Federal Updates

Videoconference highlights delivery system changes
Last week, ED's Federal Student Aid (FSA) 2004-2005 Delivery System Videoconference drew large numbers of financial aid administrators and industry partners from across the country. Participants received information on a variety of topics related to next year's FAFSA cycle.

Reauthorization watch
Last week, TG updated its Higher Education Act reauthorization page on TG Online with information and links on several recent developments.

TG Updates

Fall TUG conference to be held November 7
Mark your calendars now for the Fall 2003 TG Users Group (TUG) Conference. The conference will be held in Austin on Thursday, November 7, 2003, in the Joe C. Thompson Conference Center Bass Lecture Hall on the University of Texas campus.

TG schedules holiday closings
The holiday season is just around the corner, and the spring semester will be here before we know it. Here's a list of the days TG offices will be closed.

Trends and Issues

TG cosponsors chat event on loan consolidation
Many borrowers are considering student loan consolidation as interest rates have dropped to their lowest levels in the history of the FFELP. To help these borrowers weigh the pros and cons of consolidation, Mapping Your Future, a public service website sponsored by TG and other student loan guarantors, is offering a live chat event online at 6 p.m. CDT on November 4, 2003.

This, That, and the Other...

The Atlantic Monthly explores the American college admissions system in a series of articles in its November 2003 issue. Articles include:

• "The New College Chaos" — Applications are increasing as student information becomes less reliable
• "What Makes a College Good?" — A new survey aims to measure how well schools actually educate their students
• "The Selectivity Illusion" — Under scrutiny, "the neat hierarchy of selectivity begins to fall apart"

Also included are articles on the hidden benefits of late enrollment decisions and the issue of bias on the SAT. All of the articles, part of what the magazine bills as its first annual college admissions survey, are available both on newsstands and online at www.theatlantic.com/issues/
2003/11/admissions.htm.