TG Updates

TG offers workshops to help you do more with less
TG is gearing up to offer a new series of workshops nationwide, focused on the needs of seasoned financial aid professionals. Each workshop will offer important information and fresh ideas to help you do more with less.

TG enhances Default Management Report for AdvanTG Web™ users
TG recently enhanced its Default Management Report (DMR) for schools, to give financial aid professionals more flexibility and control. Schools now have the ability to customize their DMR and control when the report is produced, using a new request process in AdvanTG Web.

Federal Updates

ED publishes revised regulations in accordance with HEROES Act
To enable financial aid industry partners to implement the provisions of the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act of 2003 (HEROES Act) signed by President Bush last August (see Shoptalk Online Edition 219), ED has provided waivers and modifications to the federal regulations.

Current special allowance rates: quarter ending
December 31, 2003
Special allowance rates for the quarter ending December 31, 2003, are now available.

Closed school corner
The Department of Education announces one new closure.

Trends and Issues

Topsy-turvy terminology
Working in the financial aid industry, you often see references to "ED." These are not, of course, references to a person, but to the U.S. Department of Education, one of the 15 executive departments of the President's Cabinet, and the department that oversees the federal role in the nation's education system. But why is ED called ED?

Common Manual

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

Legislative Update

Two new issues of TG’s Legislative Report are now online. Read them to catch up with the latest news on federal and state student aid issues and initiatives.

The January 6 edition provides updates on the Congressional Budget Office's long-term outlook on the federal budget, upcoming hearings of the Texas Joint Interim Committee on Higher Education, and the Sunset Advisory Commission review of TG. The report also features a list of key dates for the activities of the Second Session of the 108th Congress in 2004.

The January 8 edition previews the state and federal legislative environment for 2004.

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

This, That, and the Other...

Many high schools are placing a growing emphasis on getting their students involved in volunteering and community service. Some schools encourage students to get involved while others actually require it. But does “involuntary volunteering” really make students any more likely to remain active in their communities after they graduate? The answer appears to be no, according to a new study from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).

Young adults who performed only mandatory volunteer service in high school were no more likely to volunteer eight years after graduation than their peers who never volunteered (28 vs. 26 percent, respectively).

In contrast, 43 percent of students who were strongly encouraged to volunteer or who got involved on their own in high school continued to perform volunteer service eight years after graduation.

These are just a few of the findings in the NCES report “Volunteer Service by Young People from High School through Early Adulthood.” The report explores the characteristics of young adults who volunteered, when they volunteered, why they volunteered, and for which types of organizations they volunteered.

The report is available online at www.nces.ed.gov/
pubs2004/2004365.pdf.