Federal Updates

ED Releases FY 2000 Cohort Default Rates
The Department of Education (ED) plans to mail the fiscal year (FY) 2000 official cohort default rates (CDRs) to schools on September 3, 2002.

LaRS Documentation Deadline Approaches; Training Available Soon
The deadline for lenders to submit documentation required to participate in the new Lender Reporting System (LaRS) is fast approaching. Lenders must send three items to ED by September 13, 2002, in order for lenders to use LaRS as of its upcoming launch date of October 1.

TG Updates

TG, Texas NAACP Co-Host College Planning Workshop
TG and the Texas NAACP co-hosted a college planning workshop on Saturday, August 24, at Austin Community College's Eastview Campus. Over 40 students and family members attended the free event. The day's activities included a formal program featuring the Honorable Wilhelmina Delco, former Texas legislator, who spoke on the value of higher education.

Fall Teleconference: Student Loan Forgiveness and Employee Repayment Programs
Following the success of TG's last telephone conference on Negotiated Rulemaking, TG is offering a chance for the financial aid community to focus on another timely topic this fall: Student Loan Forgiveness and Employee Repayment Programs.

Trends and Issues

JobGusher™ to Host Online Job Fair Featuring Part-Time Jobs for Students
While most students are sharpening their pencils for the beginning of the school year, others plan on sharpening their skills by working part-time. Students looking for part-time work during the fall can turn to JobGusher™ for assistance. JobGusher will host an online job fair featuring part-time jobs for students on September 9-22, 2002.

Determining Cost of Attendance (COA): Questions and Answers
The following questions and answers pertain to a school's determination of a student's cost of attendance (COA).

Quick Links

• Teleconference: Student Loan Forgiveness and Employee Repayment Programs

This, That, and the Other...

A recent column featured on cbs.marketwatch.com offers the following tips for parents of first-year college students:

• Work up an in-school budget before the school year starts.
• Look for checking accounts with free ATM access on-campus.
• Set up the student's checking account with on-line access so parents can monitor balances or request duplicate monthly statements to be sent.
• Use pre-paid phone cards or consider a cell-phone plan with unlimited evening and weekend use.

Simple tasks, such as encouraging children to work summer jobs and engaging them in discussions about the perils of credit debt can go a long way towards avoiding unnecessary financial losses.

For more useful tips for parents sending their children off to college for the first time, review "Parental aid: Offering financial support, guidance to college-bound kids" by Ray Martin. The article is accessible at http://cbs.marketwatch.com.

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