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Record Numbers Attend 2001 TG Conference
More than 500 student financial aid professionals recently attended the 2001 Texas Guaranteed (TG) Annual Conference in Austin. This year's conference, Passport to Success ... Around FFELP in Three Days, offered participants a detailed look at issues central to the student loan industry and to higher education. Student financial aid experts representing schools, lenders, servicers, secondary markets, and others from across the nation with an interest in the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) joined TG for its ninth annual conference at the Austin Marriott at the Capitol on April 25-27.
Conference Beginnings
In welcoming the conference participants and in keeping with the conference's travel theme, Jane Phipps, Chair of TG's Board of Directors, asked those in attendance to notice their "fellow passengers" by saying, "They represent the best and brightest in the world of the FFELP. Each person in this room has made a positive impact on the lives of countless families and students. I consider it a privilege to join all of you on this adventure."
Dr. John Daly, Amon Carter Professor, College of Communication at the University of Texas at Austin, presented the keynote address, Bolstering Your Interpersonal Effectiveness. In this session, participants learned critical communication skills that are characteristic of people who are successful at working with others, an essential element of the student loan industry.
Informative Sessions
Several sessions offered participants the opportunity to catch up on the latest information regarding industry and community initiatives, such as the Meteor Project (see page 14 for more information about Meteor), FastTrack Funding, CommonLine, the National Student Loan Data System, learnstudentaid.org, and electronic signatures. Additional sessions covered regulatory and industry issues such as the return of Title IV funds, default prevention, and new regulations. The rapid pace of technological change facing the student loan community also formed a central focus of numerous sessions with topics such as AdvanTG Web™, distance education, change transactions, and consumer privacy.
TG Solutions and Tools
Vickie Tanner, Assistant Vice President of TG Customer Services, helped launch Phase I of AdvanTG Web™ in another conference session. AdvanTG Web is a dynamic web-based application that combines features from TG's library of student loan management tools. This latest TG solution, along with various other TG solutions and tools, was available for participants to preview in the TG demo room during the conference. Next door, in the TG Cyber Café, attendees were able to access the Internet, check their e-mail, and explore TG's Adventures In Education, TG Online, and Mapping Your Future.
| The Best Ever |
Survey results for the 2001 Conference indicate that it was the best ever. Attendees gave the conference an overall score of 4.8 out of a 5.0 scale!
Don't miss what TG has in store for 2002. Start planning now for next year's conference, scheduled for April 10-12, 2002, at the Austin Marriott at the Capitol. |
Conference Sponsors and Fun
As always, the conference adventure was enhanced by the support of its presenters and participants, in particular by those sponsors that make a working conference so much fun. In addition to the fun experienced throughout the conference, attendees were also treated to a Thursday evening of Texas baseball when they watched the Round Rock Express triumph over the Tulsa Drillers at the Dell Diamond. (See sidebar for a list of 2001 conference sponsors.)
Questions and More Information
For questions or more information about any of the conference sessions, contact TG's Customer Support Group at (800) 252-9743, ext. 4444, or send an e-mail message to customer.services@tgslc.org.
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2001 TG Conference Sponsors
Captain
Bank One
The Brazos Group
LoanSTAR Systems
Regions Bank
Unipac
Commander
American Express
BancorpSouth Fredonia
Chase Bank/Education First
COSTEP
Educaid
Horizon Educational Resources
Key Education Resources
PNB Financial
Sallie Mae
Lt. Commander
Amarillo National Bank
AFSA Data Corporation
ASAP/Bank of Texas
Bank of America
Citibank
First American Bank
First National Bank of Abilene
First National Bank of Bryan
Nellie Mae
NTHEA/Higher Education Service Corporation
Panhandle Plains Higher Education Authority
PNC Bank
San Antonio Federal Credit Union
Security Service Federal Credit Union
SunTrust Bank
University Federal Credit Union
Wells Fargo
Whitney Bank
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