Federal Updates

Stroup Becomes Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education
Sally Stroup has become ED's top higher-education policy maker. She was sworn in as Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education soon after she was unanimously confirmed by the Senate on March 15, 2002.

TG Updates

"The Big Picture" Première Approaches
All that's left are the last-minute preparations. The guests are invited, the stage is set, and the entertainment is booked.

TG Releases FY 2001 School Fact Sheets
TG has released the Fiscal Year 2001 School Fact Sheets. The fact sheets are available in printed form, in an easy-to-use online searchable format, and in PDF for printing individual fact sheets.

Feedback Augments Success of 2002 FAFSA Teleconference
The February 19 edition of Shoptalk Online included a review of the successful 2002 FAFSA Teleconference. After a few weeks to gather feedback from participants, we're happy to say that this year's teleconference proved to be one of the best ever.

TG Prints New PLUS App/Prom Note
TG has begun printing the newest version of the Application and Promissory Note for Federal PLUS Loan, updated by ED with an extended expiration date of October 31, 2004.

Click Me In
Even though the upcoming TG conference and TG Users Group meeting offer information about a broad range of topics, you might want to consider attending some additional events in the next few weeks that promise to offer valuable information.

Trends and Issues

Mapping Your Future Chats Planned
Students and parents can find out about online college, financial aid, and scholarship resources during an April 11, 2002, Chat Event on Mapping Your Future (www.mapping-your-future.org).

Quick Links

• School Fact Sheets
• TG Conference Details
• TG Events Calendar

This, That, and the Other...

A recent report by the State Public Interest Research Groups' (PIRGs') Higher Education Project asserts that higher numbers of student borrowers are graduating with unmanageable levels of debt. The report, entitled The Burden of Borrowing, provides research that shows that 39% of student borrowers graduate with monthly payments that are more than 8% of their monthly incomes.

The report offers additional statistics for the years 1999-2000:

• 64% of students graduated with student loan debt, up from 42% in 1992-1993.
• The average student loan debt for a graduate who attended full time at a four-year institution was $16,928, almost double the 1992-1993 figure of $9,188.
• 71% of dependent student borrowers from families with incomes below $20,000 graduated with debt, compared to 44% from families with incomes above $100,000.

The report points to three possible causes for the increasing trends in borrowing: the decline in the buying power of Pell grants, the shift from the use of savings to the use of student loans, and rising tuition outpacing inflation.

To access The Burden of Borrowing, visit www.pirg.org/highered/
BurdenofBorrowing.pdf.

Take a look at Adventures In Education, TG's Public Awareness website.