TG Announces Integrated Electronic Common Manual

Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation (TG) has developed two new tools to enhance research capabilities and provide the most current information for its business partners and other participating Common Manual guarantors - an online, integrated version of the Common Manual and online Common Manual Bulletin Language.

Currently, both the paper and electronic Common Manual are distributed annually to the FFELP community. However, updates are made throughout the year. TG publishes these updates, known as Common Manual Bulletin Language, in Shoptalk. The FFELP community must then initiate internal procedures to identify and track changes made to a particular section of the manual in order to ensure that accurate information is used.

Simplified Change Tracking
The new integrated version of the Common Manual simplifies and accelerates this process. In this version, the changes are identified with underlines for new language and strikeouts for language that has been eliminated. This format helps readers easily identify changes made since the last Common Manual publication. TG will regularly integrate newly approved changes into the existing text of the Common Manual as soon as they are available.

The Policy Committee usually publishes changes within five days of the Governing Board's approval. By posting the integrated manual and Common Manual Bulletin Language online, TG makes it possible for customers to access new policies up to six weeks before they are published in Shoptalk.

"Integrated Version" Features
The integrated version of the manual also offers a feature not included in the annual published Common Manual. Each page that has an updated policy includes footnotes that contain the Governing Board's approval date, the policy proposal number, and the section of the manual where the update is located. If one page has multiple policy updates, each updated policy has a corresponding footnote.

Electronic search capabilities are preserved except that in the new integrated version "hot links" are not active in revised parts. Additionally, due to the increase in the quantity of text contained in the manual, pages referenced in the indexes may no longer match. For example, when adding text to a page, the text at the bottom of the page may be "bumped" onto the following page causing a domino effect.

TG is pleased to offer these new tools to the community. The integrated version of the Common Manual and online Common Manual Bulletin Language can be found at TG Online (www.tgslc.org) under "Schools and Lenders/More Resources."

Electronic Notices of Updates
No longer do you have to wait for Common Manual Bulletin Language to be published in Shoptalk; both the actual change and the bulletin language are almost immediately available to you online. To be notified each time an update is posted, join TG's electronic news service, TG NetWorks. To join TG NetWorks, log on to TG Online under "Subscribe" and complete the online form.

Questions
TG would appreciate feedback from you on how we can make the integrated version of the Common Manual and the Bulletin Language more useful. For questions or to provide feedback, contact TG Customer Services at (800) 252-9743, ext. 4444, or send an message to customer.services@tgslc.org.