SCRS announces student loan navigator benefit for members

The Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) announced during its open meeting Tuesday a student loan navigator as its newest member benefit. 

Savi can be used to lower monthly payments, navigate forgiveness programs, and connect families to one-on-one expert help. 

Amber Alley, SCRS Board immediate past chair, shared her personal experience with the college funding process through having one daughter in high school and another in college.

“The process can be a little overwhelming,” Alley said.

The process can include federal grants, scholarships, and investing options, she added. 

Alley said she started a conversation with SCRS Executive Director Aaron Schulenburg about providing an SCRS benefit for college planning. 

“We thought it would be a great idea to give our member shops an opportunity to offer this — something to help them save money, help simplify the process, help them find better financial tools for the success of future generations,” Alley said. 

Schulenburg said during the meeting that any SCRS member can provide this benefit to their employees. 

“Our industry is built on small businesses who employ hardworking individuals, many of whom are managing student debt,” Schulenburg said in a Thursday press release. “So many of our programs have been designed to improve the lives of those who work within this industry. With federal loan policy changing so quickly, and with secondary education costs already being a challenge for so many families, we wanted to make sure our members have a trusted resource to help them understand their options, find the greatest opportunities, and avoid costly missteps. Through SCRS, Savi gives them that support at no cost to get started. As a Dad with one of my kids in college and the other planning for it, this is one of those tools that gives an added resource that isn’t always easy to find on your own.”

Schulenburg said SCRS wanted to launch the tool at this time following changes to the federal loan policy that took effect July 1. 

The policy changes ended the SAVE plan and replaced it with two new repayment options, according to the SCRS press release. This includes the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) and Tiered Standard Repayment plan. 

SCRS was introduced to the Savi company through Decisely, Schulenburg said during the open meeting. He said Decisely CEO Kevin Dunn was previously on Savi’s Board and the benefit is also offered to Decisely employees. 

Savi was founded by student loan policy experts, advocates, and borrowers, the SCRS release states. It adds that the company compares more than 150 repayment and forgiveness options and presents members with side-by-side recommendations tailored to their individual loan profiles. 

“The platform simplifies and digitizes enrollment in federal programs, reducing paperwork and the chance for costly errors,” the release states. 

SCRS members can get started by visiting here and logging into their SCRS member account. 

SCRS also offers healthcare and retirement benefits for its members. To learn more, visit here. 

For more information about SCRS and to join, please visit www.scrs.com or call 1-877-841-0660, or email [email protected].

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Amber Alley, SCRS immediate past chair, speaks during the SCRS Board’s open meeting on July 21, 2026.