Federal updates

Special allowance rates: quarter ending March 31, 2003
The FFELP special allowance rates for the quarter ending March 31, 2003, are now available.

TG updates

AdvanTG Web™ helps schools simplify student loans
A growing number of schools have found an easier way to manage their student loan portfolios since moving to AdvanTG Web, the new Web-based loan management tool from TG. Nearly 50 campuses in Texas, Florida, Georgia, New York, California, Mississippi, and New Mexico now use TG's single Web interface to manage both FFELP and alternative student loans from origination through disbursement and beyond.

Trends and issues

Edufacts™ — March 2003
In 2002, a student earning minimum wage would have had to work 55 hours every week of the year to pay the tuition, fees, and living expenses typically associated with two semesters at a Texas public university.

Common Manual

Common Manual Updates
Information on recent updates to the Common Manual.

Legislative update

The April 2, 2003, issue of the Legislative Report summarizes and provides updates on bills filed for consideration by the 78th Texas Legislature that concern student financial aid, tuition, fees, Closing the Gaps, and the Sunset Advisory Commission bill concerning the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. The report also provides information on major financial aid legislation filed during the First Session of the 108th Congress. Read the full report at www.tgslc.org/lege_report/index.cfm.

This, that, and the other...

A survey released last year by the University of Texas at Austin and the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce indicated that of parents surveyed, only 53 percent knew for sure that their children were enrolled in courses that would prepare them for college.

To help students and parents with the difficult task of selecting courses to prepare academically for college, Adventures In Education (AIE)—TG's public service awareness site at www.AIE.org—provides guidance, checklists, and schedules to keep students on track.