Trends and Issues

TG produces animation to promote financial aid awareness among middle school students

To encourage middle school students to explore financial aid as a necessary and important component of pursuing a higher education, TG, along with the Council for the Management of Educational Finance, has released an online animated feature titled The Great College Mystery. Available for viewing on Adventures In Education (www.AIE.org), TG's education awareness Web site, this resource can serve as the first step in encouraging middle school students to consider pursuing a higher education.

Initiative begins as brochure for students
In 2002, TG and the 12 Plus Committee of the Council for the Management of Educational Finance (Council) jointly developed an awareness brochure aimed at middle school students called The Great College Mystery. The publication is an informative and entertaining guide that educates middle school students about their financial aid options, and provides them with useful tips on how to prepare for college.

The Council and TG created the brochure for students who traditionally might not consider pursuing a higher education due to a lack of money. "For many students, paying for college is a mystery," said Vickie Murillo, TG's director of national sales and the coordinator of the project. "The brochure informs students at an early age that financial aid is available for them to go to college."

Murillo wrote the copy for the brochure under the guidance of the 12 Plus Committee members, including Larry Burt of the University of Texas at Austin, Ed Apodaca of the University of Houston, Terry Bazan of Austin Community College, and Emily Yeager of Citigroup. It was then the task of Keith Dotson, TG's creative director, to transform the text into a reader-friendly brochure. They decided that the best approach was to present the information in a format similar to that of a comic book.

Creativity to engage the audience
Dotson produced the original illustrations and overall design, which is characterized by bold, colorful graphics. The Great College Mystery also features a cast of teenage cartoon characters called the "e-Kids" — "e" is for education — and a character named Dr. Ed that relates the information to the intended audience. The e-Kids ask common questions many students have regarding financial aid, and Dr. Ed, a "college authority," answers them.

Producing a lively animation
After the completion of the brochure, TG began work on an online companion to the brochure in the form of an animation. The animation, which can be found on the AIE Web site, features the same information as the brochure, but it comes alive with motion, sound effects, and voice work. "We wanted to create something that resembles the informative, yet fun, media that kids are familiar with from watching educational children's programming," said Dotson.

Popularity of the initiative
To date, 44,679 of The Great College Mystery brochures have been ordered and distributed. TG anticipates that the animation will likewise reach countless more students.

To view The Great College Mystery, visit www.AIE.org and click on the link to the "middle school" page. You can also order copies of the printed version of the publication by visiting tgorder.tgslc.org/acb/stores/3/product1.asp?SID=3&Product_ID=70.

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