TG Updates

TG announces 2005 conference dates and new location
Mark your calendars! The 2005 TG Annual Conference will be held Monday through Wednesday, April 11-13, 2005. TG is moving the conference to a larger venue this year — the new Hilton Austin Hotel, located at 500 East 4th St. in downtown Austin — to accommodate growing attendance and to allow more flexibility in programming.

TG answers common questions on change transactions
At this time of year, as students return to campuses across the country, financial aid administrators frequently learn of changes that affect a student's award. These changes must then be communicated to the other business partners involved in each student's aid so that accurate and timely delivery of funds can occur and recordkeeping requirements can be met. For student loans, this exchange of information is facilitated through CommonLine, the industry standard for electronic processing supported by AdvanTG Web™ and other loan management solutions.

Federal Updates

Latest volume of the 2004-2005 FSA Handbook now online
ED has released Volume 5 of the new 2004-2005 Federal Student Aid Handbook (FSA Handbook). Part of the major restructuring of the FSA Handbook, this volume deals primarily with Return of Title IV Funds guidance and case studies.

Common Manual

Training brief explains technical edits
A new training brief from the Common Manual Policy Committee explains the process and standards by which technical edits are made to the text of the manual. Technical edits are changes that have no policy implications. You can view this and other training briefs on TG Online at www.tgslc.org/resources/cm_training.cfm.

Legislative Update

The September 2 issue of TG's Legislative Report includes updates on the newly created position of vice provost for inclusion and cross-cultural effectiveness at The University of Texas at Austin, and a recent report claiming that student loan companies have profited from a program Congress intended to end in 1993. Keep up with the latest developments by reading the full report on TG Online at www.tgslc.org/lege_report/index.cfm.

This, That, and the Other...

The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released its 2004-2005 Occupational Projections and Training Data bulletin. The bulletin, which supplements the department's Occupational Outlook Handbook, is useful to students deciding on a career, jobseekers, and career counselors. It provides research and statistics on the U.S. job market from 2002, with projections through 2012. It includes data on employment trends and projected job opening in specific career fields and industries.

The 2004-2005 edition includes a new expanded section on educational attainment within specific occupations. The section provides an exhaustive list of occupations, which are grouped by the educational attainment required for each job, such as high school, on-the-job training, or a college degree. Detailed data is then provided on the type of education needed for each occupation, the average salary, growth rates, and projected employment change, and job openings through 2012 for each occupation listed.

For more information or to view the data, visit www.bls.gov/emp/
home.htm#outlook.