About Us  >  History of ECSI

Since our inception in 1972, Educational Computer Systems, Inc. (ECSI) has been considered by many to be the Industry Leader. Today, we strive to provide each of our clients with a Superior Level of Customer Service, which is the cornerstone of our business philosophy and we continue to offer the most comprehensive range of intuitive, user-friendly solutions that help over 600 Colleges & Universities across the country - manage their complex Student Loan Portfolios, Tuition Payment Plans, Delinquent Receivables, and Collection Efforts.

In addition to Student Loan Servicing, ECSI also offers: On-Line Entrance Interviews, On-Line Exit Interviews, e-Signatures on Promissory Notes, Electronic Bill Presentment and Payment (EBPP), Automated Emergency Loan Processing Solutions, 1098-E Processing, 1098-T Process, Skip Tracing Services, Automatic Collection Agency Turnover, Integrated Collection Module, NSLDS Reporting, Credit Bureau Reporting, Automatic Deferment Processing via an Electronic Interface with the National Student Loan Clearinghouse, Document Scanning & Imaging, LVC (Loan Verification Certificate) Processing Services, Government Form 553 Processing for Assignments, Custom Management Reports, and Custom Interfaces.

Unlike other servicers, ECSI has chosen to focus our attention on solutions for the campus-based environment. Our Student Loan Software product, SAL (an acronym for Stand-A-Loan), and all other services provided by ECSI are in full compliance with all provisions of Title II of the National Defense Education Act of 1958, and all applicable subsequent acts pertaining to the National Defense, Federal Perkins/national Direct, Title VI and VII of the Public Health Act, Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 as amended, and all applicable subsequent acts as provided by the Department of Education and Federal Programs added by the federal government. Our system and service are also in compliance with all provisions of the Fair Debt Collection Practice Act (P.L. 95_109) and all established federal and state regulations and guidelines.

SAL was the first comprehensive Personal Computer (PC) Software Solution for processing Student Loans. As such, it will operate on almost every make and model of IBM compatible PC and any network that supports MS-DOS 3.11 compatible file and record locking. The importance of this information is that there are no specialized hardware or software solutions. Standard off-the-shelf equipment will perform well with SAL.

In 1985 ECSI released the first PC version of SAL. It was intended to run on MS-DOS based PC which includes Windows 3.1x. The software was designed with a Character-mode User Interface (CUI). The original product was designed to run in 640k of base memory.

As more features were added to the software, a version of the product that supported extended-memory was released for MS-DOS, Windows 3.1x and Windows 95. This enabled ECSI to greatly expand the capabilities of our software without the 640k limitations traditionally placed on MS-DOS style applications. The software could operate with up to 16 megabytes of memory, but only required 4 megabytes.

A second major revision to the software was made when more institutions began to acquire and deploy Windows NT. To avoid potential legacy compatibility problems, ECSI created a version of SAL that was a true 32-bit native console-mode application. This version enabled our clients to run SAL as a true windows application but still retain the familiar user interface.

In 1997, ECSI began development on a Graphical User Interface (GUI) version of SAL for Windows 95/98/NT/2000. SAL for Windows software is an entirely new product and replaced the old SAL product. In addition to redesigning the interface, the product was re-engineered internally to provide facilities for future enhancements or additional technologies. Also, the product was expanded to completely support four-digit years, ensuring full Year 2000 compliance.

To make the transition from the CUI product to the GUI product, many of the screen organizations were retained. This limited the amount of retraining an end-user would require. The major deviation from this philosophy was in the area of the Document Writer that now supports a Microsoft Word interface as opposed to the proprietary interface previously provided.

After a (9) month Beta and Evaluation program, SAL for Windows was installed in production at the first client site in June 1999. All service clients have since been migrated to our new, Windows product.

The full suite of services we provide to our clients are all performed internally by ECSI. None of our core business is outsourced. Despite the outward appearance of size, ECSI is completely self-sufficient. Based on the fact that we only service campus-based programs, our ratio of employees to schools is superior to our competition.

The overwhelming majority of our staff is dedicated to serving our clients and their borrowers. Through the intelligent use of technology, we are able to keep staff size below that of other comparable organizations. The majority of tasks that are performed are automated to eliminate potential human error and to increase productivity.

As an organization, ECSI has an extremely low turnover rate with the average tenure of an ECSI Employee at approximately 9+ years. This industry experience enables our Account Representatives to provide the highest level of Customer Service and Support. In addition, all ECSI Account Representatives are subject to monthly Federal Regulations Training and Testing to provide a complete understanding of all Regulations and Guidelines governing Student Loans, Bankruptcies, and Regulatory Changes.

And finally, we're extremely proud to announce that over the past 3 years, ECSI has not lost a single client. In fact, during that time, we have added over (200) new Colleges and Universities to the ECSI Family.

Please feel free to contact the ECSI Clients on the References Page and ask the following questions.

• Why did they leave their previous System or Servicer?
• What was the ECSI Conversion and Training like?
• What do they think of ECSI's Software and Internet Solutions?
• How does ECSI's Customer Service and Support compare?

We guarantee you won't be disappointed. If you'd like to see an On-Line or On-Site ECSI SAL Demonstration, please feel free to contact ECSI. ECSI would greatly appreciate your business!