Trends and Issues

RT4 — Still crazy after all these years
As the 3-year anniversary of the implementation of Return of Title IV Funds (RT4) approaches, the financial aid and student loan communities are still coming to grips with the complexities of RT4. TG continues to receive a steady stream of RT4 questions. Naturally, we remain committed to helping our school partners address any RT4 challenges they face. In this spirit, we'd like to share our answers to some of the excellent RT4 questions that we have recently received.

Topsy-turvy terminology
Who doesn't like the word "refund?" It's always good to receive a refund, isn't it? If you pump four quarters into a vending machine only to find that your selection is sold out, isn't it nice to hear the sound of your refund clanging down into the coin return? And if you overpay on your taxes throughout the year, isn't it wonderful to receive that tax refund from the IRS?

Common Manual

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

New training brief explains subdivision of chapters
The Common Manual Policy Committee recently released the third in a series of training briefs for users of the manual. The new brief explains changes to the manual's core chapters and how each one was subdivided into shorter, more focused chapters.

Legislative update

The September 4 issue of TG's Legislative Report includes a letter on FY 2004 appropriations that was sent by SWASFAA, TASFAA, ATLE, and TG to U.S. Senate offices for Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. Also included is an update on the status of major student aid-related legislation filed during the first session of the 108th Congress.

Read the full report on TG Online at www.tgslc.org/lege_report/index.cfm.

This, That, and the Other...

The Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) recently released the new 2003 edition of its popular SREB Fact Book on Higher Education. The fact book compares national, regional, and state data on college enrollments, degrees, tuition and fees, faculty profiles and salaries, and college finance and budgeting information. The focus is on trends affecting colleges and universities in the 16 SREB member states: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.

An online version of the new fact book and state-specific reports are available on the SREB website at www.sreb.org/main/EdData/
FactBook/factbookindex.asp.