Internet-based information management systems relating to secondary and post-secondary education.
Founded in 1996, Xap is the leading developer of online student services systems for associations and statewide groups of colleges and universities across the United States.
In September 2000, Xap launched its national student services site at www.xap.com to give students a nationwide resource to use throughout the college planning, selection, application and financial aid processes, to supplement the many statewide Mentor® web sites.
